A Critical Companion to Julie Taymor (Critical Companions to Contemporary Directors)

Contributors to this collection examine issues of creativity, gender, sexuality, and adaptation by focusing on themes from Julie Taymor’s oeuvre including martyrdom, musicality, fidelity, postmodern representations, feminism and queerness, identity, desire, trauma, revenge, hybridity, and obscenity. Cover Half Title Series Page Title Page Copyright Page Dedication Introduction Notes References Part I: Creativity Chapter 1: Julie Taymor’s Frida: A Two-Way Mirror on Female Creativity Life and Art between Fact and Fiction Pain as Art: The Artist’s Martyred Body Inside the Artist’s Mind The Two Fridas: Mirrors, Self-Portraits, and Fragmented Subjects Notes References Chapter 2: “We Can Work It Out”: Reassessing Musicality, Fidelity and Excess in Across the Universe Authoring the Universe: Taymor Versus the Weight of Beatles Canon Defining the Universe: Across the Universe and the Musical Sounds of the Universe: Song, Placement, and Meaning(s) Redefining the Universe: Across the Universe and Failure Conclusion Notes References Chapter 3: From Historical Relevance to Postmodern Revisionism: The Case of Julie Taymor’s Titus Introduction: Sifting Comedy from Tragedy in Titus Andronicus The Search for Relevance in Julie Taymor’s Titus The Tragicomic Narrative: Dehumanization and Rehumanization Conclusion: Tragicomedy as a Dialectical Problem Notes References Chapter 4: Across the Universe: How Political Mood Shapes Viewers’ Choices and Box Office Success Across the Jukebox Musical Initial Reception Explaining the Transformation Art, Politics, and 9/11 Isolation vs. Leadership Reality vs. Artifice AtU as a Cult Classic? Notes References Part II: Gender and Sexuality Chapter 5: Disruptive Desires and Creative Transgressions in Julie Taymor’s Across the Universe Notes References Chapter 6: Framing a Feminist: Vehicles, Bodies, and Clothing as Biography in The Glorias Gloria’s Garage: Vehicles, Worldviews, and Destinations The Greyhound Bus and the “Road Less Traveled” Steinemite and the Family Wagon: Windows and Worldviews The Womens’ Railway Car and the Bull-Drawn Carriage: Learning about the Ethnographic Gaze Sharing Cabs in the Big City: On Gender Stratification Gloria’s Closet: Womens’ Uniforms, Womens’ Personas Some Lasting Thoughts on Gloria’s Biography of Things Notes References Chapter 7: Frida: Creativity, Trauma, and the Woman Artist The Trolley Accident Miscarriage and Henry Ford Hospital Frida in the Age of #MeToo Notes References Chapter 8: Why Feminism? An Examination of the Philosophy of Gender in The Glorias The Odd Dance of Life: Gender as a Social Construct Another Kind of Bullshit: The Subjection of Women We Had Abortions: Seizing the Means of Reproduction Ms. Steinem: Women as Other Feminism at a Crossroads: Butler’s Queer Theory Conclusion Notes References Chapter 9: Wanton Boys: Queering Childhood and Youth in Julie Taymor’s Titus Notes References Part III: Adaptation Chapter 10: Fool’s Fire, Titus, The Tempest: Revenge in the Films of Julie Taymor Fool’s Fire Titus The Tempest Notes References Chapter 11: From Titus to Tempest: Taymor’s Divergent Lenses on Shakespeare Adapting Early Modern Theatricality in Titus Embracing a Cinematic View in The Tempest Notes References Chapter 12: Hybridity and Self-Reflexivity in Julie Taymor’s Film of A Midsummer Night’s Dream Notes References Chapter 13: Compulsive Symbolizations: Scenes of Power, Figuration, and Ob/Scenity in Titus Beyond Pastiche and Cliché A Theater of Cruelty Staging Violence: Unconscious Scenes as Power Ecologies of In/Visibility The Scenes of Shakespeare: Pastiche, Synecdoche, and Off Space Taymor’s Scenes: Ideographs, Layers, and the Postmodern Unconscious The Dawn of Humankind Notes References Index About the Contributors A Critical Companion to Julie Taymor is the most updated and holistic volume on the director currently published. Situating Taymor's work within the intersections of story and spectacle, contributors to this collection examine issues of creativity, gender, sexuality, and adaptation by focusing on themes from Taymor's oeuvre including martyrdom, musicality, fidelity, postmodern representations, feminism and queerness, identity, desire, trauma, revenge, hybridity, and obscenity. The result reveals Julie Taymor to be a globally-influenced American director who exhibits and exemplifies the authentic artistry of ingenious storytelling and deserves scholarly attention. This work will be of particular interest to scholars of film, philosophy, popular culture, gender, feminisms, and queer identities.