ARTICLES

ARTICLES


By edward stanley 23 Jan, 2024
Fancy Having Your Portrait Done?
By edward stanley 23 Jan, 2024
The structure of storytelling

ACADEMIC PAPERS


By edward stanley 23 Jan, 2024
In this essay I will discuss how a genre can be deconstructed by its codes and conventions and consider how a story can be transformed into another genre by reference to their respective codes and conventions CONTENT Example of Text Transformation Essay on Genre Deconstruction Appendices References Bibliography Transformation from the western to the science fiction genre Transformed from Riders of the Purple Sage (Grey, 1998) Chapter 1 As the soft whirling sound of the Helitran died away, the cloud of yellow dust, disturbed by its helium thrusters, quickly settled back on the surface of the dense planet. The Driftrider came to warn her of the approaching fleet from Settlement as Jinda Cintarion gazed thoughtfully through the viewing portal; following the ground craft’s path across the desert landscape where the seams of purple Strantium, exposed by drift mining, glittered in the bright light of Solus as its orbit arched towards the horizon. The Caspian Elders disapproved of her friendship with Outlanders, Valimar in particular; a young Driftrider she had grown fond of who sometimes helped her in the Agrophonic garden. The riches of the planet Cintar, named after her father who had founded the Caspian settlement in this remote end of Alpha Centuri on the outer reaches of the galaxy, now belonged to her. Its vast resources, including the rich seams of Strantium, a source of power traded throughout the galaxy, had provided enough wealth to build a paradise on this otherwise desolate world and the Agrophonic Plant, controlled by Jinda, provided all that was needed to sustain life for the whole community, creating an easy and peaceful life for the Caspian settlers. Other Caspian settlements had followed on neighbouring planets in this frontier world, but by the beginning of the 35th millennium Outlanders had begun to settle on these Caspian planets and raiding parties of space pirates found easy pickings, causing the peace-loving Caspians to rise-up against these unwanted intrusions. She feared this unrest was about to land on her own docking bay. The living pod filled with the comforting sounds of the rain cycle in the Agrophonic garden as Jinda linked her mind to the viewing portal controls and began to drift across the purple seams of Strantium into the vast yellow desert beyond. Swooping over the horizon, she drifted through the frontier worlds of Alpha Centura. First, Sangras, with its red rocks and sparse vegetation, home to the second Caspian settlement, then sweeping past the mystical rings of Janus, its broken rock surface just visible through the purple haze as the illusive beauty of the gas planet Cupiran crept in from above, filling the screen with ethereal light before drifting out of view to reveal the canyon planet, Iveron, hiding its secrets behind grey escarpments and purple turrets. Sweeping back to Caspian, now a twilight world as Solus dips below the horizon and Montas begins its gentle arc across the empty sky, the two satellites drawing life giving energy from a distant sun. Her father designed this life-support system, inspired by stories in Caspian folk law about a long-forgotten mother planet. The swish of an airlock announced the arrival of her visitors and Jinda made her way to the landing bay to greet them. There were seven men, led by the high ranking Krull, dressed in the dark blue and silver of a Caspian Elder. The rest wore the grey tunics of plant workers with the Caspian seal on their arm. Krull’s harsh voice rang across the empty space. ‘You disobeyed me.’ ‘Yes,’ replied Jinda, quietly. ‘Where is he?’ Jinda hesitated, ‘In the Agrophonic garden.’ Krull turned to the others. ‘Fetch him. Stun him if you need to.’ ‘Are you arresting Valimar?’ demanded Jinda. ‘What if I am?’ ‘It’s against the code. He is under my protection.’ ‘Why do you protect this… worthless Outlander.’ ‘Worthless! He is the best Driftrider this side of Iveron.’ ‘It seems you have feelings for this… boy.’ ‘That’s non…’ started Jinda angrily. ‘off my business? All life on Cintar is my business. ‘Then consider the life of Lia. Valimar saved her and brought her under my protection.’ ‘It seems you are favouring these Outlanders over your own people.’ Jinda saw no reason why the Caspian code of peaceful co-existence should not include the less fortunate Outlanders. ‘You forget my father was an Elder, I know the code better than any,’ responded Jinda confidently, ‘the Caspian way is a life of peace and goodwill to all.’ ‘And you forget your place. You may own most of Cintar and its riches, but as a Caspian woman, you rank not only below me, but below all Caspian men.’ Frustrated and angry, Jinda knew what Krull said to be true and kept silent. Seeing he had won the argument Krull softened his approach, yet remained arrogant. ‘I have no particular objections to you having Lia under your protection. She is young enough to be taught the Caspian way, but Valimar must be punished for his actions.’ ‘Punished for what, the fighting in Settlement? He was not involved. He bears no weapons while under my protection and he has never left my side in the last ten orbits.’ ‘It seems your misplaced loyalty is born out of love for this man.’ ‘And your actions are born out of jealousy.’ ‘Either way it is this Outlander who will pay the price.’ Anguished cries proceeded Valimar as he was led into the landing bay, his powerful body straining against the cyber beam that locked his arms to his side. The clinical uniforms of the Caspians contrasted with his rag-tag clothing, torn from the struggle, ‘Will you leave Cintar today and never return?’ demanded Krull. ‘Why should I,’ responded Valimar, defiantly. ‘I worked a claim out beyond the purple plain, earned respect in Settlement and owned the fastest Helitran on the planet. You took it all from me and treated me like a space bandit. Only the kindness of this woman saved my life.’ ‘Only Caspians can mine the Strantium.’ ‘I was mining Prolium, not Strantium. I did no harm.’ ‘So you say, but mining is mining. You broke the code and paid the price. Will you swear now to leave Cintar and never return?’ ‘So you can have Jinda for yourself: her lands, the riches of her Strantium mines, her… beauty,’ said Valimar, looking directly at Jinda, who turned away, blushing. ‘Do you love her?’ he demanded of Krull. ‘Love…?’ pondered Krull. ‘Jinda, and everything she owns, belongs to the community. Whoever she pairs with controls her and all her possessions. It is the Caspian way.’ ‘I will never leave her,’ protested Valimar. ‘Then you must suffer the consequences.’ Two men fitted a cerebral probe around Valimar’s head. It hummed with latent energy, silver lights pulsing softly. ‘We must cleanse you of these improper thoughts and teach you to obey. If you survive, then I will set you adrift in the galaxy where no Caspian community will suffer you, and even space bandits will think twice before giving you shelter.’ ‘Then you’d better make sure I don’t survive, or I will become like Lariston, a law unto myself. No Caspian codes will bind me, I will learn the way of the warrior and no power in the universe will stop me when I come to seek my revenge.’ At the mention of Lariston’s name a nervous murmuring broke out amongst the group of men. Krull’s face hardened and his grip on the probe’s control tightened. Jinda watched as he thumbed it to full power. She realised he had no intention of letting Valimar survive. ‘No Krull!’ Jinda cried, rushing forward to grab his arm as he raised the cerebral control towards Valimar. Krull now turned his attention to Jinda, addressing her in a voice that carried the full authority of a Caspian Elder; forged by hundreds of generations before him down the millennia. ‘The council have been patient Jinda. You have enjoyed the pleasures and freedom of your fathers’ wealth for the full period of a woman’s discovery cycle before pairing must take place. You are nearing your 25 th annum and you know that if you have not found a suitable paring by then, the council will arrange one.’ Jinda felt the pressure of her conditioning and indoctrination. ‘I’m sorry, I forget myself. Spare the boy and I promise I will…’ Krull’s eyes flashed with anticipation. Could this woman and her wealth now be his? ‘You will…?’ prompted Krull. ‘I will…’ Jinda looked at Valimar. Was she willing to sacrifice herself to Krull for the sake of this boy. Did she love Valimar? Did she love him enough? She was unsure, but if she let him die, the council would surely still force her into a pairing with Krull. ‘I promise I will….’ Jinda saw the self-satisfied smile on his cruel mouth and the words stuck in her throat. She thought of the Agrophonic Plant and its beautiful garden, the purple Strantium mines with their loyal workers both Caspians and Outlanders, and feared for their future once Krull had control. She couldn’t let that happen. Surely there had to be another way. A bleep from the control panel announced the approach of a ship. An image appeared on the viewing screen as the craft crossed the Strantium mines and made its way towards the landing dock. ‘Intergalactic cruiser requesting docking permission,’ announced Porta, the docking platform computer, in the carefully programmed tones of a mid-ranking Caspian Technocrat. ‘Identify,’ instructed Jinda. ‘Identification not recognised,’ responded Porta. Murmurings came from the group of men as they watched the cruisers approach, bigger and more powerful than the surface craft or the interplanetary vessels that ferried people and goods between the Caspian planets; it bore the scars of meteor storms on its jet-black hull and the tell-tale streaks of hyper-jumps across the galaxy. Its shield still glowed from entry into Cintar’s dense atmosphere. ‘A fine craft,’ said one. ‘Intergalactic,’ said another, ‘It has come far.’ ‘You must deny permission,’ instructed Krull, who wanted no interruptions. Jinda hesitated, this could be the answer she needed. ‘Security check’, she requested. ‘Munitions disarmed and control passed to this system,’ responded Porta. Jinda hesitated, allowing an unidentified ship to dock was dangerous. Space bandit activity had increased recently, raiding groups swooping during the twilight time to steal from the Strantium stockpiles at the mine. ‘You cannot allow this,’ barked Krull. ‘It’s against foundation Code. You’ll be sanctioned.’ ‘Audio link,’ Jinda instructed, ignoring Krull. White noise cleared to the background hum of powerful warp drives. ‘This is Jinda Cintarion of the Caspian Foundation, identify yourself.’ A slow easy voice responded in an unfamiliar accent. ‘Well, I guess any identification wouldn’t mean much in Foundation records. I’m just a stranger passing through. Need some fuel for my ship… and maybe some directions.’ There was something in his voice that made her think she could trust him. ‘Do you promise to put your weapons under my control while on Cintar?’ There was a long silence while Jinda awaited his response. ‘That’s a hard thing you ask.’ He eventually replied. ‘You will be under my protection.’ He hesitated. ‘Well I guess so then, as long as my life isn’t threatened.’ ‘Agreed.’ ‘No!’ cried Krull ‘I will not allow it. Permission denied!’ he shouted at the control system. ‘Unidentified instruction,’ replied Porta, who was programmed only to respond to Jinda’s voice. ‘Permission granted,’ instructed Jinda. ‘You’ll come to regret this,’ growled Krull, as the outer airlock door slid silently open. While the ship went through its decontamination and cooling cycle, Krull whispered instructions to his men who surrounded Valimar, blocking him from view. Eventually the all-clear signal sounded and the inner airlock door slid open to reveal a tall man stepping lightly onto the deck, his feet wide apart. His black jumpsuit bore no markings of rank or nation. He ambled lazily through the portal onto the inner deck, stretching out his muscles after the cramped conditions of the ship, his sharp eyes scanning the new surroundings and the group of men. His right hand never strayed far from the strobe gun at his side: the handle of a light sabre glowed on his shoulder from the scabbard strapped to his back. ‘Your weapons,’ demanded Jinda. ‘Disarmed,’ he replied, bowing slightly to his host in a universal sign of respect and courtesy. ‘Only you can arm them… unless my life is threatened,’ he continued, looking directly at Krull and his men. ‘See how the strobe gun hangs low on his thigh’, said one. ‘What’s that on his back?’ asked another. ‘A Castarian light sabre,’ replied an older man. ‘He bears no insignia, what master does he serve, who is he?’ demanded Krull of his men. ‘A Sun Warrior, the most dangerous creature in the universe,’ replied the older man, ‘he bends his knee to no authority but his own.’ Krull weighed up the situation and decided to bide his time. ‘Greetings,’ he murmured with the slightest bow of his head. The stranger ignored him, turning his attention back to Jinda. My ship needs recharging with Strantium, would it be possible to…?’ ‘… Of course,’ Jinda interrupted, ‘you are welcome.’ ‘Porta, recharge the vessel in Loading Bay Five with Strantium from my own supply.’ ‘I can pay with Caspian Crowns or Universal Credits, whichever you prefer.’ ‘That is not necessary, as you can see I have ample supplies,’ she responded, indicating the seams of purple Strantium through the viewing portal. ‘Consider it a gesture of Caspian hospitality.’ There was an intensity to this quiet stranger, with his lean frame and watchful eyes, that belied his easy manner. His leathered face, wrinkled from the rigours of hyper-drive and burned from the searing radiation of distant suns, reminded her of intergalactic pilots alone in the depths of space: independent, self-contained. But there was also something vulnerable that touched Jinda’s heart; secret longings haunted him. She instinctively trusted this man and if she could persuade him to stay she may yet save Valimar. ‘That’s uncommonly kind of you,’ replied the stranger, but perhaps you had better know who I am before…’ ‘It is of no consequence,’ interrupted Jinda, ‘you shall have Strantium for your ship and food and rest for yourself. It is the Caspian way.’ As Krull moved forward to object, his men broke ranks, revealing Valimar. The stranger’s eyes took in the cyber beam that locked his arms and the cerebral probe around his head. ‘Seems I might have interrupted something’, he looked enquiringly at Krull. ‘None of your business,’ Krull snapped in reply. ‘Looks like what you Caspians call an Outlander and blame for all the trouble in your world. What is he: space bandit, credit trader, life-taker? Must be something real bad to warrant treatment like this.’ ‘He’s no bandit or life-taker,’ responded Jinda. The stranger moved to where he had clear sight of Krull and his men. ‘So tell me boy,’ he said gently, ‘What is it you’ve done?’ ‘I said this is none of your business,’ interrupted Krull, ‘now charge up your ship and be on your way.’ The stranger’s hard gaze fell firmly on Krull. ‘Seven armed Caspian and a helpless Outlander that this woman says has done no wrong. That don’t seem quite fair to me.’ ‘This is Caspian business, not yours. Now, be on your way,’ fumed Krull. ‘Well, this woman who has kindly given me her hospitality seems to think differently.’ ‘Caspian law is not governed by what women think.’ ‘Then I spit on Caspian law and all its followers.’ He raged, his hard eyes challenging Krull and his men. They gasped in astonishment at the insult. Outraged by this challenge to his authority, Krull moved to protest, but the stranger, keeping his gaze on the others, spoke directly to Valimar. ‘Tell me what you did to deserve this, or is it the way Caspians treat all Outlanders?’ ‘I befriended this woman, that is all. This Caspian Elder wants her for himself,’ he blurted out, looking to Jinda for support. ‘He speaks the truth,’ said Jinda. ‘Who would not want to befriend a woman of such beauty and compassion,’ the stranger remarked. Jinda blushed and lowered her head. ‘A cerebral probe can do a man much harm, even kill him. Is that their intent?’ ‘It is,’ replied Valimar, ‘the controller is set to maximum.’ Krull fumbled with the controller as he tried to hide it. ‘Enough of this ’, he fumed . Bring him,’ he commanded, striding towards the airlock. The men hesitated as the stranger’s body stiffened and a hard look came into his eyes. ‘No!’ cried Jinda, turning to the stranger, ‘Please… save him.’ ‘At any cost?’ The stranger asked, indicating his weapons, ‘these are your own people.’ ‘I…’ Jinda nodded. ‘You foolish woman,’ snarled Krull, ‘You will pay a heavy price for this.’ ‘Bring him, I said.’ The diodes pulsed on the stranger’s light sabre and a quiet hum came from his strobe gun as it changed from standby mode to armed. ‘The young man stays here.’ The stranger’s voice bit through the air like a Salesian laser. Krull stopped in his tracks and he turned to the stranger, his hand hovered over the butt of his strobe gun. ‘I warn you stranger, any more interference and you will answer to me. We are seven and who are you?’ Suddenly, the stranger’s light sabre was in his hand swooping across his body in the universal salute of his kind, finishing its path out to his side where it pulsed and crackled with deadly energy. ‘I am Larason,’ he declaimed, ‘Sun Warrior of the 35 th millennium, and I answer to no man.’ Krull and his men froze, staring at Larason with fear in their eyes. Death was but a moment away. An aggressive intention anticipated; an innocent movement misinterpreted. The parsecs clicked by until the spell was eventually broken by Valimar crying out unbelievably. ‘Larason.’ Krull gathered himself, and tried to save face. ‘We will leave without the boy, but you have not heard the last of this Jinda. You have broken the Caspian Code and you will pay the price.’ ……………… GENRE DECONSTRUCTION In 1912, Harper Brothers of New York published an adventure romance novel, set in the American West, written by Zane Grey; an unknown dentist from Ohio who was to shape the formula of the Western genre for the rest of the 20 th century. Riders of the Purple Sage was Grey’s first novel to gain critical and commercial success. In this essay I will discuss how a genre can be deconstructed by its codes and conventions with particular reference to the Western genre and consider how Riders of the Purple Sage (Grey, 1998) contributed to the genre’s specific codes and conventions, successfully employing them to meet the expectations and needs of the perceived audience, taking into consideration the authors’ subjective view and the ideological and cultural influences of the time. Every genre has a set of codes which from it may be recognised. Therefore, we describe a book, films, play or other media as being a classic Historical Romance, for example Pride and Prejudice, (Austen, 1813), or a conventional Western, for example High Noon (Fred Zinnemann, 1952), because they conform to most of the codes and conventions and are therefore more prototypical of their genre (Swales, 1990). One code and convention of a typical Western is that the hero is usually white, male and heterosexual, signifying strength and power and symbolising masculinity. Brokeback Mountain (Ang Lee, 2005), on the other hand, could be described as an unconventional Western, because the main characters are gay, but still a Western, as they are white males. The other codes and conventions of the genre, including settings, and their job as cowboys still conforms to genre conventions. Omit or change too many of the genre conventions, however, and the distinction becomes blurred, resulting in a sub-genre; for example, City Slickers (Ron Underwood,1991), a Comedy Western, or a hybrid, for example, Cowboys and Aliens (Jon Favreau, 2011), which displays elements of the codes and conventions of both the Western and Science Fiction genres. The semantic codes that identify a genre are mainly composed of signs that the viewer recognises as being a convention of the genre. However, a familiar setting: prairie landscape, a re-occurring plot: revenge and retribution, a typical theme: man against the wilderness, a stereotypical character: laconic stranger, or the style of dialogue: few words – more action, can also form part of the genre code. The signs within a genre can be iconic; the image of a gunfighter iconically of a gun fighter which signifies danger and symbolises the law or lawlessness, depending on the context, or as Chandler (1994) says, ‘the code in which it is situated,’ in this case the character, who may be a Sheriff or an Outlaw. Adding a further sign, the symbol of a star-shaped badge on his waistcoat, a culturally-constructed sign, would identify him as a Sheriff, therefore symbolising law and order. Similarly, the ubiquitous index of a smoking gun would indicate that a gunfight had occurred, symbolising the lawlessness of The Wild West. In the earlier example of High Noon (Fred Zinnemann, 1952), the code of the hero being white male and heterosexual, although a typical of the Western genre, is not exclusive to the genre and therefore not ‘prototypical of a particular genre’ (Swales, 1990, 52) as this code could also be said to be a convention of the Action Adventure genre. However, a pair of six guns, a Winchester rifle or a cowboy hat are all signs that are prototypical of the Western genre. The context of a sign is also important for its connotation: how the viewer interprets it. The distant view of a rider on a horse would have different connotations in a Historical Drama than in a Western. If the viewer is unaware of the context, they would look for other signs to connote the meaning. Setting is an important sign in interpreting meaning; put the rider in the wide-open plains of Utah and the viewer would immediately recognise they were watching a Western and have expectations accordingly. If the distant rider were seen in the English countryside the viewer’s expectations would be different, but they would need more signs to give context and therefore connotation. If, as the rider approached, he could be seen wearing a top hat and frock coat, signifying landed gentry of the 18 th and early 19 th century and symbolising wealth and privilege, it would indicate they were watching or reading a Historical Drama. Adding the iconic image of a young lady waiting for him in front of a grand house could suggest a Historical Romance. However, if the rider were seen to be riding past an electricity pylon wearing a red jacket and a riding hat, it would change the viewer’s perception of the historical setting. Add an admiring smile from a glamorous young lady as he rides past and it could suggest a Jilly Cooper style romantic romp. Give the young lady a frown and a sign with a picture of a fox and it could suggest a drama about the Hunting Ban; the picture of the fox, although iconic of a fox, due to the context of a hunt, signifies protest and symbolises animal rights. By interpreting these codes, which represent the conventions of the genre, the viewer gains reference points to help them interpret and understand the connotations of the book or film and have expectations accordingly. If, at the beginning of a Western movie or book, a rider is seen in the distance by a group of men bullying a man, who a woman is pleading to save, the conventions of the genre signify to the viewer that this rider is likely to be a gunman who will come to the rescue and probably turn out to be the hero of the story. The author has the choice then whether to conform or subvert genre conventions by either: have him join the side of the bullying men, make him a coward, make him a preacher who tries to persuade the men to stop their actions through his words or make him, a her. It is important for the writer to understand these codes and conventions when considering reader’s or viewer’s expectations and make informed decisions as to whether to conform to, or subvert, them. Because the Western genre is set in a specific place and time: the Western Frontier of America between 1850 and 1920 when recognisable examples began to emerge, it is valid to consider it to be more trans-historical than say Science Fiction, examples of which began around 1800 when the present day technological advances were unknown and the setting can be anytime in the past, present or future and anywhere in the universe. Genre Theorists argue that there are predictable cycles of change (John Cawelti 1986, cited Altman, 1999). In her study of the Hollywood Romantic Comedy, Glitre (2006) proposes there are four cycles, however, the Western genre more closely reflects the cycle suggested by Jane Feuer (1993, cited Altman, 1999). Feuer suggests a Period of experimentation, illustrated in Last of the Mohicans (Fennimore-Cooper, 1826), The Oregon Trail (Parkman, 1847), The Virginian (Winston, 1903), The Log of a Cowboy: A Narrative of the Old Trail Days (Adams, 1903), The Great Train Robbery (Edwin S. Porter, 1903) and Last of the Plainsmen (Grey, 1908). This is followed by a classic period where the rules were established, starting with Riders of the Purple Sage (Grey, 1998), first published in 1912, and would include all Grey’s Western novels published between 1912 and 1963. Films in this period of the cycle include The Big Trail (Raoul Walsh, Louis R. Loeffler, 1930), Stagecoach (John Ford, 1939), Red River (Howard Hawks and Arthur Rossen, 1948), High Noon (John Ford, 1956) and The Good, The Bad and The Ugly (Sergio Leonne, 1966). Feuer goes on to describe a third period recognised by three characteristics. Parody, for example Blazing Saddles (Mel Brooks, 1974). Contestation, for example Brokeback Mountain (Ang Lee, 2006), where the gay leading characters contest the convention of heterosexuality, or Brother’s in Arms (Jeane-Claude le Marre, 2005), featuring a black hero, contesting the convention of race. Deconstruction, for example Unforgiven (Clint Eastwood, 1992), where the traditional perceptions of morality, revenge, justice, and frontier myths are closely inspected and challenged, together with heroism and responsibility. Exceptions to this cycle include the critically acclaimed and commercially successful remake of True Grit (Ethan Cowen and Joel Cowen, 2010), which displays many of the codes and conventions of the classic Western genre. When Grey (1998) wrote Riders of the Purple Sage the genre codes and conventions of the Western as we understand them today were still being established. I will discuss its prototypicality both in the context of its time and its trans historicity by comparing it with subsequent examples of the Western genre. Although sharing some of its themes, codes and characters with contemporary literature set in the Western frontier, including The Virginian (Winster, 1903), Grey’s novel owed as much to contemporary Romance novels, including Far from the Madding Crowd (Hardy, 1874), sharing many of their codes and conventions including a rural setting, plots, themes, and a female heroine. Grey’s heroine, Jane Withering, is a rich landowner who is under pressure to marry Tull, an elder in her Mormon community, but she is attracted to a young cowboy, Venters, who ultimately betrays her by running off with Bess. She eventually realises she loves Lassister, the man who has helped and protected her all along. Likewise, Hardy’s heroine, Bethsheba, is under pressure to marry rich landowner William Boldwood, but is attracted to a soldier, Troy, who betrays her. Again, she eventually realises she loves Gabriel, the man who has helped and protected her all along. In both cases the heroine must relinquish her wealth and freedom to the man she marries. Although considered to be of different genres, settings and locations, the intertextuality between these two novels would provides the reader of one, with a set of parallel codes and conventions with which they would the other . This intertextuality also means that readers of Grey’s novel, not having the benefit of established codes and conventions of the Western, would still have a feel familiarity with the plot: a heroine in distress being rescued by a laconic stranger, a story recounted endlessly across many genres and described in Campbell’s Hero with a Thousand Faces. In writing Riders of the Purple Sage, Zane (1912) cannot be credited with inventing the Western genre any more than Author Conan Doyle (1887) can be credited with inventing the Detective genre; ‘Both authors adapted elements from their predecessors to fix the separate genres into the shapes by which we know them best today’ (Mitchell 1998, page viii). Grey gathered these elements from several sources; Mitchell (1998), refers to Grey ‘drawing inspiration from James Fennimore Cooper’s Leatherstocking Saga (Cooper, 1954)’, a series of five novels featuring the adventures of Natty Bumppo, a Western pioneer. Following his hunting trip with Charles Jesse (Buffalo) Jones to the rim of the Grand Canyon, Grey wrote ‘Surely, of all the gifts that have come to me from contact with the West, this one of sheer love of wildness, beauty, colour, grandeur, has been the greatest, the most significant for my work (1908).’ Mitchell also reports that Grey was influenced by The Great Train Robbery (Porter, 1903), an early Western film and, most significantly, The Virginian (Winston, 1903). Many of the characteristics of Grey’s hero, Lasseter, as described by Mitchell below, can be found in The Virginian (ibid). Lasseter’s first appearance in the book established the iconic image of a Western hero, which would become an important part of the codes and conventions of Western literature for the rest of the 20 th century – ‘a lone man, packing a gun, astride a horse, hat pulled close to his eyes, emerging as if by magic out of a landscape from which he seems to be an ineluctably a part.’ (Mitchell, 1998. P3) The image is also iconic of a gunfighter, signifying violence, masculinity, and symbolising the law or lawlessness, depending on the character. Other characters in the book also conform to the genre conventions; Ventnor the wild young man always getting into trouble, and Tull and the Bishop Dyer, who can be compared with the character of Luke Fletcher in Shane (George Stevens, 1953), symbolise authority which is often corrupt ,although often corrupt, as signified by their collusion with the rustlers to steal from their own people and putting pressure on Jane to gain control of her ranch . Tull’s dark clothing signifies power and authority to illustrate his position as an elder in the Mormon community. Then Bess wears men’s clothing and a mask to indicate mystery and secrets; in this case the fact that she is a woman and raises questions of gender identity. This masking symbolism is often used to protect the identity of villains or heroes, including probably the most famous masked rider, The Lone Ranger (Gore Verbinski, 2013), whose mask, and empty grave, portrayed the fact that he had not died with the rest of his troop. Bess was also abducted by rustlers signifying a damsel in distress, who needs a hero to rescue her, in this case Venter, which symbolises and re-enforces the dominant ideology in both Mormon culture and wider society that men are strong and women are weak, and therefore inferior to men. Zane also uses Bess’s character along with Molly Erne, the Sister who Lasseter has been searching for, to introduce the abduction and white slavery theme that is popular with readers of the day. Oldring, the rustler, is at first perceived as evil but turns out to be good, signifying redemption and symbolising good overcoming evil. The codes of cattle drives, stampedes, working cowboys, rustlers, signifying lawlessness and symbolising The Wild West, would all come to represent prototypical conventions of the genre as do gun fights, the fast draw, and the ubiquitous showdown with the bad guys. Then there are the cattle herds, signifying ranching and symbolising wealth, power, status and influence. As Jane’s cattle herds dwindle, caused by rustlers’ raids in the pay of the Mormons, Jane’s wealth and power diminishes, signifying the power of men over women. The actions and dialogue also form part of the codes and conventions of the genre. Lasseter’s quiet manner and few words signify that he is a man of action, not words, symbolising the character of the stereotypical Western hero. His respect for women, and in particular Jane, is signified by his courteous manner of speech and actions, ‘Beggin your pardon ma’am’ (Grey 1912, p13), which highlights his respect and symbolises chivalry and honour. This is also demonstrated by Lasseter’s compliance with Jane’s request not to use his guns and Vetner in saving Bess’s life and nursing her back to health. This contrasts with the disregard for women shown by the Mormons to Jane and apparently by Oldring to Bess signifying there disrespect and symbolising the attitude to women within their society. The high regard for horses in the West is signified by Lasseter’s request for water for his horse before himself and the desire to own the best and fastest seen in Jane’s pride in her blacks ‘there never was [a horse] that could Black Star’ (Grey, 1912, p.247). The syntactic conventions of the genre depicted by Grey include the binary opposites of community and wilderness, Jane’s ranch with its amber spring is compared with the prairie and canyons; good vs. evil, represented by Jane, Lasseter, Vetner and Bess compared with the corrupt and controlling Mormon elders; confinement and freedom, displayed through marriage to Tull or escape with Lasseter; danger and safety, as Bess and Vetner escape to the East. Through the storylines of Bess, Milly Erne and Jane, Grey also explored the public concern of white slavery and abduction, the influence of the Mormons and their practice of polygamy, corruption in authority, together with the dominant ideology regarding the inferior position of women in Mormon culture and society as a whole. However, some of Grey’s subjective choices are not prototypical of the Western genre as we have come to know it. The main character is a woman and instead of the simple morality tales, for example revenge and retribution, found in many subsequent examples of the genre, Grey’s main plot, featuring Jane, Lasseter and the Mormons is much more complex and supported by an equally complex sub-plot involving Vetner and Bess. These are interwoven with several minor plots involving Jane and Fay Erne, Bess and Oldring and Lasseter and Milly Erne. Zane chooses to vilify the Mormons suggesting he disapproves of their treatment of women, corrupt nature and unhealthy influence on the rest of society, what Grey refers to as ‘The Invisible Hand’ (Grey, 1998, p.129), he completely ignores the existence of Native Americans which probably reflects the ideology of the U.S. Government of the time, and his hero, instead of riding off into the sunset, sets up house with the girl. Despite these differences and omissions, many of the codes and conventions that shaped the Western genre we recognise today can be found in Grey’s book, and his contribution to founding and developing this new genre is evidenced in the 48 successful Western novels Grey published over a period of 50 years, which have been adapted into 112 films, and a television series. Erle Stanley Gardner, prolific author of mystery novels, said of Grey, ‘[He] had the knack of tying his characters into the land, and the land into the story… he could make action not only convincing but inevitable, and somehow you got the impression that the bigness of the country generated a bigness of character’ (Gardner, cited Gruber 1969, p. 213). ……………… APPENDIX 1 NOTES ON DECISIONS MADE ON TEXT TRANFORMATION I choose transform the original western text into the science fiction genre for the following reasons 1. The colonisation of the western frontier in late 19 th century America were the original text is set share similarities with the imagined settlement of outer-space in the far future depicted in the novels like Isaac Asimov’s Foundation and Empire trilogy, TV series like Star-trek and films like the forbidden planet. 2. Science fiction was used as the example genre in lessons on text transformation making it easier to understand the process 3. The codes and convention of both genres bear similarities of settings, for example wild and beautiful landscapes, characters, for example, vulnerable women, quiet strangers with powerful skills following a quest and weapons and the skills to use them. There appears to be some ambiguity when it comes to defining the difference if any between adaptation and transformation. Adaptation arguably owes nothing to the original text but aims to tell the same story through a different media or genre. Transformation on the other hand, aims to provide a more faithful translation of the original text. I have tried to remain faithful to the themes characters’ settings and events of the original text while at the same time taking into consideration the codes and convention of the new genre. How the characters, settings, and other elements of the original text have been transformed for the new genre are set out in the table below. I considered staying with the original names but decided something more genre appropriate was called for while maintain some connection to the original. For example, Tull became Krull. I chose to emphasise the dominant ideology of women being subservient to men within Mormon/ Caspian society that was implicit in the original text by making it more explicit in the transformation. ‘…as a Caspian women you rank not only below me but below all Caspian men.’ I decided to put a time limit on Jinda’s freedom to add suspense and drama When transforming Jane to Jinda I made her a more assertive character which I felt was appropriate for the genre, illustrating this in her exchange with Porta when Larison’s ship is approaching This also enabled me to introduce the character of Porta, not in the original text but an essential part of the codes and convention of the science fiction Genre. For example Hal, in A Space Odyssey, R2D2 in Star War’s and Holly in Red dwarf. I was tempted to make more of Porta’s character but felt this would be straying too far from the original text. I change the order of some items for instance Jinda’s reference to the love for her workers is moved from pager 1 to 3 The beauty Jane sees in the landscape of Utah is converted to mind controlled trip around the Caspian system allowing the introduction of genre appropriate technology. I includes a connection back to the original text with the reference to a long forgotten mother planet. I choose to make a connection to the original with a reference to mother earth I decided to let Larison do his own reveal as a Sun Warrior, the more theatrical approach suiting the Science fiction genre, leaving Valimar to react. In the sections of dialogue, I have sometimes followed the original text closely and other times adapted it for the new genre where I considered it necessary. In other cases, as with Porta I have added new sections. To add to the suspense and drama required for the new genre, I chose to add a time limit for Jinda to be paired, her 25 th annum, which was fast approaching. I decided to remain mainly faithful to the sequence of events but some references and descriptions are not always in the same place. Some passages which I did not consider relevant or appropriate for the new genre have been have been omitted or reduced. Others have been added. For example, the character of Porta and the final comments by Krull. Having got to know his character I felt that he would not walk away without trying to save face, and it provided the opportunity to foreshadow of later events. Subject Original text transformation Character names and role Jane Withersteen Ranch owner Jinda Cintarion Mine owner Ventner Rider on jane’s ranch Valimar Driftrider on the strantium mines Lassiter Gunman Larason Sun Warrior Tull Morman elder Krull Caspian Elder Bishop Master Fay Lia N.A. Porta Computer system Rustlers Space pirates Gentile Outlander setting Utah Planet Cintar Other settlements in nearby towns Other settlements on nearby planets Courtyard Docking bay Western frontier Solar system in Alpha Centura Amber spring Agrophonic plant and garden commodities cattle Strentium Religions Mormons Caspians Mormon Christian religion Caspian code/way Weapons and equipment Six guns Strobe guns and light sabre Whip Cerebral probe Rope Cyber Beam riders outsiders gunman Sun warrior horses spacecraft clothing Lassiter’s Black leather Larison’s Black jump suit Tull’s black clothing Krull’s blue and silver uniform APPENDIX 2 NOTES AND BACKGROUND RESEARCH ON GENRE DECONSTRUCTION Chandler says: “Since the meaning of a sign depends on the code within which it is situated, codes provide a framework within which signs make sense” (Chandler, 1994) A communication system based on rules or conventions of meaning-making assumed to be shared and understood by its intended users (eg. a shared language or the traffic light system” (Chandler & Munday, 2011, p.51). What’s the difference between a sign and a code? Chandler says: “Since the meaning of a sign depends on the code