Losing the Plot: Film and Feeling in the Modern Novel

The relationship between literature and classical Hollywood cinema reveals a profound longing for plot in modernist fiction, even as twentieth-century writers pushed against the constraints of plot-driven Victorian novels. Pardis Dabashi links the moviegoing practices of these writers to the tensions between the formal properties of their novels and the characters in them, reminding them of what they were leaving behind.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 304 pages
Publication date: 28 November 2023
Publisher: The University of Chicago Press

The intricate interplay between literature and classical Hollywood cinema unveils a profound yearning for narrative in modernist fiction. While the modernist novel aimed to break free from the perceived "tyranny" of plot, it found itself grappling with the enduring influence of another medium: cinema. By examining the works of Nella Larsen, Djuna Barnes, and William Faulkner, renowned authors with close affinities to classical Hollywood, Pardis Dabashi establishes a captivating connection between these writers' moviegoing habits and the tensions between the formal characteristics of their novels and the characters they portray. Despite the absence of overtly happy endings in classical Hollywood films, they frequently offered satisfying formal resolutions and propagated normative social and political values. As modernist authors immersed themselves in these cinematic experiences, they were struck by the contrast between what they were leaving behind, both in terms of formal experimentation and artistic avant-garde, and the narrative structures prevalent in classical Hollywood cinema. This introspection prompted them to reevaluate the role of plot in their own writing and to explore new avenues for artistic expression that would allow them to transcend the limitations imposed by traditional storytelling.

Dimension: 229 x 152 x 25 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780226829258