Analyzing Literature-to-Film Adaptations: A Novelist's Exploration and Guide

by Mary H. Snyder

Overview

The majority of scholarly treatments for film adaptation are put forth by experts on film and film analysis, thus with the focus being on film. Analyzing Literature-to-Film Adaptations looks at film adaptation from a fresh perspective, that of writer or creator of literary fiction. In her book, Snyder explores both literature and film as separate entities, detailing the analytical process of interpreting novels and short stories, as well as films. She then introduces a means to analyzing literature-to-film adaptations, drawing from the concept of intertextual comparison. Snyder writes not only from the perspective of a fiction writer but also as an instructor of writing, literature, and film adaptation. She employs the use of specific film adaptations (Frankenstein, Children of Men, Away from Her) to show the analytical process put into practice. Her approach to film adaptation is designed for students just beginning their academic journey but also for those students well on their way. The book also is written for high school and college instructors who teach film adaptations in the classroom.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781441196446
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Publishing
Publication date:	01/20/2011
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	320
File size:	2 MB

About the Author

Mary H. Snyder teaches introductory to advanced writing, literature, gender studies, and film adaptation courses at the college level. In addition to her creative and nonfiction writing pursuits, she maintains scholarly interests in British and women's literature.For more information visit http://www.maryhsnyder.net/.

Table of Contents

Introduction

I - Literature

1 - Premeditation
2 - On Literary Creation
3 - Before the Beginning: Understanding the Study of Literature to Understand the Role of Literature in Our Lives
4 - Literary Criticism/Analysis: Putting Theory into Practice
5 - The List
6 - A First Close Reading - MARIA: The Injustices of Being a Woman
7 - Beginning Maria, Beginning Sentences, Beginning Literary Creation
8 - Critics on Women's Creations
9 - Women Writers and Strategy
10 - Deconstruction and Monsters
11 - The Multiplicitous Nature of Intertextuality: Maria and Sentences

II - 2

13 - A Marriage of Media?
14 - Attempts at a Screenplay

16 - Film Production
17 - The Elements of Film
18 - Film Analysis

20 - Literature-to-Film Adaptation: The Fascination Never Ends
21 - Ten Observations about Literature-to-Film Adaptation Studies: A Disgruntled Novelist's Perspective
22 - Lit2Film Adaptation Analysis: Charting Some New Territory
23 - Why Teach Lit2Film Adaptation Analysis? Why Learn It?

Appendix A
A1
A2
A3
A4
A5
Appendix B
B1
Appendix C
Sample paper 1
Sample paper 2
Bibliography
Index

Editorial Reviews

Snyder shows how the act of adaptation is a psychological process, a strategy by which individuals come to make sense of the world and their relationship to it. This represents a significant departure from current thinking in adaptation studies...A fascinating text written by a practicing novelist, a personal odyssey through the minefield of adaptation theory that emphasizes the psychological aspects of the adaptive act.

This is a wise and wonderful book, which among other things provides a novelist's eloquent insider's perspective on the transformation of one of her books into a film. Thirty years ago Stanley Cavell published The World Viewed: Reflections on the Ontology of Film, which opened up an intellectual highway between philosophy and cinema. Now at long last Mary Snyder's book accomplishes a parallel clearing of the way between film making, the art of the novel, and literary and critical theory. Every page is bubbling with creative, theoretical, and pedagogical insights. Her intertextual readings of a score of literature-to-film adaptations are priceless in themselves. I only wish that the title of the book had been taken from her chapter, "The Fascination Never Ends." --Michael Payne, Professor of English Emeritus, Bucknell University

From the Publisher