Deja View: Cultural Functions of Hollywood Remakes
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
DEJA VIEW: CULTURAL FUNCTIONS OF HOLLYWOOD REMAKES A Dissertation Submitted to the Temple University Graduate Board In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy by Melissa Lenos May, 2009 ii © By Melissa Lenos 2009 All Rights Reserved iii ABSTRACT Title: Deja View: Cultural Functions of Hollywood Remakes Candidate’s Name: Melissa Lenos Degree: Doctor of Philosophy Temple University, 2009 Doctoral Advisory Committee Chair: Dr. Carolyn Kitch This dissertation examines Hollywood remakes of US films in order to discern how the narrative and formal modifications between originals and remakes are analogous across sets of films. Performing a discourse analysis that utilizes theories of popular culture and social memory, I argue that the patterns of changes confirm that remakes fulfill some functions of modern-day folktales: stories that are adapted for the needs and interests of their contemporary audiences but that simultaneously tend to reaffirm and promote traditional ideologies. By analyzing shifts and alterations in narrative, visual and structural tropes and changes in trends of representation, I examine the ways in which such phenomena as political and social movements and historic events are depicted and consider what cultural needs these representations may fulfill for their audiences. My process was driven by several research questions. First, what kinds of films get remade? Secondly, what are the differences in content and structure in each set of films analyzed in this study and what are the relationships between the remakes and their original source films? Finally, my primary questions are: how do narrative structures, characterizations and plots change or stabilize within the same story over time? How can we utilize these changes and constants to identify the cultural functions remakes may serve that make them so prevalent right now? iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I have been considering film remakes, in one form or another, for several years. As a Master’s student, I presented a paper on the Mighty Joe Young films for the James Snead Memorial Conference at the University of Pittsburgh. Upon arriving at Temple for my doctoral work, I realized that I was still fascinated by the topic and wrote a series of seminar papers for Professors Carolyn Kitch and Andy Mendelson; these papers became the starting point of this dissertation. I could not have completed this project without Professor Kitch, who has served as my advisor, mentor and role model for the past five years. Working with her has been an honor and I look forward to my own career as faculty so that I might attempt to continue her tradition of challenging pedagogy and guidance paired with outstanding scholarship. I am deeply indebted to Professors Fabienne Darling-Wolf and Michael Ryan for serving as members of my committee, and also to Professor Lucy Fischer for serving as my outside reader. All three provided feedback that greatly improved this project, my writing and my approach to the dissertation process. Other members of the Temple community have leant support and inspiration, including Denise Lannon, Rebekah Buchanan, Dan Gallagher, Professors Andy Mendelson, Bonnie Brennan, Frank Bramblett, Nancy Morris, Paul Swann, Philip Glahn, Chris Cagle, Lori Salem and Roderick Coover. Additional thanks to Professor Noël Carroll, who served on my committee during his time at Temple; an independent study with Professor Carroll also helped me to build the groundwork for this project. Professor Colin MacCabe of the University of v Pittsburgh started me in the direction of remakes years ago, during our work on the Snead Conference and over several conversations on race representation in film. I am grateful to the Mass Media and Communication program, Film and Media Arts Department and Temple’s Writing Center for providing me with funding opportunities. My students, particularly in my Fall 2008 Rethinking Remakes course, offered lively conversation and fresh viewpoints on the films. They kept this project from becoming stale with their enthusiasm. My colleagues in graduate school have kept me intellectually aware, sane and thoroughly entertained. Particular thanks and socmel to Kelly Ryan, Dawn Gilpin, Rick Popp, Heather Muse, Guillermo Avila-Saavedra, Dianne Garyantes and Rebecca Hains. My former classmates from the University of Pittsburgh, particularly Amanda Ann Klein, Kara Andersen, Kirsten Strayer and Richard Purcell have remained an integral part of my support system over the years. Thank you all for your motivation and encouragement. Finally, I am indebted to Corey Antis for constantly providing me with support and insight. Thank you for always asking for my best work, for your ideas and editing skills, for everything. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT .................................................................................................................iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .......................................................................................... v LIST OF FIGURES ...................................................................................................viii CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION................................................................................. 1 CHAPTER 2: KING KONG (1933, 1976, 2005).......................................................... 36 CHAPTER 3: THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE (1962, 2004).............................. 57 CHAPTER 4: REAR WINDOW (1954) AND DISTURBIA (2007) ............................ 74 CHAPTER 5: GUESS WHO’S COMING TO DINNER (1967, 2005)........................ 96 CHAPTER 6: ROLLERBALL (1975, 2002).............................................................. 116 CHAPTER 7: CONCLUSION ................................................................................. 131 APPENDIX A: EXISTING REMAKE TAXONOMIES......................................... 144 APPENDIX B: PERMISSIONS .............................................................................. 145 BIBLIOGRAPHY ..................................................................................................... 148 vii LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1.1: Graph of remake trends 19 Figure 1.2: Leonard Cohn, Variety 24 Figure 2.1: Table, King Kong comparisons 39 Figure 2.2: Screen captures; Les Maitres Fous, King Kong 48 Figure 3.1: Table, Manchurian Candidate comparisons 59 Figure 3.2: Screen captures, The Manchurian Candidate 65 Figure 3.3: Screen captures, The Manchurian Candidate 67 Figure 4.1: Table, Rear Window/Disturbia comparisons 76 Figure 4.2: Diagram, the panopticon 77 Figure 4.3: Diagram, Rear Window 80 Figure 4.4: Diagram, Disturbia 84 Figure 5.1: Table, Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner/Guess Who comparisons 98 Figure 5.2: Promotional posters, Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner, Guess Who 111 Figure 6.1: Table, Rollerball comparisons 119 Figure 6.2: Screen capture, Rollerball 120 Figure 6.3: Screen capture, Rollerball 121 Figure 7.1: Annie Leibovitz, Vogue 132 viii CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION This project grew out of the critical and popular press backlash against the current Hollywood remake trend. Remakes increased in prevalence in the early 2000s and the general public reaction has been frustration tinged with outrage represented by the all- purpose explanation that Hollywood has “run out of ideas” and that remaking is a “one-way process: a movement from authenticity to imitation, from the superior self-identity of the original to the debased resemblance of the copy.”1 Critics have dismissed the trend as indicative of remakes earning more at the box office than original films, or costing less to make. As a result of a general sense of dismissal, there is very little scholarship focusing on US remakes of US films; the majority of remake studies address US remakes of foreign films – particularly French, Japanese and Hong Kong Chinese. The lack of scholarship on Hollywood remakes creates an unfortunate gap; the films offer an opportunity to explore the industry’s methods of updating stories and the updates themselves reveal telling shifts in cultural needs and desires. As a starting point, I analyze the true cost and box office of remakes, track trends in Hollywood film remakes over time and then closely examine five Hollywood films and their remakes. This is an effort to understand the occurrence of remake production at particular periods in US film history, especially in recent years, and the relationships between remakes and their source materials. The goal of this project is to discern whether remakes and their source films function as, contemporary folktales: retellings of stories that mirror the concerns and reinforce the ideologies of their cultural moment. By analyzing shifts and alterations in narrative, visual and structural tropes and changes in trends of representation, I hope to 1 discover whether and how historic events (such as war and national tragedies) and political and social movements noticeably and consistently influence which films get remade during particular time periods and what those remakes look like.2 My process was driven by several research questions. First, what kinds of films get remade (in terms of genre, box office, target audience, and other factors)? On a surface level, the films being remade are the same types of films that are being produced in general: films aimed at children, tweens and teens and the Golden Demographic of men 18-34 make up a large number – projects such as Charlotte’s Web, The Omen, Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Flicka. Secondly, what are the differences in content