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Ma-Dissertation-October-2010.Pdf Acknowledgements Firstly, I would like to express my eternal gratitude to Imelda Whelehan, a font of all knowledge and the bearer of extensive wisdom. Heidi Macpherson, for valuable feedback throughout the MA, in particular this dissertation, and for the loan of various Atwood resources. Alfie, my constant four-legged companion, who despite being unable to provide any feedback or guidance on my writing, has fuelled my imagination and been a source of inspiration and motivation during lengthy walks through the landscape of Birmingham and beyond. Various friends, family and work colleagues who have endured lengthy periods of my academic absorption and inability to attend various occasions. Finally, and the most sincerest of thanks of all, to Chris Cuthbert for the continual emotional support throughout the past two years and providing me with the encouragement to persevere. To all of the above, the warmest of thanks and here’s to the possibility of a utopian future! *Front cover image from Metropolis, Fritz Lang, 1927 2 Abstract Adaptation studies is an evolving multidisciplinary field that continues to provide much critical academic debate regarding a definitive theory of literary adaptation. Current studies within the field, not only reveal a lack of consideration of critical analysis of dystopian literary adaptations, but also neglect to consider the marginalised sub-genre of feminist dystopias and the representation of women within filmic adaptations. The purpose of this dissertation, therefore, is to explore this seemingly neglected area by providing an insight into dystopian literary adaptations and how the presentation of the female character is transferred from text to screen. The first chapter explores the genre of the dystopia, both within literature and film, in order to provide a basis for the ensuing critical analysis. I will consider two texts that are often regarded as feminist dystopias, Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale (1985) and Ira Levin’s The Stepford Wives (1972) and their respective adaptations, Volker Schlöndorff’s The Handmaid’s Tale (1990), Brian Forbes’s The Stepford Wives (1975) and Frank Oz’s The Stepford Wives (2004). Each text/adaptation will be discussed to establish where within the genre it can be positioned and will then be examined within its historical context and in relation to the feminist movement. Chapter two contains a thorough analysis of both The Handmaid’s Tale and The Stepford Wives in terms of how the respective adaptations represent women on screen in terms of identity, status, and role. This particular chapter begins with a consideration of feminist film theory, predominantly using the work of Laura Mulvey and her inferences to the “gaze” within cinema, and how this relates to the presentation of women on screen. An in-depth consideration of central female characters ensues, with reference to the protagonist, matriarch and the subversive/feminist. This chapter will seek to highlight the patriarchal ideology of the utopian female as portrayed in both text and adaptation. 3 The final chapter reveals the problematical nature of film production regarding the transferral of text to screen, with particular reference to the potential issue of gender bias, not only in the direction of adaptations, but also the authorship of the precursor text. The primary aim of the chapter is to establish the potential failure of the feminist dystopian literary adaptation due to gender influence from authorship to the production stage. In the conclusion, I will assess the success of the dystopian literary adaptation in (re)presenting women on screen and to what extent gender through production has playing a role in the adaptation’s potential success or failure. I will also assess how far the media have moved on from Levin’s original text in 1975 to the present in terms of the presentation of women on screen. 4 Contents Page Acknowledgements 2 Abstract 3 Table of Contents 5 List of Figures 7 1. Introduction 8 2. Dystopia as Genre 10 2.1 Utopia and the feminist text 10 2.2 Critical utopia 11 2.3 The dystopian genre 12 2.3.1 Dystopia in literature 12 2.3.2 Critical dystopia 14 2.3.3 Feminist dystopia 16 2.3.4 Ambiguity of the genre 20 2.3.5 The persistence of hope 20 2.4 Dystopian literary adaptations 22 3. (Re)presentation of Women 26 3.1 Male and female “gaze” 26 3.2 Giving the female role a “name” 28 3.3 The status of the female 31 3.4 (Re)presentation of individual female roles 37 3.4.1 The protagonist 38 3.4.2 Passivity of the protagonist 43 3.4.3 Mentality of the protagonist 46 3.4.4 The mother or matriarch 49 3.4.5 The subversive/feminist 