Fetishized writing in The English Patient and Atonement film adaptations

Cynthia Beatrice Costa

doi:10.5007/2175-8026.2021.e75946

Authors

Cynthia Beatrice Costa Universidade Federal de Uberlândia https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3063-0121

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5007/2175-8026.2021.e75946

Abstract

Reading and writing-related objects, whether in the form of books, letters,
or typewriters, are central elements in the films The English Patient,
by Anthony Minghella (1996), and Atonement, by Joe Wright (2007),
both adapted from novels. By drawing similarities between these two
adaptations (Hutcheon 2013; Elleström 2017), the present text illustrates
how written words and writing-related objects can be cinematically
fetishized (Apter 1991; Mulvey 1996). It also suggests why, despite being
capable of existing as autonomous creations, both films proudly maintain
a tight connection with their source novels, thus standing as purposeful
doubles.

Author Biography

Cynthia Beatrice Costa, Universidade Federal de Uberlândia

Mestre em literatura e crítica literária pela Pontifícia Universidade Católica de São Paulo (PUC-SP) e doutora em Estudos da Tradução pela Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina (UFSC). Professora do curso de Tradução da Universidade Federal de Uberlândia (UFU) e membro permanente da Pós-Graduação em Estudos Literários (PPLET-UFU) e da Pós-Graduação em Estudos da Tradução (PGET-UFSC).

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