Local flavors and regional markers : The Low Countries and their commercially driven and proximity-focused film remake practice

The practice of Dutch-Flemish film remaking that came into existence in the new millennium quickly appeared to be of great importance in the film industries of Flanders and The Netherlands – and consequently of Europe. Inspired by methods used in television (format) studies, this article conducts a systematic comparative film analysis of nine Dutch-Flemish remakes together with their nine source films. Considering the remake as a prism that aids in dissecting different formal, transtextual, and cultural codes, and subsequently embedding the practice in its specific socio-cultural and industrial context, we found several similarities and differences between the Dutch and Flemish film versions and showed how these can be made sense of. More generally, we distilled two encompassing principles that administer the remake practice: even though a great deal of the remake process can be explained through the concept of localization – or, more precisely, through the concepts of ‘manufacturing proximity’ and ‘banal aboutness’ – we found that it should certainly not be limited to these processes – as both (trans)textual, such as the mechanism of ‘filling in the gaps’, and contextual elements were found

The Faculty Notebook, September 2019

The Faculty Notebook is published periodically by the Office of the Provost at Gettysburg College to bring to the attention of the campus community accomplishments and activities of academic interest. Faculty are encouraged to submit materials for consideration for publication to the Associate Provost for Faculty Development. Copies of this publication are available at the Office of the Provost

Film Adaption and Transnational Cultures or Production: The Case of Guillermo Arriaga

The circulation of Latin American cinema in a transnational context has widened the options that actors and directors from the region have regarding their involvement in the different aspects of film production. In order to analyze Guillermo Arriaga’s transnational career as a writer of novels and screenplays I contrast his work with that of other writers and filmmakers who have participated in both the cinematic and literary fields. The fact that Arriaga has crossed the lines between writing, adapting, and directing his own works in Spanish and English leads me to review the current relations of film and literature in general. Finally, by comparing Arriaga’s novels and films, I propose that the contemporary practice of film adaptation contributes to the “flexibilization” in the roles writers, actors, and directors play in filmmaking and in the circulation of cultural capital between film and literature in the current media markets

Thumb Sticks and Hand Grenades : An Analysis of War and Perspectives in Video Games

Throughout Thumb Sticks and Hand Grenades, I seek to examine the role American Exceptionalism plays within the player’s perspective of war narratives in Halo: Combat Evolved, Halo 2, Wolfenstein: The New Order, and Wolfenstein: The New Colossus. Using a theoretical lens I call ludo-narrative war theory, I am able to fully understand the above-listed games’ narrative, player perspectives, and positions in relationship to the wider war narrative and how the games reflect a wider understanding of war, American Exceptionalism, and societal issues prevalent in the analog world. When these facets of the games are analyzed I am able to show that they exist as cultural artifacts that exhibit the fears, societal shortcomings, and issues of the cultures in which they were created. With Halo: Combat Evolved and Halo 2 this analysis shows the issues that are inherent in blindly drawing lines between who is friend and foe, and it shows the issues that arise when American Exceptionalism gets in the way of allowing those othered to step in and help in times of war. Moreover, in Wolfenstein: The New Order and The New Colossus this analysis shows that the rise and fall of American Exceptionalism coincides with a blinded view of who the American Dream is truly created for, and that Exceptionalism can only be regained through a changing of that Dream on every level of society. By analyzing these four games together I show a common thread among video games as cultural artifacts, in that they show players the state of the world in which they live and what transformations must be made to reverse the cultural slopes they depict. Ultimately, Halo and Wolfenstein provide examples of the cautionary tales the war narratives provide in video games, and what follows are analyses of those narratives and player perspectives in video games