The gods and goddesses of Greek mythology had temples erected in their names. They were worshipped and most times adored. The people brought offerings to these gods in the form of food, drink, and gold. Today’s gods and goddesses don’t sit high on Mount Olympus. They sit high on or behind the movie screen. We visit their temples in record numbers and bring food, drink, and the mighty dollar. But what do they offer us in return? Voyeurism, titillation, narcissism÷all in a rebirth of classical American literature, which through their filters becomes sappy love stories with politically correct happy endings. In this way, their gifts are made more palatable for an audience they feel is not quite ready for films dealing with bitter social controversy, such as sin, hypocrisy, spiritual crisis, and guilt.
Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter is one of the classics that is experiencing this renaissance. Director Roland Joffe has enlisted the aid of writers Michael Mann and Christopher Crowe to produce a body of work also entitled The Scarlet Letter. The effort to introduce the American audience to this classical piece of literature was undertaken, as the film’s star Demi Moore asserts, because “not many people have read the book” (qtd. in Mr. Showbiz, par. 4). However, in doing so, Joffe has taken away the essence of Hawthorne. “It [is] sorrowful to think how many days and weeks and months and years of toil [have] been wasted on these musty papers [of Hawthorne’s] never more to be glanced at by human eyes. But, then, what reams of other manuscripts – filled [·] with the thought of inventive brains and the rich effusion of deep hearts – [have] gone equally to oblivion” (Hawthorne 46; The Custom House).
In film, the viewer sees a story from the director’s perspective. When experiencing a novel, the reader is drawn into the authorâs story and relates to the characters and events created by the author. He is allowed to bring forth his own imagination to recreate the characters and events by visualizing what the writer describes. He chooses the voice of each character, pictures how the character looks, and brings his own personal experiences forth to enhance the written word. He has an opportunity to be one-on-one with the author, hear his words, and experience for myself the charactersâ emotions.
Treatment of Change and Expansion in Lotos-Eaters and Rip Van Winkle
Treatment of Change and Expansion in Lotos-Eaters and Rip Van Winkle
During the Victorian Era, great accomplishments lead to prosperity for the British Empire. Accomplishments include owning nearly a quarter of the world’s land and its people. As a result, trade and commerce expanded, and Great Britain reached the height of its power. Furthermore, science rapidly made progress during this time. These rapid strides in economic and technological advances gave the British people a feeling of pessimism about whether they were progressing for the good. As a result, people began to question man’s place, or duty, on earth. Also occurring within the time of the Victorian Era is the American Renaissance. During this period, Americans were expanding their territory according to the belief in Manifest Destiny, or the idea that God or Nature intended for the United States to spread its civilization from coast to coast. Like the British, Americans questioned their moral responsibility concerning change and expansion. Consequently, the concerns of the people were echoed in the literature written during these time periods. For example, the Victorian poet, Alfred Tennyson, voiced his concerns about constant change and expansion in “The Lotos-Eaters,” while the American writer, Washington Irving, also expressed his concerns in “Rip Van Winkle.” An examination of the poem, “The Lotos-Eaters,” and the short story, “Rip Van Winkle,” reveal that Tennyson and Irving romanticized the concept of stasis while also questioning the duty of change and expansion.
In “The Lotos-Eaters,” Tennyson romanticizes nature in order to emphasize the virtues of a land that remains in stasis as opposed to a land that is in constant change. When the mariners land on the island, its is described as a “land where all things always seemâd the same” (Tennyson 24). Tennyson is saying that the beauty of the island has been preserved because no one has attempted to change it. Tennyson is also saying that colonization and expansion lead to industry, which strips nature of its beauty. Furthermore, the atmosphere of the island is romanticized in that “there is neither sharp sunlight nor clear moon, only the haze of a seemingly perpetual afternoon; the air itself is languid and the stream, not full and rushing but slender and slow, seems to pause in its fall from the cliff” (Ryals 97). The idea of an island that remains constantly at the most pleasant time of day and a stream that is barely moving romanticizes the idea of being at rest with no worries.