Reel Reads
The School of Arts and Communication will be hosting an evening of discussion on A Christmas Carol in the Link Room on the 2nd floor of the Evans Library on Tuesday, Nov. 27 at 6:30pm as part of our new Reel Reads series on film and literature.
The idea for this series came about during a meeting of some of our literature faculty and then I suggested the name Reel Reads -- that’s r-e-e-l -- wordplay that’s meant to evoke a film reel and also highlight our choice of films that have been adapted from texts. We kicked off this series last month just before Halloween with a discussion on The Shining.
To clarify, these events, are not film screenings. Our intention is to provide a space for discussion and analysis of key scenes from the film, or in the case of A Christmas Carol -- scenes from multiple film adaptations.
There are so many versions of this 1843 classic by Charles Dickens. We plan to organize the event on November 27 with a 3-part structure:
I. Classic film adaptations
A. A Christmas Carol starring George C. Scott (1984)
B. A Christmas Carol starring Patrick Stewart (1999)
II. Comedic adaptations
A. A Diva's Christmas Carol starring Vanessa Williams (2000)
B. A Carol Christmas starring Tori Spelling and William Shatner (2003)
III. Derivative Works
A. Scrooged starring Bill Murray (1988)
B. The Man Who Invented Christmas starring Christopher Plummer and Dan Stevens (2017)
We’ll start with some brief background info on Dickens, Victorian London, and the stage history before moving on to our clips and discussion questions.
We’re also starting to plan ahead for next year with ideas for events on The Great Gatsby, the stories of Edgar Allan Poe on screen, and Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, just to name a few.
In fact, long term, I see this series in 2020 as being part of our centennial celebration, marking the 100th anniversary of the passage of the 19th Amendment, guaranteeing women the right to vote. We’ll feature a film/text each month that highlights the contributions of women both in front of and behind the camera, as well as writers, journalists, and historical figures.
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