53 3.5 Sexuality and reproduction 57 3.6 Physicality and the body 59 3.7 The idea of the “perfect” woman 62 4. Adaptation as Process 68 4.1 Sexuality versus textuality 69 4.2 Patriarchal domination of the film industry 71 4.3 Collaborative nature of the film industry 72 4.4 Cinematic standardisation 73 4.5 Harking back to the past (rather than the future) 77 4.6 Historical context 78 4.7 Interiority of character 80 5. Conclusion 84 5 Bibliography 86 Filmography 92 Appendices Appendix 1: Dystopian Sub-genres 97 Appendix 2: Dystopian Text/Adaptation/Feminism Timeline 98 Appendix 3: Character Mapping 100 Appendix 4: The Handmaid’s Tale: Hierarchy of Women 101 Appendix 5: The Handmaid’s Tale Film Posters 102 Appendix 6: Science-fiction Adaptations, 1980 to Present, USA 103 Box Office Revenues 6 List of Figures Page 1 Components of the feminist dystopia 21 2 Joanna as blank-eyed automaton, The Stepford Wives, 1975 32 3 Woman as protector of literature, Fahrenheit 451, 1966 32 4 Colour coding of the women of Gilead, The Handmaid’s Tale, 35 1990 5 Kate (Offred), The Handmaid’s Tale, 1990 40 6 Joanna Eberhart, The Stepford Wives, 1975 41 7 Dale Coba’s voyeuristic view of Joanna, The Stepford Wives, 42 1975 8 Joanna Eberhart, The Stepford Wives, 2004 42 9 Joanna and the psychiatrist, The Stepford Wives, 1975 47 10 Aerial shot of Kate (Offred), The Handmaid’s Tale, 1990 48 11 Joanna following her nervous collapse, The Stepford Wives, 2004 48 12 Kate’s anguish as mother, The Handmaid’s Tale, 1990 50 13 Serena Joy as matriarch, The Handmaid’s Tale, 1990 50 14 Voyeuristic view of the Eberhart family, The Stepford Wives, 1975 51 15 Carol Van Sant, The Stepford Wives, 1975 51 16 Claire Wellington, The Stepford Wives, 2004 52 17 Moira as alternative Handmaid, The Handmaid’s Tale, 1990 54 18 Moira’s escape (bathroom scene), The Handmaid’s Tale, 1990 55 19 Kate through the rear view mirror, The Handmaid’s Tale, 1990 55 20 The transformation of Bobbie, The Stepford Wives, 2004 56 21 The “Ceremony” - Serena Joy’s POV, The Handmaid’s Tale, 1990 58 22 Voyeuristic sex scene, The Handmaid’s Tale, 1990 58 23 Kate naked at bedroom window, The Handmaid’s Tale, 1990 60 24 Joanna and Bobbie, masculinised clothing, The Stepford Wives, 61 1975 25 Ike Mazzard’s sketch of Joanna, The Stepford Wives, 1975 61 26 The robot Maria, Metropolis, 1927 63 27 Moloko Bar, A Clockwork Orange, 1971 65 28 A mannequin crossing the road, The Stepford Wives, 1975 65 29 Wife as cash machine, The Stepford Wives, 2004 66 30 The Men’s Association, The Stepford Wives, 1975 74 31 Supermarket scene, The Stepford Wives, 1975 74 32 Woman hanging - the Salvagings, The Handmaid’s Tale, 1990 76 33 USA/UK film poster, The Handmaid’s Tale 76 34 Opening sequence of Pleasantville, 1998 78 35 Opening sequence of The Stepford Wives, 2004 78 36 Kate’s view of “unwomen” from the bus, The Handmaid’s Tale 81 37 Voyeuristic view of Joanna, The Stepford Wives, 1975 82 7 1. Introduction I wait. I compose myself. My self is a thing I must now compose, as one composes a speech. What I must present is a made thing, not something born.1 When you come back, there will be a woman with my name and my face, she'll cook and clean like crazy, but she won't take pictures and SHE WON'T BE ME!2 At the time of the publication of Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale, there was evidently only one previous text subsumed within the sub-genre of the feminist dystopia, Ira Levin’s The Stepford Wives. Several years later with the premiere of Volker Schlondorff’s adaptation of Atwood’s text in 1990, comparisons between the two texts continued to be made with Rita Kempley’s film review stating: Volker Schlöndorff’s numbing adaptation of “The Handmaid’s Tale” finds the Stepford Wives alive and well and living in the not-too-distant futuristic Republic of Gilead. 3 There are frequent considerations of the similarities between The Handmaid’s Tale to Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four due to their dystopian nature but there are insufficient analyses of the inherent feminist themes within either text, in particular The Handmaid’s Tale. In this context, The Stepford Wives can be deemed a more appropriate text for comparison. The central themes of both texts revealing the patriarchal subjugation of the female via social and cultural coercion or by technological means within a futuristic bleak landscape. The respective adaptations of the texts should elevate the marginalised genre of the feminist dystopia, and indeed the dystopian genre as a whole, from its inferior status within literature by presenting contemporary and historical reflections on the status of society and women.
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