The Hollywood Meme - by Iain Robert Smith (Paperback)

About the Book

With case studies from the film industries of Turkey, India and the Philippines, The Hollywood Meme is the first comprehensive study of the transnational adaptations of Hollywood movies that have appeared throughout world cinema.

Book Synopsis

The Hollywood Meme is the first comprehensive study of the transnational adaptations of Hollywood movies that have appeared throughout world cinema. With case studies from the film industries of Turkey, India and the Philippines, Iain Robert Smith shows how reworked versions of Hollywood blockbusters like E.T., The Godfather, Spider-man and Star Wars can complicate prevailing accounts of Hollywood's global impact, and help provide a new model for interrogating transnational flows and exchanges.

From the Back Cover

The Hollywood Meme: Transnational Adaptations in World Cinema By Iain Robert Smith Did you know that a Turkish remake of The Exorcist replaced the Catholicism with Islam? Or that James Bond and Batman team up together in the 1966 Filipino film James Batman? Or that a Bollywood remake of Memento has become one of the biggest box-office successes in India of all time? The Hollywood Meme is the first comprehensive study of the transnational adaptations of Hollywood movies that have appeared throughout world cinema. With case studies from the film industries of Turkey, India and the Philippines, Iain Robert Smith shows how reworked versions of Hollywood blockbusters like E.T.., The Godfather, Spider-Man and Star Wars can complicate prevailing accounts of Hollywood's global impact, and help provide a new model for interrogating transnational flows and exchanges. Iain Robert Smith is Senior Lecturer in Film Studies at the University of Roehampton. He is co-editor of Transnational Film Remakes and Media Across Borders, co-chair of the SCMS Transnational Cinemas Scholarly Interest Group, and co-investigator on the AHRC-funded research network Media Across Borders.

Review Quotes

An interesting read for academics working in (popular) genre studies, studies of transnational adaptations and remake studies, as well as for people who want to know more about the Bollywood remake of 'Memento', or the teaming up of James Bond and Batman in the Filipino 'James Batman'.--Eduard Cuelenaere, Ghent University "Communications"

In its illuminating look at adaptations, copies, and remakes of Hollywood texts in the popular film industries of Turkey, the Philippines, and India, Smith¹s book challenges its readers to reconsider preconceived notions of how cultural hegemonies operate, arguing for and unearthing more nuanced and reciprocal forms of interaction and cross-fertilisation between Hollywood and global film culture. Sharply argued and offering intriguing insights into the stranger realms of cultural appropriation, this book is a delight to read and an important intervention into popular genre studies and studies of transnational practices in world cinema.--Professor Tim Bergfelder, University of Southampton

Smith's histories should provide ample inspiration for new theoretical and national border and boundary crossings, and for new forms of creative and hybrid thinking. Like any exemplary franchise instalment, Smith's book works just as well in anticipation as it does in execution, hopefully with more histories, more sequels, more spinoffs, and more extensions coming soon.--Kyle Meikle "SCREEN"

About the Author

Iain Robert Smith is Lecturer in Film Studies at King's College London. He is author of The Hollywood Meme: Transnational Adaptations in World Cinema (Edinburgh UP, 2016) and co-editor of Media Across Borders (2016). He is co-chair of the SCMS Transnational Cinemas Scholarly Interest Group, and co-investigator on the AHRC-funded research network Media Across Borders.