within which it is situated, codes provide a framework within which signs make sense” (Chandler, 1994). Social influences Grey includes white slavery, the stories of white women taken by Indians. Rustlers signifying lawlessness symbolizing the wild west CONNOTATION for different people civilization wilderness etc Escape to seeking safety and seeking peace and solitude seen in Ventner and bess’s and escape to freedom hen danger treated Women’s signifying women’s desire to change man or protect them symbolizing their desire High noon. to Dominant ideology - heterosexual white male dominated society - brokeback mountain A police uniform/siren symbolises authority signifier gun man Black clothing Sombrero Spurs High heeled boots The viginian Comforms Anti hero Stranger come for revenge – gunman Masked rider Cattle rusling Panning for gold Partiarcle society themes Subverts or conficts Female protagonists More complex the simple moralty tales 4 protagonists – 2 women Man against nature, Man against himself and man against his enemies. Damsels in distress Revenge and retribution Prejudice against Mormons Rounded characters - bern Flat characters- Bess antagonists Bern – Some traits off the western hero. own code of honour. Shares traits with Lassiter. Respect for animals- Berns dogs- Lassister’s horse Chivalrous – nurses maske rider Stands tall and straight Life ruined by Mormons His despair is transformed by his love for bess into confoidence and optimism. Displays c and c’s of a romance Bern’s love for Bess Lassiter The characters of Lassiter is clearly recognizable as the archetype of the Western gunman hero; dressed in black, the fastest gun around, a loner, laconic and soft-spoken, combining a deep respect for women with a quick willingness to use his guns to dole out his own ideas of justice. protagonsist Mormons Dominate and control society in the area use invisible hand of religion to rule bishop dyer flat charater douesnt change despite eventually realising his wrongdoings corrupt religious leader uses religion for his own ends compare with Fletcher in Shane. Truly believes Tall stern dominating ELDER TULL flat dousn’t change Cowardly Empire buider Loves jane Wants to control her and her wealth for Mormons. Arrogant Reckless violent More dangerous than bishop dyer Representations of evil ( along with BD) In a literary perspective, Tull represents a pestilence that cannot be avoided. Jane Withersteen constantly reminds Lassiter and Venters to avoid Tull in order to prevent violence. However, stereotypical of a Western, readers understand that either Jane’s words will one day be ignored by Lassiter and Venters, or Jane one day will change her position regarding the topic to facilitate for the deaths of Dyer and Tull in a final showdown. By the end of the novel, both Elders had been killed by Lassiter—who ignored Jane’s pleas to kill Dyer, and who obeyed her command to "roll the stone" to kill Tull—who reaffirms his position as the Western hero who carries out his own forms of justice. The rustlers flat apart from Oldring at the end These demonstrate Tull and dyers corruptness against their own poeple as the ruslers are allowed to operate in return for being enforces for T and D As far as we know the rustling continues. SETTING AND THEME Morality honor isolation confrontation ( religious) Community founded by religion ( janes father) She inherits (Thomas hardy, Far from the madding crowd) Themes include the significance of morality, honor, redemption, isolation and religious confrontation Spring represents life giving forces One of the main aspects of the west highlighted by Riders of the Purple Sage was the distance between towns and the mostly uncharted areas between them. The west was often characterized by little towns approximately 50 miles apart from each other. In these sections, locations like Deception Pass and Surprise Valley are found often. Morality is a main theme in most westerns . Jane questions the morality of both the religious sect and Lassiter In the eyes of the reader, Jane is the righteous one, and thus, she is moral. She sees the leaders not adhering to the faith. Honor Zane Grey shows honor in his characters including Jane. Despite her persecution, Jane’s prized possessions, the Blacks (Arabian stallions), bring her great joy and her friends seek to protect her prized steeds. In the conclusion, Jane surrenders the Blacks to help Venters and Bess escape. Through this close relationship of honor, the trio is able to keep fighting. Isolation a major theme in this story is isolation. Jane, Fay, and Lassiter are isolated as they are forced to live forever in Surprise Valley after Balancing Rock fell. Bess and Venters spent quite a bit of time there, avoiding Oldring's rustlers. Because of the isolation of the location, they were protected for a great time. Empire building - Lassiter attributes this to a vague Mormon desire for "empire." Ranchers and railroads later became the common villains seeking for empire in Western stories. In grey used Mormons as villains in this story but in some of his later Westerns, Grey treated Mormon men in a more neutral way, Brief definition of the Western Fiction Genre Looking briefly at the definition of the Western Fiction Genre, it appears on first view to be a novel or collection of stories set in 19th century frontier America with a strong, self-reliant central character; simple plots; full of action; often involves cowboys, cavalrymen, lawmen and outlaws of the Old West. It has become apparent that the Western enjoyed its Golden Age in the 1930s and 1940s and remained a vibrant genre through the 1950s and 1960s, however my first views now are that most mass-market publishers have abandoned genre westerns, and the majority of the remaining ones seem to concentrate on dead western authors. Having said this, if your heroes are still Cowboys, then there is a positive outlook: Considering that western fiction is no longer a significant part of mainstream publishing, and exists only as a niche market, University presses have to some extent taken up the slack, publishing a little western fiction and Nonfiction.\ So what is the appeal of the Western Fiction Genre? A good western novel captures the spirit of freedom, individualism and adventure. The appeal of this genre is Worldwide, based in a dream of freedom in a world of unspoiled nature - a world independent of restraining society. The settling of the west was one of the great dramas of all time. People plunged into a wilderness and were on their own, dependent on their own character and courage. The mystery of the vast nothingness draws men, and men answer the calling - some with morals and some without. These knights of the range galloping across the western frontier on their trusty steeds crusading to save the last watering hole, the vanishing herd, and the beleaguered homesteaders. Sub Genres The Western is multi-faceted and that it contains several sub-genres with films that are essentially about the Indian Wars, the Civil War, the Mexican Wars, range wars, the railroad, wagon trains, cattle drives, prospecting, outlaws, gunfighters, town-tamers, revenge, quests and even romance. The possible range of sub-genres for Western Fiction could even include: Bad Men and Good Best Westerns Black Cowboy Boy into Man British Westerns Buffalo Runners Cattle Drive Cattle Kingdoms Celebrity Western Classic Authors Early Classic Authors Recent Comedy and Parody Detective Story Western Doctor and Preacher Fantasy Western Gothic Western Hired Man on Horseback Indian Captivities Indians Indians Today Inspirational Westerns Land Rush Law and Lawmen Lost Mines Mining Mormons Mountain Men Mysterious Rider Picaresque Pre-Columbian Indians Racy Westerns Railroads Range Wars Romance Science Fiction Westerns Series Sheepmen Singular Woman Stage Lines Mule Trains and Merchants Sweet and Savage Western Texas and Mexico The True West The West Still Lives Town Marshal Wagons West and Early Settlement Wild Horse Hunt History of the Genre Western Novels featuring legendary heroes have been popular for a long time and got its start in the penny dreadfuls and later the dime novels. The origins of the dime novel date back to the first half of the nineteenth century. These stories romanticised American history and the settling of the Far West and were important precursors of the dime novel. At the time numerous authors produced works that dramatized the tensions between the wild, untamed frontier and rapidly encroaching civilization. James Butler Hickok aka Wild Bill Hickock was featured in a series of Dime Novels. It was the end of the nineteenth-century that witnessed the full-blown emergence of the western novel. The Virginian, published 1902, is considered by many to be the ground-breaking literary western novel, containing the central element of a rugged individual who stick to his guns in the face of trouble, neglecting chances to simply walk away. This seeming collection of clichés was innovative and hugely popular in 1902, and elements of this blueprint appear in most Western stories ever since. Conclusion Although it seems doubtful that the Western will ever regain its place as the major American genre and possibly doesn't resonate with people the way it used to; It’s nice to know that far from having passed on to that great round-up in the sky, the Western novel is very much alive. This is a genre that includes a number of talented writers, and as such is a valid means of expression. It is the lure of the far horizon, the quest, the voyage of discovery, and the illusory hope of starting afresh in a new world. It's what drew the pioneers over a century ago, and it draws us today. Justus D. Barnes in Western apparel, as "Bronco Billy Anderson", from the silent film , The Great Train Robbery (1903), the first ever, "Western", film. Conventions of narrative Many teachers and students view and study the feature film in much the same way as they do a novel because the conventions of narrative in the novel and the feature film are similar. Our youngest students come to school with prior knowledge of many of the conventions of narrative, based on considerable experience of books, film, and television. Both books (especially novels) and films often have a plot and narrative structure shaped into three main movements, similar to a three-act play. The work typically opens with one or more characters in a situation where an incident incites a conflict. This catalyst then sets off complications, often developing through two or three crises or particularly tense moments. The situation reaches a climax and is then resolved. However, the structure of narratives in books and feature films differs from that in programmes made for television. Television programmes are scripted, made, and shown in segments, the length of the segments being determined by how frequent and how long the advertising breaks are. Feature films made for continuous screening but shown on television with ad breaks inserted are consequently often interrupted at inappropriate times. Makers of films or television programmes use in-points and out-points to start and end a sequence or narrative in much the same way as writers do. In-points grab our interest, introduce the situation, reveal character conflict, or start the action. Out-points end a sequence of narrative in such a way that the sequence can either be returned to if it is left unresolved or be concluded. If it is concluded, the narrative can be either resolved or left open. Subplot As in written narrative, a subplot is common in feature films and television. A secondary story, connected to the main narrative in some way, keeps viewers interested and may reinforce or provide contrast to important ideas in the main story. Journeys Many films, such as Watership Down, Once Were Warriors, and An Angel at My Table, are journeys of experience for both their characters and their viewing audiences. So, too, are television programmes like The Simpsons or Friends. As in fiction, the structure of a film narrative can be based on a physical as well as a mental and emotional journey: one well known example is Apocalypse Now, which is closely related to Conrad's Heart of Darkness. Symbols and motifs Narratives can be unified by symbols. Visual symbols, such as bright sunny weather, might suggest happiness, enjoyment, and hope. Narratives can also be unified by the repetition of symbols, called motifs, as in the sea, rain, mud, bush, and trees in The Piano: motifs that reinforce the sense of isolation and entrapment. The same film has several other recurring symbols or motifs: the fingers and hands and, of course, the piano itself. Sound can also unify narrative, providing recurring motifs. The regular, rhythmic, and sinister musical beat in Jaws, signalling that another crisis or attack is imminent, is a good example. Comedy often has a motif of a particular recurring character or action, such as the mice who appear in the corner of the screen singing to introduce each new adventure in Babe. Themes The structured narratives of feature films and television programmes have central ideas or themes. Our interpretation of the theme is related to the expectations we have, which in turn revolve around the external and internal conflicts of the characters. Forms The form is the essential structure of the visual language text, including its organisation, style, and sequence. A picture book might be in the form of a series of collages. A film might be structured in flashback or contrasting sequences from plot and subplot. Settings The setting, including the period in which the action takes place, is important, too. For example, in science fiction, the setting is usually in the future. Other science fiction conventions might include some scientific