The Cinematic Novel and Postmodern Pop Fiction : The Case of Manuel Puig

Décio Torres Cruz approaches connections between literature and cinema partly through issues of gender and identity, and partly through issues of reality and representation. In doing so, he looks at the various ways in which people have thought of the so-called cinematic novel, tracing the development of that genre concept not only in the French ciné-roman and film scenarios but also in novels from the United States, England, France, and Latin America. The main tendency he identifies is the blending of the cinematic novel with pop literature, through allusions to Pop Art and other postmodern cultural trends. His prime exhibits are a number of novels by the Argentinian writer Manuel Puig: Betrayed by Rita Hayworth ; Heartbreak Tango ; The Buenos Aires Affair ; Kiss of the Spider Woman ; and Pubis angelical . Bringing in suggestive sociocultural and psychoanalytical considerations, Cruz shows how, in Puig’s hands, the cinematic novel resulted in a pop collage of different texts, films, discourses, and narrative devices which fused reality and imagination into dream and desire. The Cinematic Novel and Postmodern Pop Fiction Editorial page Advisory board Title page Copyright page Dedication Table of contents Series editor’s preface Acknowledgements Introduction Chapter 1. The cinema(tic) novel: Definitions and brief historical overview Closet screenplay, Lesedrama or Lesenscenario and novelization Pre-cinema or proto-film literature The influence of cinema on the modern novel: A brief historical overview The French tradition of film scenarios and ciné-roman The nouveau roman British and American cinematic novels: A critical perspective Brief review of critical and analytical material on Puig’s cinematic novels Chapter 2. Pop Art and Puig’s polyphonic pop narrative Pop Art and pop literature Culture and the film industry: Kitsch and the democratization of art and culture Puig’s pop techniques and irreverence Puig’s carnivalized pop style Chapter 3. From reel to real: The fusion of reality and fiction in Puig’s cinematic discourse in Betrayed by Rita Hayworth Film in an author’s life The prelude to a kiss: Film in characters’ lives in Betrayed by Rita Hayworth Chapter 4. Dancing a Heartbreak Tango with Hollywood stars and their Boquitas Pintadas Chapter 5. The Buenos Aires Affair Chapter 6. The Spider Woman’s polyphonic web of desire Chapter 7. Puig’s characters and their mythical identity in Pubis angelical The plot, themes and labyrinthine cinematic structure of the novel Mythical identities Conclusion Works cited Appendix. Puig’s timeline Index "Décio Torres Cruz approaches connections between literature and cinema partly through issues of gender and identity, and partly through issues of reality and representation. In doing so, he looks at the various ways in which people have thought of the so-called cinematic novel, tracing the development of that genre concept not only in the French ciné-roman and film scenarios but also in novels from the United States, England, France, and Latin America. The main tendency he identifies is the blending of the cinematic novel with pop literature, through allusions to Pop Art and other postmodern cultural trends. His prime exhibits are a number of novels by the Argentinian writer Manuel Puig: Betrayed by Rita Hayworth; Heartbreak Tango; The Buenos Aires Affair; Kiss of the Spider Woman; and Pubis angelical. Bringing in suggestive sociocultural and psychoanalytical considerations, Cruz shows how, in Puig's hands, the cinematic novel resulted in a pop collage of different texts, films, discourses, and narrative devices which fused reality and imagination into dream and desire"-- Provided by publisher