NVS 3-2-7 M-Gould-R-Mitchell
Understanding the Literary Theme Park: Dickens World as Adaptation Marty Gould and Rebecca N. Mitchell (University of South Florida & University of Texas-Pan American, USA) Abstract: How to make sense of Dickens World, an “indoor visitor attraction” which resists the conventions defining similar enterprises? Though it promises to “take visitors on a journey of Dickens lifetime,” transporting them “to Dickensian England,” it is not precisely a Disney-style theme park, a site of literary tourism, or a site of historical significance. Bringing to life the worlds of Dickens’s novels – wherein physical environments, events, and characters are inextricable – depends upon a process of adaptation analogous, we argue, to cinematic or literary adaptation. This article considers Dickens World as a case study in adaptation; we suggest that its attractions demonstrate fundamental adaptive concerns: structure, nostalgia, spectacle, narrative, and commodification. Approaching Dickens World as the spectacularisation of the dynamics of literary encounter, the resulting analysis expands the boundaries of adaptation theory while delineating the aspects of Dickens’s work which make its adaptation compelling but ultimately – as Dickens World shows – challenging. Keywords: adaptation, commodification, Charles Dickens, Dickens World, literary tourism, narrative, nostalgia, spectacle, theme parks, Victoriana. ***** Dickens World will take visitors on a journey of Dickens’s lifetime as they step back in time to Dickensian England […], transporting visitors from the depths of London’s sewers through atmospheric streets, courtyards, markets and shops […]. Visitors will feel as though they have returned to one of the most exciting periods of British History to see ‘The Best and Worst of Times’ as they immerse themselves in the imposing architecture and street scenes […].
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