development or phenomenon that is central to the narrative; there may be extraterrestrial beings, and the world of good characters may be under threat from evil "baddies" trying to gain power. Again, the conflict may be between the good and evil uses of a discovery or a new world. The expectation, or convention, is that at the climax, usually against the odds, the "goodies" win. The settings of The Piano in the past and Once Were Warriors in the present are significant in the comments they make about the societies they are set in. Sometimes, however, a production will be located in a period or setting different from its original script - Hamlet probably holds the record for different settings. The setting for a particular film will have been chosen to relate the emphasis of the script to the audience, breaking conventions and their usual expectations or demonstrating the timelessness of a theme. Rites of passage The conventions of feature films that deal with rites of passage typically include unsympathetic adults who don't understand or sympathetic adults who do but find themselves in conflict with other adults who don't. The teenagers usually rebel, but in the end, they either conform or find some way of accommodating themselves. This is often as a result of some change by some of the initially unsympathetic adults or authorities as well as of the increased understanding the teenagers may have gained. Codes When we are about to read a book or to view a film or a television programme in any particular genre, we have expectations about what it will contain. In a Western, we expect a gun-slinging hero in the American West, probably in a saloon with a barmaid somewhere and a duel at high noon. In a thriller, we expect a female victim, a male killer or would-be killer, and a male rescuer. But such conventions may also be very effectively broken. The common characteristics or conventions of any genre, including film, are sometimes called codes. These can include structural codes, which are such features as particular kinds of plot, character, or setting. Stylistic codes include such features as particular lighting, shooting style, or music. For example, take the romance genre. Structurally, it commonly includes two people who fall in and out of love two or three times during the course of the film. Their difficulties often seem huge, though sometimes simple misunderstandings are the cause. Against seemingly insurmountable odds, they are nevertheless usually completely in love at the end. Stylistically, this genre includes low lighting, soft focus, sometimes beautiful settings, and music that might at times be raunchy and at times soft and romantic. The different genres, or patterns of various conventions and codes, influence our expectations and help us to read closely and to make and present meanings. Summary of Terms genres conventions conventions of narrative segments in-points out-points subplot symbols motifs themes forms setting codes structural codes stylistic codes Exploring Language content page Exploring Language is reproduced by permission of the publishers Learning Media Limited on behalf of Ministry of Education, P O Box 3293, Wellington, New Zealand, © Crown, 1996. REFERENCES Adams, A. (1903). Log of a Cowboy. Boston: Houghton Miffin. Austen, J. (1813). Pride and Prejudice. 1st ed. New York: Dutton. Blazing Saddles (Mel Brooks, 1974). Crossbow Productions. 93 mins. Brokeback Mountain (Ang Lee, 2006). Alberta Canada: Focus Features. 134 mins. Brother’s in Arms (Jeane-Claude le Marre, 2005). Sony Pictures. 85 mins. Campbell, J. (1949). The Hero with a Thousand Faces. Princeton: Princeton University Press. Chandler, D. (1994). Semiotics for Beginners. [Online] Available at: http://visual- memory.co.uk/daniel/Documents/S4B/semiotic.html [Accessed September 2015]. City Slickers (Ron Underwood, 1991). Hollywood: Universal Studios. 113 mins. Cooper, J.F. (1954). Leatherstocking Saga. Pantheon Books. Cooper, J.F. (1954).The Last of the Mohicans. New York: Pantheon Books. Cowboys and Aliens (Jon Favreau, 2011). Hollywood: Universal Pictures. 119 mins. Glitre, K. (2006). Genre, Cycles and Critical Traditions. [Online] Available at: http://manchester.universitypressscholarship.com/view/10.7228/manchester/978079 070785.001.0001/upso-9780719070785-chapter-001 [Assessed 29 th April 2017]. Grey, Z. (1908). Last of the Plainsmen. Outing Publishing. Grey, Z. (1998). Riders of the Purple Sage. London: Oxford University Press. Gruber, F. (1969) Zane Grey-a biography. New York: Amereon Ltd. Hardy, T. (1874) Far From the Madding Crowd. London: Smith Elder and Co. High Noon (Fred Zinnemann, 1952). Hollywood: Stanley Kramer Productions. 85 mins. Mitchell, L.C. (1998) ‘Foreword’, in Grey, Z. Riders of the Purple Sage. London: Oxford University Press, pp. ? Mitchell, L.C. (1998) ‘Introduction’, in Grey, Z. Riders of the Purple Sage. London: Oxford University Press, p.viii. Mitchell, L.C. (1998) Westerns. Chicago: Chicago University Press. Parkman, F. (1847) The Oregon Trail. Holt, Rinehart and Winston. Red River (Howard Hawks and Arthur Rossen, 1948). Monterey Productions. 133mins. Shane (George Stevens, 1953). Hollywood: Paramount Pictures.118 mins. Stagecoach (John Ford, 1989). Walter Wanger Productions. 95mins. Swales, J. (2011). Genre Analysis. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. The Big Trail (Raoul Walsh, Louis R. Loefflet, 1930). Hollywood: Fox Film Corporation. 125 mins. The Good, The Bad and The Ugly (Sergio Leonne, 1966). Produzioni Europee Associati. 161 mins. The Great Train Robbery (Edwin S. Porter, 1903). New Jersey: Edison Manufacturing Company. 11 mins. The Lone Ranger (Gore Verbinski, 2013). Hollywood: Walt Disney Pictures. 150 Mins. True Grit (Ethan Cowen and Joel Cowen, 2010). Hollywood: Paramount Pictures. 110 mins. Unforgiven (Clint Eastwood, 1992). Warner Brothers. 131 mins. BIBLOGRAPHY Adams, A (1903). Log of a Cowboy. Boston: Houghton Miffin. Austen, J. (1813). Pride and Prejudice. 1st ed. New York: Dutton. Blazing Saddles (Mel Brooks, 1974). Crossbow Productions. 93 mins. Bold, C. (1987). Selling the Wild West: Popular Western Fiction, 1860–1960. Bloomington: Indiana University Press. Brokeback Mountain (Ang Lee, 2006). Alberta Canada: Focus Features. 134 mins. Brother’s in Arms (Jeane-Claude le Marre, 2005). Sony Pictures. 85 mins. Campbell, J. (1949). The Hero with a Thousand Faces. Princeton: Princeton University Press. Chandler, D. (1994). Semiotics for Beginners. [Online] Available at: http://visual- memory.co.uk/daniel/Documents/S4B/semiotic.html [Accessed September 2015]. City Slickers (Ron Underwood, 1991). Hollywood: Universal Studios. 113 mins. Cooper, J.F. (1954). The Last of the Mohicans. New York: Pantheon Books. Cooper, J.F. (1954). Leatherstocking Saga. New York: Pantheon Books. Cowboys and Aliens (Jon Favreau, 2011). Hollywood: Universal Pictures. 119 mins. Devitt, A. J. (2004) Writing Genres. Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press. Glitre, K. (2006). Genre, Cycles and Critical Traditions. [Online] Available at: http://manchester.universitypressscholarship.com/view/10.7228/manchester/978079 070785.001.0001/upso-9780719070785-chapter-001 [Assessed 29 th April 2017]. Grey, Z. (1908) Last of the Plainsmen. Outing Publishing. Grey, Z. (1998). Riders of the Purple Sage. London: Oxford University Press. Gruber, F. (1969) Zane Grey-a biography. New York: Amereon Ltd. Hardy, T. (1874) Far From the Madding Crowd. London: Smith Elder and Co. High Noon (Fred Zinnemann, 1952). Hollywood: Stanley Kramer Productions. 85 mins. Jackson, C. (1973). Zane Grey. New York: Twayne Publishing. Kitses, J. (2007). Horizons West: The Western from John Ford to Clint Eastwood. London: The British Film Institute. Lenihan, J. H. (1980). Showdown: Confronting Modern America in the Western Film. Illinois: University of Illinois Press. Mitchell, L.C. (1998) ‘Foreword’, in Grey, Z. Riders of the Puple Sage. London: Oxford University Press, pp.? Mitchell, L.C. (1998) ‘Introduction’, in Grey, Z. Riders of the Purple Sage. London: Oxford University Press, p.viii. Mitchell, L.C. (1998) Westerns. Chicago: Chicago University Press. Nachbar, J.G. (1974). Focus on the Western. Prentice Hall. Parkman, F. (1847) The Oregon Trail. Holt, Rinehart and Winston. Red River (Howard Hawks and Arthur Rossen, 1948). Monterey Productions. 133mins. Shane (George Stevens, 1953). Hollywood: Paramount Pictures. 118 mins Simmon, S. (2003). The Invention of the Western Film: A Cultural History of the Genre's First Half Century. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Stagecoach (John Ford, 1989). Walter Wanger Productions. 95mins. Swales, J. (2011). Genre Analysis. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. The Big Trail (Raoul Walsh, Louis R. Loefflet, 1930). Hollywood: Fox Film Corporation. 125 mins. The Good, The Bad and The Ugly (Sergio Leonne, 1966). Produzioni Europee Associati. 161 mins. The Great Train Robbery (Edwin S. Porter, 1903). New Jersey: Edison Manufacturing Company. 11 mins. The Lone Ranger (Gore Verbinski, 2013). Hollywood: Walt Disney Pictures. 150 mins. Tompkins, J. (1992). West of Everything: The Inner Life of Westerns. New York: Oxford University Press. True Grit (Ethan Cowen and Joel Cowen, 2010). Hollywood: Paramount Pictures. 110 mins. Unforgiven (Clint Eastwood, 1992). Warner Brothers. 131 mins. rm part of the codes and conventions of the genre. Lasseter’s quiet manner and few words signify that he is a man of action, not words, symbolising the character of the stereotypical Western hero. His respect for women, and in particular Jane, is signified by his courteous manner of speech and actions, ‘Beggin your pardon ma’am’ (Grey 1912, p13), which symbolises chivalry and honour. This is also demonstrated by Lasseter’s compliance with Jane’s request not to use his guns and Vetner in saving Bess’s life and nursing her back to health. This contrasts with the disregard for women shown by the Mormons to Jane and by Oldring to Bess signifying there disrespect and symbolising the attitude to women within their society. The high regard for horses in the West is signified by Lasseter’s request for water for his horse before himself and the desire to own the best and fastest seen in Jane’s pride in her blacks ‘there never was [a horse] that could Black Star’ (Grey, 1912, p.247). The syntactic conventions of the genre depicted by Grey include the binary opposites of community and wilderness, Jane’s ranch with its amber spring is compared with the prairie and canyons; good vs. evil, represented by Jane, Lasseter, Vetner and Bess compared with the corrupt and controlling Mormon elders; confinement and freedom, displayed through marriage to Tull or escape with Lasseter; danger and safety, as Bess and Vetner escape to the East. Through the storylines of Bess, Milly Erne and Jane, Grey also explored the public concern of white slavery and abduction, the influence of the Mormons and their practice of polygamy, corruption in authority, together with the dominant ideology regarding the inferior position of women in Mormon culture and society as a whole. However, some of Grey’s subjective choices are not prototypical of the Western genre as we have come to know it. The main character is a woman and instead of the simple morality tales, for example revenge and retribution, found in many subsequent examples of the genre, Grey’s main plot, featuring Jane, Lasseter and the Mormons is much more complex and supported by an equally complex sub-plot involving Vetner and Bess. These are interwoven with several minor plots involving Jane and Fay Erne, Bess and Oldring and Lasseter and Milly Erne. Zane chooses to vilify the Mormons suggesting he disapproves of their treatment of women, corrupt nature and unhealthy influence on the rest of society, what Grey refers to as ‘The Invisible Hand’ (Grey, 1998, p.129), he completely ignores the existence of Native Americans which probably reflects the ideology of the U.S. Government of the time, and his hero, instead of riding off into the sunset, sets up house with the girl. Despite these differences and omissions, many of the codes and conventions that shaped the Western genre we recognise today can be found in Grey’s book, and his contribution to founding and developing this new genre is evidenced in the 48 successful Western novels Grey published over a period of 50 years, which have been adapted into 112 films, and a television series. Erle Stanley Gardner, prolific author of mystery novels, said of Grey, ‘[He] had the knack of tying his characters into the land, and the land into the story… he could make action not only convincing but inevitable, and somehow you got the impression that the bigness of the country generated a bigness of character’ (Gardner, cited Gruber 1969, p. 213). TEXT TRANSFORMATION Western to Science Fiction As the soft whirling sound of the Helitran died away, the cloud of yellow dust, disturbed by its helium thrusters, quickly settled back on the surface of the dense planet. The Driftrider came to warn her of the approaching fleet from Settlement as Jinda Cintarion gazed thoughtfully through the viewing portal; following the ground craft’s path across the desert landscape where the seams of purple Strantium, exposed by drift mining, glittered in the bright light of Solus as its orbit arched towards the horizon. The Caspian Elders disapproved of her friendship with Outlanders, Valimar in particular; a young Driftrider she had grown fond of who sometimes helped her in the Agrophonic garden. The riches of the planet Cintar, named after her father who had founded the Caspian settlement in this remote end of Alpha Centuri on the outer reaches of the galaxy, now belonged to her. Its vast resources, including the rich seams of Strantium, a