Adapting Transgressive Fiction to Film - by Christopher Burlingame (Hardcover)

About the Book

This book examines the role that the film and publishing industries play in promoting narratives that preserve and consolidate power among society's elite.

Book Synopsis

This book examines the role that the film and publishing industries play in promoting narratives that preserve and consolidate power among society's elite, drawing explicit focus on a betrayal of intention where the forces of postmodernism and late capitalism subsume the legitimacy of transgression in adaptations of transgressive fiction.

Analyzing the work of authors Bret Easton Ellis, Hubert Selby, Jr., Chuck Palahniuk and Irvine Welsh along with their film adaptations, Christopher Burlingame reveals the sociopolitical and cultural trends between 1996 and 2001 that enabled a Golden Age and saw the rise of a variety of film techniques employed to promote empathy for the characters, thereby re-affirming anti-patriarchal capitalist messaging. However, the failure to preserve this messaging in lieu of reflecting the status quo is evident in seemingly subtle changes to the plot and subplots as well as cinematic techniques that divert attention away from the source material's original message.

Review Quotes

"In Adapting Transgressive Fiction to Film: Sharpening the Critical Edge with a Golden Age, Dr. Christopher Burlingame provides a fascinating new perspective on what has come to be known as Transgressive Fiction. Burlingame delivers an insightful study of the film adaptations of several key transgressive texts here. By developing a historical framework in which to explore these film adaptations in distinct historical contexts, Burlingame traces how various power structures have produced, co-opted, and tried to tame classic works of Transgressive Fiction. And it makes a case for the relevance of this story for contemporary political phenomena. This savvy book provides thought-provoking insight into how we got here and where we might be going." --Daniel Anderson, Assistant Professor of English, Mount Aloysius College, USA

About the Author

Christopher Burlingame is Writing Consultant and Study Skills Specialist at Mount Aloysius College.