In contemporary America, more people are becoming acquainted with Shakespeare through the movies than the actual texts. The proliferation of screen adaptions, however, has led to the appearance of the Bard in all manner of productions...many he would surely not recognize as his own.
Shakespeare, The Movie brings together an impressive line-up of contributors to consider how Shakespeare has been adapted on film, TV, and video, and investigates the impact of this popularization on the canonical status of Shakespeare. The focus is not on how faithful or how adequate various celluloid renditions represent the texts. Instead, the essays explore the transformation of Shakespeare by a newly technologized culture, from cultural icon to pop culture product, and open up a range of questions about spectatorship, originality, the appropriations of popular culture, and pedagogy.
Also discussed is the recent trend of British-led adaptions wholly financed by American money, and the implications ofadaptions fraught with American anxieties and ideological formations.
With examples ranging from BBC productions to full-screen adaptions by Kenneth Branagh and Zeffirelli, this impressive volume offers a fresh look at Shakespeare's role in contemporary media.
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