| re: The Estrogen Mafia | |
| Posted by: BruceinIthaca 11:22 am EDT 05/01/24 | |
| In reply to: re: The Estrogen Mafia - AnObserver 10:30 am EDT 05/01/24 | |
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| While I roll my eyes at both extremes (the words "wokeism" and "troll," except the latter in Norse mythology and fairy tales, could use a good rest), what I do think is that we (as artists, critics, audiences) need both to acknowledge the dated and uncomfortable content of many texts (such as "Gatsby," "Huck Finn," for those who do find the language offensive, and, yes, "To Kill a Mockingbird"--most scholars of southern literature I know actually have intense feelings about that book, both nostalgia for what it meant when they read it in childhood or early adolescence and its problematic "ineffective white savior" trope), recognize that adaptations need to both look backwards to what drew the adaptors to the text to begin with and to the present and future, not to "rewrite" and bowlderize or sanitize a text, but to think about how an adaptation is always a kind of dialogue. Like others, I haven't seen this "Gatsby" (nor am likely to, for logistical reasons), but I remember how important the book was to me when I read it as a sophomore in Mr. Berkley's American Lit class in high school in 1976. It "meant" differently to me when I saw the extraordinary production "Gatz," done by the Elevator Repair Service (as did the Faulkner and Hemingway novels they staged, though not as inclusively as the Fitzgerald). All texts are "flawed" in some way and not every company has the luxury of staging the entire novel, so I realize choices have to be made. I prefer getting the text warts and all, as a rule, though I run up against problems like the single use of the "n" word in Cather's otherwise magnificent "The Song of the Lark" and never know quite what to do with my feelings about that. I also expect we'll just have to learn what we do and do not wish to see as many of these canonical modern texts pass into public domain--between Fitzgerald, Woolf, Joyce, and, soon to come, Faulkner and others, the law will soon protect anyone who wants to do whatever they please with texts that, for many of us, are "sacred" (even if sacred monsters). In that sense, I'm glad there are multiple "Gatsbys," whether opera, film, musical play, graphic novel, or puppet show (Miss Piggy as Daisy?). Granted, it may result in risky business ventures, but the texts themselves will always be available (unless library bans continue apace) for anyone who wants to read them as written. And I think things like Everett's recent "James" and Cunningham's "The Hours" (and there's a wonderful YA queer/fantasy novel that tracks "Mrs. Dalloway," called "Release" by Patrick Ness) are great additions to our experiences--even Homer didn't invent the myths he told in the epics. | |
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