Britain colonized : Hollywood's appropriation of British literature /

With this exploration of the "Hollywoodization" of British literature, Jeffers (English, Cleveland State Univ.) makes a vital addition to the literature on the growing fields of visual rhetoric, transatlantic studies, and cultural studies. Film criticism abounds in discussions of the ways in which Hollywood film sanctions American ideology; Jeffers's study is distinct because it concentrates on the influence of the Hollywood paradigm on perceptions of Britain, a country usually conceived of as a companion nation to the US. Examining Hollywood adaptations of British novels--including Kazuo Ishiguro's The Remains of the Day, A. S. Byatt's Possession, Michael Ondaatje's The English Patient, and Irvine Welsh's Trainspotting--Jeffers argues that the cinematic versions depict positive analogies for mainstream American identity and politics while at the same time skirting the British themes and issues found in the novels. By coupling micro readings that reflect on the narratological transformations of one medium to the other with macro readings that account for specific economic and social contexts, Jeffers positions her argument at the intersection of poststructuralist, Marxist, and psychoanalytic theories. Indeed, her ability to mesh abstract theory with concrete example allows for a book that is thoughtful, complex, and completely lucid--though best suited to specialists. ^BSumming Up: Highly recommended. Graduate students, researchers, and faculty. S. Mahato University of Puget Sound