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Reading Cinematic Allusions in the Post-1945 American Novel

Derbesy, Philip
http://orcid.org/0000-0002-3368-4344
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=case158653951934268

Abstract Details

2020, Doctor of Philosophy, Case Western Reserve University, English.
This dissertation analyzes the cinematic allusions that appear in the novels of four postwar American writers: Jack Kerouac, Walker Percy, Elmore Leonard, and Joan Didion. I argue that these novelists employ cinematic allusions to comment on the ways that audiences interact with narrative texts. My definition for “allusions” is intentionally broad, including references to particular films, stars, tropes, viewing spaces, and productions. I argue that such allusions afford reflection for the readers of these novels, giving them a chance to pause and consider the differences between reading a book and watching a movie. Many scholars have theorized the differences between novels and films, but my project takes a new approach by considering how novelists can comment on these questions directly. All of the authors in my study find the cinema to be manipulative, and their cinematic allusions suggest that they believe the novel to be a more reflective, and therefore morally responsible, medium than film. However, this can lead to uncertainty for readers when their books simultaneously denounce and rely on the cinema’s affective possibilities.
William Marling (Committee Chair)
Robert Spadoni (Committee Member)
Christopher Flint (Committee Member)
Daniel Goldmark (Committee Member)
177 p.
American Literature
American Literature; Hollywood Cinema; Literature and Film; Jack Kerouac; Walker Percy; Joan Didion; Elmore Leonard; James Agee; The Novel

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Derbesy, P. (2020). Reading Cinematic Allusions in the Post-1945 American Novel [Doctoral dissertation, Case Western Reserve University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=case158653951934268

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Derbesy, Philip. Reading Cinematic Allusions in the Post-1945 American Novel. 2020. Case Western Reserve University, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=case158653951934268.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Derbesy, Philip. "Reading Cinematic Allusions in the Post-1945 American Novel." Doctoral dissertation, Case Western Reserve University, 2020. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=case158653951934268

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

case158653951934268
743
© 2020, all rights reserved.
This open access ETD is published by Case Western Reserve University School of Graduate Studies and OhioLINK.