source of power traded throughout the galaxy, had provided enough wealth to build a paradise on this otherwise desolate world and the Agrophonic Plant, controlled by Jinda, provided all that was needed to sustain life for the whole community, creating an easy and peaceful life for the Caspian settlers. Other Caspian settlements had followed on neighbouring planets in this frontier world, but by the beginning of the 35th millennium Outlanders had begun to settle on these Caspian planets and raiding parties of space pirates found easy pickings, causing the peace-loving Caspians to rise-up against these unwanted intrusions. She feared this unrest was about to land on her own docking bay. The living pod filled with the comforting sounds of the rain cycle in the Agrophonic garden as Jinda linked her mind to the viewing portal controls and began to drift across the purple seams of Strantium into the vast yellow desert beyond. Swooping over the horizon, she drifted through the frontier worlds of Alpha Centura. First, Sangras, with its red rocks and sparse vegetation, home to the second Caspian settlement, then sweeping past the mystical rings of Janus, its broken rock surface just visible through the purple haze as the illusive beauty of the gas planet Cupiran crept in from above, filling the screen with ethereal light before drifting out of view to reveal the canyon planet, Iveron, hiding its secrets behind grey escarpments and purple turrets. Sweeping back to Caspian, now a twilight world as Solus dips below the horizon and Montas begins its gentle arc across the empty sky, the two satellites drawing life from a distant sun. Her father designed this life-support system, inspired by stories in Caspian folk law about a long-forgotten mother planet. The swish of an airlock announced the arrival of her visitors and Jinda made her way to the landing bay to greet them. There were seven men, led by the high ranking Krull, dressed in the dark blue and silver of a Caspian Elder. The rest wore the grey tunics of plant workers with the Caspian seal on their arm. Krull’s harsh voice rang across the empty space. ‘You disobeyed me.’ ‘Yes,’ replied Jinda, quietly. ‘Where is he?’ Jinda hesitated, ‘In the Agrophonic garden.’ Krull turned to the others. ‘Fetch him. Stun him if you need to.’ ‘Are you arresting Valimar?’ demanded Jinda. ‘What if I am?’ ‘It’s against the code. He is under my protection.’ ‘Why do you protect this… worthless Outlander.’ ‘Worthless! He is the best Driftrider this side of Iveron.’ ‘It seems you have feelings for this… boy.’ ‘That’s non…’ started Jinda angrily. ‘off my business? All life on Cintar is my business. ‘Then consider the life of Lia. Valimar saved her and brought her under my protection.’ ‘It seems you are favouring these Outlanders over your own people.’ Jinda saw no reason why the Caspian code of peaceful co-existence should not include the less fortunate Outlanders. ‘You forget my father was an Elder, I know the code better than any,’ responded Jinda confidently, ‘the Caspian way is a life of peace and goodwill to all.’ ‘And you forget your place. You may own most of Cintar and its riches, but as a Caspian woman, you rank not only below me, but below all Caspian men.’ Frustrated and angry, Jinda knew what Krull said to be true and kept silent. Seeing he had won the argument Krull softened his approach, yet remained arrogant. ‘I have no particular objections to you having Lia under your protection. She is young enough to be taught the Caspian way, but Valimar must be punished for his actions.’ ‘Punished for what, the fighting in Settlement? He was not involved. He bears no weapons while under my protection and he has never left my side in the last ten orbits.’ ‘It seems your misplaced loyalty is born out of love for this man.’ ‘And your actions are born out of jealousy.’ ‘Either way it is this Outlander who will pay the price.’ Anguished cries proceeded Valimar as he was led into the landing bay, his powerful body straining against the cyber beam that locked his arms to his side. The clinical uniforms of the Caspians contrasted with his rag-tag clothing, torn from the struggle, ‘Will you leave Cintar today and never return?’ demanded Krull. ‘Why should I,’ responded Valimar, defiantly. ‘I worked a claim out beyond the purple plain, earned respect in Settlement and owned the fastest Helitran on the planet. You took it all from me and treated me like a space bandit. Only the kindness of this woman saved my life.’ ‘Only Caspians can mine the Strantium.’ ‘I was mining Prolium, not Strantium. I did no harm.’ ‘So you say, but mining is mining. You broke the code and paid the price. Will you swear now to leave Cintar and never return?’ ‘So you can have Jinda for yourself: her lands, the riches of her Strantium mines, her… beauty,’ said Valimar, looking directly at Jinda, who turned away, blushing. ‘Do you love her?’ he demanded of Krull. ‘Love…?’ pondered Krull. ‘Jinda, and everything she owns, belongs to the community. Whoever she pairs with controls her and all her possessions. It is the Caspian way.’ ‘I will never leave her,’ protested Valimar. ‘Then you must suffer the consequences.’ Two men fitted a cerebral probe around Valimar’s head. It hummed with latent energy, silver lights pulsing softly. ‘We must cleanse you of these improper thoughts and teach you to obey. If you survive, then I will set you adrift in the galaxy where no Caspian community will suffer you, and even space bandits will think twice before giving you shelter.’ ‘Then you’d better make sure I don’t survive, or I will become like Lariston, a law unto myself. No Caspian codes will bind me, I will learn the way of the warrior and no power in the universe will stop me when I come to seek my revenge.’ At the mention of Lariston’s name a nervous murmuring broke out amongst the group of men. Krull’s face hardened and his grip on the probe’s control tightened. Jinda watched as he thumbed it to full power. She realised he had no intention of letting Valimar survive. ‘No Krull!’ Jinda cried, rushing forward to grab his arm as he raised the cerebral control towards Valimar. Krull now turned his attention to Jinda, addressing her in a voice that carried the full authority of a Caspian Elder; forged by hundreds of generations before him down the millennia. ‘The council have been patient Jinda. You have enjoyed the pleasures and freedom of your fathers’ wealth for the full period of a woman’s discovery cycle before pairing must take place. You are nearing your 25 th annum and you know that if you have not found a suitable paring by then, the council will arrange one.’ Jinda felt the pressure of her conditioning and indoctrination. ‘I’m sorry, I forget myself. Spare the boy and I promise I will…’ Krull’s eyes flashed with anticipation. Could this woman and her wealth now be his? ‘You will…?’ prompted Krull. ‘I will…’ Jinda looked at Valimar. Was she willing to sacrifice herself to Krull for the sake of this boy. Did she love Valimar? Did she love him enough? She was unsure, but if she let him die, the council would surely still force her into a pairing with Krull. ‘I promise I will….’ Jinda saw the self-satisfied smile on his cruel mouth and the words stuck in her throat. She thought of the Agrophonic Plant and its beautiful garden, the purple Strantium mines with their loyal workers both Caspians and Outlanders, and feared for their future once Krull had control. She couldn’t let that happen. Surely there had to be another way. A bleep from the control panel announced the approach of a ship. An image appeared on the viewing screen as the craft crossed the Strantium mines and made its way towards the landing dock. ‘Intergalactic cruiser requesting docking permission,’ announced Porta, the docking platform computer, in the carefully programmed tones of a mid-ranking Caspian Technocrat. ‘Identify,’ instructed Jinda. ‘Identification not recognised,’ responded Porta. Murmurings came from the group of men as they watched the cruisers approach, bigger and more powerful than the surface craft or the interplanetary vessels that ferried people and goods between the Caspian planets; it bore the scars of meteor storms on its jet-black hull and the tell-tale streaks of hyper-jumps across the galaxy. Its shield still glowed from entry into Cintar’s dense atmosphere. ‘A fine craft,’ said one. ‘Intergalactic,’ said another, ‘It has come far.’ ‘You must deny permission,’ instructed Krull, who wanted no interruptions. Jinda hesitated, this could be the answer she needed. ‘Security check’, she requested. ‘Munitions disarmed and control passed to this system,’ responded Porta. Jinda hesitated, allowing an unidentified ship to dock was dangerous. Space bandit activity had increased recently, raiding groups swooping during the twilight time to steal from the Strantium stockpiles at the mine. ‘You cannot allow this,’ barked Krull. ‘It’s against foundation Code. You’ll be sanctioned.’ ‘Audio link,’ Jinda instructed, ignoring Krull. White noise cleared to the background hum of powerful warp drives. ‘This is Jinda Cintarion of the Caspian Foundation, identify yourself.’ A slow easy voice responded in an unfamiliar accent. ‘Well, I guess any identification wouldn’t mean much in Foundation records. I’m just a stranger passing through. Need some fuel for my ship… and maybe some directions.’ There was something in his voice that made her think she could trust him. ‘Do you promise to put your weapons under my control while on Cintar?’ There was a long silence while Jinda awaited his response. ‘That’s a hard thing you ask.’ He eventually replied. ‘You will be under my protection.’ He hesitated. ‘Well I guess so then, as long as my life isn’t threatened.’ ‘Agreed.’ ‘No!’ cried Krull ‘I will not allow it. Permission denied!’ he shouted at the control system. ‘Unidentified instruction,’ replied Porta, who was programmed only to respond to Jinda’s voice. ‘Permission granted,’ instructed Jinda. ‘You’ll come to regret this,’ growled Krull, as the outer airlock door slid silently open. While the ship went through its decontamination and cooling cycle, Krull whispered instructions to his men who surrounded Valimar, blocking him from view. Eventually the all-clear signal sounded and the inner airlock door slid open to reveal a tall man stepping lightly onto the deck, his feet wide apart. His black jumpsuit bore no markings of rank or nation. He ambled lazily through the portal onto the inner deck, stretching out his muscles after the cramped conditions of the ship, his sharp eyes scanning the new surroundings and the group of men. His right hand never strayed far from the strobe gun at his side: the handle of a light sabre glowed on his shoulder ‘Your weapons,’ demanded Jinda. ‘Disarmed,’ he replied, bowing slightly to his host in a universal sign of respect and courtesy. ‘Only you can arm them… unless my life is threatened,’ he continued, looking directly at Krull and his men. ‘See how the strobe gun hangs low on his thigh’, said one. ‘What’s that on his back?’ asked another. ‘A Castarian light sabre,’ replied an older man. ‘He bears no insignia, what master does he serve, who is he?’ demanded Krull of his men. ‘A Sun Warrior, the most dangerous creature in the universe,’ replied the older man, ‘he bends his knee to no authority but his own.’ Krull weighed up the situation and decided to bide his time. ‘Greetings,’ he murmured with the slightest bow of his head. The stranger ignored him, turning his attention back to Jinda. My ship needs recharging with Strantium, would it be possible to…?’ ‘… Of course,’ Jinda interrupted, ‘you are welcome.’ ‘Porta, recharge the vessel in Loading Bay Five with Strantium from my own supply.’ ‘I can pay with Caspian Crowns or Universal Credits, whichever you prefer.’ ‘That is not necessary, as you can see I have ample supplies,’ she responded, indicating the seams of purple Strantium through the viewing portal. ‘Consider it a gesture of Caspian hospitality.’ There was an intensity to this quiet stranger, with his lean frame and watchful eyes, that belied his easy manner. His leathered face, wrinkled from the rigours of hyper-drive and burned from the searing radiation of distant suns, reminded her of intergalactic pilots alone in the depths of space: independent, self-contained. But there was also something vulnerable that touched Jinda’s heart; secret longings haunted him. She instinctively trusted this man and if she could persuade him to stay she may yet save Valimar. ‘That’s uncommonly kind of you,’ replied the stranger, but perhaps you had better know who I am before…’ ‘It is of no consequence,’ interrupted Jinda, ‘you shall have Strantium for your ship and food and rest for yourself. It is the Caspian way.’ As Krull moved forward to object, his men broke ranks, revealing Valimar. The stranger’s eyes took in the cyber beam that locked his arms and the cerebral probe around his head. ‘Seems I might have interrupted something’, he looked enquiringly at Krull. ‘None of your business,’ Krull snapped in reply. ‘Looks like what you Caspians call an Outlander and blame for all the trouble in your world. What is he: space bandit, credit trader, life-taker? Must be something real bad to warrant treatment like this.’ ‘He’s no bandit or life-taker,’ responded Jinda. The stranger moved to where he had clear sight of Krull and his men. ‘So tell me boy,’ he said gently, ‘What is it you’ve done?’ ‘I said this is none of your business,’ interrupted Krull, ‘now charge up your ship and be on your way.’ The stranger’s hard gaze fell firmly on Krull. ‘Seven armed Caspian and a helpless Outlander that this woman says has done no wrong. That don’t seem quite fair to me.’ ‘This is Caspian business, not yours. Now, be on your way,’ fumed Krull. ‘Well, this woman who has kindly given me her hospitality seems to think differently.’ ‘Caspian law is not governed by what women think.’ ‘Then I spit on Caspian law and all its followers.’ He raged, his hard eyes challenging Krull and his men. They gasped in astonishment at the insult. Outraged by this challenge to his authority, Krull moved to protest, but the stranger, keeping his gaze on the others, spoke directly to Valimar. ‘Tell me what you did to deserve this, or is it the way Caspians treat all Outlanders?’ ‘I befriended this woman, that is all. This Caspian Elder wants her for himself,’ he blurted out, looking to Jinda for support. ‘He speaks the truth,’ said Jinda. ‘Who would not want to befriend a woman of such beauty and compassion,’ the stranger remarked. Jinda blushed and lowered her head. ‘A cerebral probe can do a man much harm, even kill him. Is that their intent?’ ‘It is,’ replied Valimar, ‘the controller is set to maximum.’ Krull fumbled with the controller as he tried to hide it. ‘Enough of this. Bring him,’ he commanded, striding towards the airlock. The men hesitated as the stranger’s body stiffened and a hard look came into his eyes. ‘No!’ cried Jinda, turning to the stranger, ‘Please… save him.’ ‘At any cost?’ The stranger asked, indicating his weapons, ‘these are your own people.’ ‘I…’ Jinda nodded. ‘You foolish woman,’ snarled Krull, ‘You will pay a heavy price for this.’ ‘Bring him, I said.’ The diodes pulsed on the stranger’s light sabre and a quiet hum came from his strobe gun as it changed from standby to armed. ‘The young man stays here.’ The stranger’s voice bit through the air like a Salesian laser. Krull stopped in his tracks and he turned to the stranger, his hand hovered over the butt of his strobe gun. ‘I warn you stranger, any more interference and you will answer to me. We are seven and who are you?’ Suddenly, the stranger’s light sabre was swooping across his body in the universal salute of his kind, finishing its path out to his side where it pulsed and crackled with deadly energy. ‘I am Larason,’ he declaimed, ‘Sun Warrior of the 35 th millennium, and I answer to no man.’ Krull and his men froze, staring at Larason with fear in their eyes. Death was but a moment away. An aggressive intention anticipated; an innocent movement misinterpreted. The parsecs clicked by until the spell was eventually broken by Valimar crying out unbelievably. ‘Larason.’ Krull gathered himself, and tried to save face. ‘We will leave without the boy, but you have not heard the last of this Jinda. You have broken the Caspian Code and you will pay the price.’ REFERENCES Adams, A. (1903). Log of a Cowboy. Boston: Houghton Miffin. Austen, J. (1813). Pride and Prejudice. 1st ed. New York: Dutton. Blazing Saddles (Mel Brooks, 1974). Crossbow Productions. 93 mins. Brokeback Mountain (Ang Lee, 2006). Alberta Canada: Focus Features. 134 mins. Brother’s in Arms (Jeane-Claude le Marre, 2005). Sony Pictures. 85 mins. Campbell, J. (1949). The Hero with a Thousand Faces. Princeton: Princeton University Press. Chandler, D. (1994). Semiotics for Beginners. [Online] Available at: http://visual- memory.co.uk/daniel/Documents/S4B/semiotic.html [Accessed September 2015]. City Slickers (Ron Underwood, 1991). Hollywood: Universal Studios. 113 mins. Cooper, J.F. (1954). Leatherstocking Saga. Pantheon Books. Cooper, J.F. (1954).The Last of the Mohicans. New York: Pantheon Books. Cowboys and Aliens (Jon Favreau, 2011). Hollywood: Universal Pictures. 119 mins. Glitre, K. (2006). Genre, Cycles and Critical Traditions. [Online] Available at: http://manchester.universitypressscholarship.com/view/10.7228/manchester/978079 070785.001.0001/upso-9780719070785-chapter-001 [Assessed 29 th April 2017]. Grey, Z. (1908). Last of the Plainsmen. Outing Publishing. Grey, Z. (1998). Riders of the Purple Sage. London: Oxford University Press. Gruber, F. (1969) Zane Grey-a biography. New York: Amereon Ltd. Hardy, T. (1874) Far From the Madding Crowd. London: Smith Elder and Co. High Noon (Fred Zinnemann, 1952). Hollywood: Stanley Kramer Productions. 85 mins. Mitchell, L.C. (1998) ‘Foreword’, in Grey, Z. Riders of the Purple Sage. London: Oxford University Press, pp. ? Mitchell, L.C. (1998) ‘Introduction’, in Grey, Z. Riders of the Purple Sage. London: Oxford University Press, p.viii. Mitchell, L.C. (1998) Westerns. Chicago: Chicago University Press. Parkman, F. (1847) The Oregon Trail. Holt, Rinehart and Winston. Red River (Howard Hawks and Arthur Rossen, 1948). Monterey Productions. 133mins. Shane (George Stevens, 1953). Hollywood: Paramount Pictures.118 mins. Stagecoach (John Ford, 1989). Walter Wanger Productions. 95mins. Swales, J. (2011). Genre Analysis. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. The Big Trail (Raoul Walsh, Louis R. Loefflet, 1930). Hollywood: Fox Film Corporation. 125 mins. The Good, The Bad and The Ugly (Sergio Leonne, 1966). Produzioni Europee Associati. 161 mins. The Great Train Robbery (Edwin S. Porter, 1903). New Jersey: Edison Manufacturing Company. 11 mins. The Lone Ranger (Gore Verbinski, 2013). Hollywood: Walt Disney Pictures. 150 Mins. True Grit (Ethan Cowen and Joel Cowen, 2010). Hollywood: Paramount Pictures. 110 mins. Unforgiven (Clint Eastwood, 1992). Warner Brothers. 131 mins. BIBLOGRAPHY Adams, A (1903). Log of a Cowboy. Boston: Houghton Miffin. Austen, J. (1813). Pride and Prejudice. 1st ed. New York: Dutton. Blazing Saddles (Mel Brooks, 1974). Crossbow Productions. 93 mins. Bold, C. (1987). Selling the Wild West: Popular Western Fiction, 1860–1960. Bloomington: Indiana University Press. Brokeback Mountain (Ang Lee, 2006). Alberta Canada: Focus Features. 134 mins. Brother’s in Arms (Jeane-Claude le Marre, 2005). Sony Pictures. 85 mins. Campbell, J. (1949). The Hero with a Thousand Faces. Princeton: Princeton University Press. Chandler, D. (1994). Semiotics for Beginners. [Online] Available at: http://visual- memory.co.uk/daniel/Documents/S4B/semiotic.html [Accessed September 2015]. City Slickers (Ron Underwood, 1991). Hollywood: Universal Studios. 113 mins. Cooper, J.F. (1954). The Last of the Mohicans. New York: Pantheon Books. Cooper, J.F. (1954). Leatherstocking Saga. New York: Pantheon Books. Cowboys and Aliens (Jon Favreau, 2011). Hollywood: Universal Pictures. 119 mins. Devitt, A. J. (2004) Writing Genres. Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press. Glitre, K. (2006). Genre, Cycles and Critical Traditions. [Online] Available at: http://manchester.universitypressscholarship.com/view/10.7228/manchester/978079 070785.001.0001/upso-9780719070785-chapter-001 [Assessed 29 th April 2017]. Grey, Z. (1908) Last of the Plainsmen. Outing Publishing. Grey, Z. (1998). Riders of the Purple Sage. London: Oxford University Press. Gruber, F. (1969) Zane Grey-a biography. New York: Amereon Ltd. Hardy, T. (1874) Far From the Madding Crowd. London: Smith Elder and Co. High Noon (Fred Zinnemann, 1952). Hollywood: Stanley Kramer Productions. 85 mins. Jackson, C. (1973). Zane Grey. New York: Twayne Publishing. Kitses, J. (2007). Horizons West: The Western from John Ford to Clint Eastwood. London: The British Film Institute. Lenihan, J. H. (1980). Showdown: Confronting Modern America in the Western Film. Illinois: University of Illinois Press. Mitchell, L.C. (1998) ‘Foreword’, in Grey, Z. Riders of the Puple Sage. London: Oxford University Press, pp.? Mitchell, L.C. (1998) ‘Introduction’, in Grey, Z. Riders of the Purple Sage. London: Oxford University Press, p.viii. Mitchell, L.C. (1998) Westerns. Chicago: Chicago University Press. Nachbar, J.G. (1974). Focus on the Western. Prentice Hall. Parkman, F. (1847) The Oregon Trail. Holt, Rinehart and Winston. Red River (Howard Hawks and Arthur Rossen, 1948). Monterey Productions. 133mins. Shane (George Stevens, 1953). Hollywood: Paramount Pictures. 118 mins Simmon, S. (2003). The Invention of the Western Film: A Cultural History of the Genre's First Half Century. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Stagecoach (John Ford, 1989). Walter Wanger Productions. 95mins. Swales, J. (2011). Genre Analysis. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. The Big Trail (Raoul Walsh, Louis R. Loefflet, 1930). Hollywood: Fox Film Corporation. 125 mins. The Good, The Bad and The Ugly (Sergio Leonne, 1966). Produzioni Europee Associati. 161 mins. The Great Train Robbery (Edwin S. Porter, 1903). New Jersey: Edison Manufacturing Company. 11 mins. The Lone Ranger (Gore Verbinski, 2013). Hollywood: Walt Disney Pictures. 150 mins. Tompkins, J. (1992). West of Everything: The Inner Life of Westerns. New York: Oxford University Press. True Grit (Ethan Cowen and Joel Cowen, 2010). Hollywood: Paramount Pictures. 110 mins. Unforgiven (Clint Eastwood, 1992). Warner Brothers. 131 mins.
By edward stanley 23 Jan, 2024
In this essay, I will compare the authorial style of detective fiction writers, Ian Rankin and Raymond Chandler, by examining the texts of The Big Sleep, featuring private detective, Phillip Marlowe, first published in 1939, and Fleshmarket Close, featuring police detective, John Rebus, published in 2005. With reference to different narrative theories, I will describe how the role of discourse in narratives can impact on their meaning, and consider the discursive strategies used to communicate the narratives, including the use of story space and discourse space and the influence of the different historical, geographical and cultural settings, Chandler ‘s in 1930’s Los Angeles and Rankin’s in Edinburgh at the beginning of the 21 st century. Born in 1888 in Chicago, Chandler spent his formative years in Nebraska before moving to London in 1900 where he later worked as a journalist. Returning to Los Angeles after the war he became a highly paid executive in the oil industry, but in 1931, his propensity to alcoholism, promiscuity, and depression, that would haunt him the rest of his life, eventually lost him his job. To earn a living he tried writing for pulp fiction magazines and received his first acceptance in 1931 by Black Mask. With typical wry irony, Chandler wrote of the occasion to his English publisher in 1950. ‘After that I never looked back, although I had a good many uneasy periods looking forward.’ (Chandler, 1969. p. vii). Chandler adopted the hard-boiled style of crime fiction but pushed the boundaries of this formulaic genre with lyrical descriptions and the ironic similes that became his hallmark. The Big Sleep, published in 1935, was the first of seven Phillip Marlow novels, all made into movies. Chandler died in 1956. One of his most famous lines from The Big Sleep "Dead men are heavier than broken hearts’ (Chandler, 1939. P. 44) is carved on his gravestone. Born in Scotland in 1960, Ian Rankin studied literature at Edinburgh university, graduating in 1982. He lived in London and rural France before returning to Edinburgh, the setting for his crime fiction novels featuring John Rebus. Fleshmarket close, published in 2004, is his fifteenth novel featuring the cynical Edinburgh policeman who Rankin describes as ‘[A] professional misanthrope made more cynical by the job he does. He delights in flouting authority; he smokes and drinks; he doesn’t play by the rules. He is the ultimate maverick cop who prefers ‘old-school’ graft to new-fangled modern-day policing methods. He’s a flawed, pessimistic, multi-layered character, a troubled, brooding soul and a cynical loner who can find no solace in faith’ (Ian Rankin, 2017). Rankin’s influences include the works of Robert Louis Stevenson, Muriel Spark, and William McIlvanney (Rankin, 2014) and ‘US crime writers James Ellroy, Elmore Leonard and Lawrence Block’ (Ian Rankin, 2017). Rankin’s says of Chandler, ‘The Big Sleep opens with my favourite paragraph in all crime fiction….It was one of the first crime novels I ever read and is still one of the best.’ (Rankin, 2005. p. v) The influence of Muriel Spark, who Rankin studied for his PHD, are clear in his references to the supernatural and Scotland’s dark history. In Freshmarket Close, police inspector, John Rebus, and his protégé, Siobhan Clarke, investigate a series of seemingly unconnected murder cases in a dire Edinburgh council estate and a nearby internment camp off asylum seekers, discovering Glasgow gangsters, racism and human trafficking along the way. They pursue their investigations both together and separately without realising the cases are connected. In The Big Sleep, private investigator, Phillip Marlow, is hired by a Los Angeles millionaire who is being blackmailed with pornographic images and gambling debts of his wild younger daughter, Carmen. As the bodies pile up, Marlowe tries to solve the murders and extricate the family from the seedy underworld of drugs pornography and organised crime with the help of older daughter, Vivian. He discovers that Carman is responsible for one of murders but decides to keep quiet about it. Even though Carmen also tried to kill Marlow, he considers justice will be better served by ensuring she receives help, rather than incarceration. Both Chandler and Rankin’s work reflects the codes and conventions of detective fiction, for example, following clues and the discovery of a body, which provides the inciting incident in both stories. There are, however, differences in their discursive strategies. Perhaps due to Rankin’s academic study of literature, his stories and plot reflect popular narrative theories, including the three-act structure advocated by Hollywood gurus Robert Mckee and Syd field, He follows the plot points, rising tension, climax and denouement, ensuring all loose ends are tied up. Chandler, on the other hand, considered structure and plot secondary to atmosphere and character, often leaving loose ends untied. Washington Post reviewer, Patrick Anderson, considered Chandler’s plots to be rambling and incoherent (Anderson, 2007). When The Big Sleep was being adapted for film, Howard Hawks, the director, wired Chandler and asked him who killed Owen Taylor, the Sternwood family's chauffeur, Chandler replied that he didn’t know (ibid). Chandler considered plot to be subordinate to character and objected to English murder mystery writers, including Agatha Christie and Dorothy Sayer, who he saw as unnecessarily preoccupied with clues and plot developments (Chandler, 1950). Despite this, Chandler’s plots were more complex than his contemporary detective fiction writers, often with a twist at the end. In The Big Sleep, he finds the murderer but then decides to let them off. But they do not compare with the complexity of Rankin’s plots which follow multiple story lines and characters that converge in the final chapter. This is illustrated with Rebus and Siobhan’s multiple investigations in Fleshmarket Close. To Chandler, the fabula was less important than the Sjezet, the atmosphere and characterization being more important than structure or plot. Chandler carefully describes the mise-en-scene for each setting irrespective of its significance to the plot as illustrated by his lengthy description the place where a man he was following, stopped briefly. ‘This was a narrow tree lined street with a retaining wall on one side and three bungalow courts in the other…. the second bungalow court (was) called La Bamba, a quite dim place with a double row of tree shaded bungalows on the other. The central walkway was lined with Italian Cypress’s trimmed short and chunky, something the shape of the oil jars in Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves’ (Chandler, 2005. P. 26). The description of a ‘quiet dim place’ (ibid) suggest the man may have stopped for a clandestine purpose giving meaning to the scene, but his broader and detailed description of setting, including his use of simile when describing the Cyprus trees, functions simply to bring the image more vividly into the reader’s mind. Conversely, where the setting is irrelevant to the story, plot or meaning, Rankin sketches the mise-en-scene sufficiently only for the reader to recognise where the action is taking place. ‘They parked in a pay bay and walked through the gardens emerging in front of the university library’ Rankin, 2005. P. 255). Unlike Chandler, Rankin does not feel it necessary to describe how the gardeners have trimmed the greenery. However, where relevant, Rankin’s story space is also inhibited by vivid descriptions that create atmosphere seen in his description of the morgue. ‘The viewing gallery comprised three tiers of benches separated by a wall of glass from the autopsy suite. The place made some visitors queasy. Maybe it was the clinical efficiency of it all: the stainless-steel tables with their drainage outlets; the jars and specimen bottles. Or the way the entire operation resembled too closely the skills seen in any butcher’s shop- the carving and filleting by men in aprons and wellingtons. A reminder not only of mortality but of the body’s animal engineering, the human spirit reduced to meat on a slab’ (Rankin, 2005. P. 39). Rankin often goes further than Chandler, by not only evoking an image of the setting in the reader’s mind, which echo in the novel’s title and foreshadows the narrative but also emotions of revulsion and fear raising deeper questions of mortality and the human spirit. Chandler uses his descriptions of story space to give meaning to the characters who inhabit it, and create foreshadowing, mystery and suspense as is illustrated in his description of Vivian Regan’s room. ‘The room was too big, the ceiling was too high, the doors were too tall, and the carpet that went from wall to wall looked like a fresh fall of snow at lake Arrowhead. There were full-length mirrors and crystal doodads all over the place. The ivory furniture had chromium on it, and the enormous ivory drapes lay onto the white carpet a yard from the window. The white made the ivory look dirty and the ivory made the white look bled out. The windows stared across the darkening foothills. It was going to rain soon. There was pressure in the air already’ (Chandler, 2005. P. 16). This can be seen again in his detailed description of an old parquetry floor in a gambling hall. ‘The parquetry floor was made of half a dozen kinds of hardwood from Burma teak to half a dozen kinds of oak and ruddy wood that looked like mahogany and fading out to the hard pale wild lilac of the California hills, all laid in elaborate patterns with the accuracy of a transit’ (Chandler, 2005. pp. 147-148). ‘Marlow’s attention to this seemingly innocuous detail allows one to recognise in the flooring the character of the…owner of the gambling house, the extortionist Eddie Marr’ (Jones, 2015. P. 177). Marr has also covered most of the old ballroom floor with heavy carpeting leaving just a small space for dancing, suggesting that the purpose of the room, and the man, is primarily about business, not pleasure. The difference between Chandler’s lyrical and humorous style and Rankin’s realistic style can be clearly seen in their character descriptions which, even for minor characters, are both often detailed and vivid. ‘There were gold rings on each of his fingers, chains dangling from his neck and wrists. He wasn’t Tall but he was wide. Rebus got the impression that much of it was fat. A gut hung over his waistband. He was balding badly and had allowed whatever hair he had to grow remain uncut so that it hung to the back of his collar and beyond. He wore a black leather trench coat and black t-shirt with baggy denims and scuffed trainers’ (Rankin, 2005. P.107). ‘She had long thighs and walked with a certain something I hadn’t often seen in bookstores. She was an ash blonde with greenish eyes, beaded lashes, hair waved smoothly back from ears in which large jet buttons glittered. In spite of her get up she looked as if she would have a hall bedroom accent. She approached me with enough sex appeal to stampede a businessman’s lunch (Chandler, 2005). Both the descriptions lead the reader to form judgments about the character but Chandler’s style is arguably more entertaining and the reference to ‘the hall bedroom accent’ suggest a greater meaning to the story space and the theme of duality. Chandler’s one-liners are ‘both witty and full of subtle meaning’ (Rankin, 2005. p. vi.) For example, ‘As honest as you can expect a man to be in a world where it’s going out of style’ (Chandler, 2005. p. 218). Rankin, however, was not averse to using the occasional one-liner of his own. ‘It was like watching a gorilla's first attempt at flower arranging’ (Rankin, 2005. p.309). This use of simile and metaphor often combined with hyperbole became a hallmark of chandler’s writing, differentiating him from his contemporaries like Hammett and Gardner. Other rhetorical devices Chandler used include syllepsis, ‘I went to bed full of whisky and frustration’ (Chandler, 2005. p. 45) and ‘…which forced him to make a left turn and a lot of enemies’ (ibid. p. 33), and synaesthesia ‘She smelled the way the Taj Mahal looks by moonlight. (Forsyth, 2013. p. 32). Duality is a theme that runs through both books. Rankin’s fascination with duality began with his first John Rebus novel, Knots and Crosses (Rankin, 1987), inspired by Scottish author, Robert Lewis Stephenson’s The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde (1886). This duality was to become a theme of the plots, characters, and settings of the subsequent rebus novels including the multi-layered character of Rebus himself, driven to uphold the law while remaining friends with city’s greatest villain, Morris Gerald Cafferty. The friendship itself creating a duality of loyalties. The duality of Edinburgh itself, quiet and peaceful city in the daytime, but dark and turbulent at night. The city the tourist see and the one the residents live within. The beauty and prosperous old town with its high society, discerning culture and grand architecture contrasting with the deprived council estates of the new town, ugly and lawless, linked in both a physical and literary sense by Fleshmarket Close. This is the story space of Rankins book where the binary opposites of wealth and poverty, beauty and desolation, law and lawlessness, good and evil, authority and the individual, are explored in multi-layered plots and brutal imagery. This theme of duality in Chandler’s book begins with the complex and flawed character of Philp Marlow who reflects both the faults and aspirations of the author himself. According to Rankin he ‘remains a knight of sorts- tarnished to be sure. but a knight errant. The work he does is dirty but he maintains his own moral code. (Rankin, 2005. P. vi). It is also seen in the contrasts of story space, as the wealthy and privileged enclaves of the Steadman mansion, ‘I was calling on four million dollars’ (Chandler, 2005. p. 1), contrast with the seedy bookshops selling pornographic literature and the violent underworld of sex, drugs and blackmail. It is the collision of these two worlds that forms the premise of the story and is foreshadowed in the opening chapter when the Marlow observes ‘The windows stared towards the darkening foothills (ibid. p.16) The plot plays out as Marlow attempts to disentangle them and this duality is echoed in the concluding pages ‘…the bright gardens outside the Sternwood mansion have a haunted look. (ibid, p. 250). The historical settings of both books are contemporary, which influenced the themes and social issues raised. Chandler, drugs and pornography in 1930’s California (Buckland, 2014). Rankin, racism and people trafficking in 21 st century Edinburgh. (Amnesty International UK, 2014). The sensationalism of detective fiction of the thirties as illustrated by his fellow writers for Black Mask (Deutsh, 2013), influenced Chandler’s hard-boiled style. This contrasted with the realistic style of Rankin in the 21 st century, focussing, like his American contemporary Michael Connelly, and T.V. series like The Prime Suspect, on police procedures, now considered a sub-genre of detective fiction. Rankin’s work has also been described as an example of Tartan Noir and Chandler’s as Hollywood Noir. Comparing them to authors in the spy fiction genre, Chandler’s work has more in common with Ian Fleming’s James Bond novels, including his fast pace and witty one-liners, whereas Rankin is more aligned to John le Carre’s, George Smiley novels, with their complex plots, pedestrian pace and painstaking procedures. Chandler faster space is also illustrated by shorter chapters: Rankin averages 2238 words per chapter, where Chandler ‘s average is 1215. Both books have 32 chapters. The contrast of geographical and cultural settings within the story space could not be more different. Chandlers story begins in the wealthy and privileged suburbs of high society Los Angeles, Rankin’s in a council estate in the darker side of Edinburgh’s new town and continues in the deprivation of refugee Internment camps. Even when Chandler’s story moves to the darker side it is masked by the glamorous surroundings of high-class gambling clubs and respectability of antique book shops. Edinburgh could claim its cultural history, old money, against the brash, new money society of Los Angeles, however, little of this side of Edinburgh is evident in Rankin’s novel. The points of view are also very different. The author does not intrude directly into the narrative discourse of The Big Sleep. The discourse space and story space are one and the same as the homodiegetic and autodiegetic narrator, Phillip Marlow, tells the story in the first person and past tense. He can be considered a subjective narrator ‘whose feelings beliefs and judgments colour the treatment of the situations and events presented’ (Prince 2003. p. 95). For example, ‘I sat down next to Mrs Regan. She was worth a stare. She was trouble (Chandler, 2005. P.16). Chandler’s book could, therefore, be described as more memetic than Rankin’s third person narration. ‘Mimesis seems to be the imitation of the exact words a character speaks’ (Cobley, 2001. p. 59). In Fleshmarket Close we can assume the the omniscient heterodiegetic narrator to be Rankin himself speaking directly to the reader from some unknown discourse space in the third person omniscient as he describes the progress of his characters through the narrative. The focus switches between Rebus and Siobhan as they pursue their separate investigations. Both narrators could be said to be unreliable as the authors seek to promote their own views and prejudices through the voice of the narrator. Patrick Anderson criticised chandler treatment of black, female and homosexual characters in The Big Sleep (Anderson, 2007). The writer’s ideologies influenced by the dominant social ideologies are apparent as they address the social issues of the day. Organised crime and the proliferation of drugs and pornography in The Big Sleep. People trafficking and racism in Fleshmarket Close. Rankin’s way of dealing with controversial issues such as race is more sensitive and perhaps another example of the dominant ideology of the time. Both authors use language as a code they share with their reader to provide a sense of belonging to the tribe. Rankin’s uses Scottish dialect to give a sense of place, ‘just a wee trick’ (Rankin, 2005 p. 108), and the procedural language of police investigations, for example, ‘SOCO’ (Rankin, 2005 p. 230), for realism. Chandler used the language of ‘hard-boiled slang’ (Linder, 2001. p. 35), a facsimile of the underworld slang of criminals and police of the period. This ‘non-standard variety of literary language’ (ibid), was shared by detective fiction writers and their readers. Examples include: ‘tail job’ (Chandler, 2005. p. 56); ‘hotcha’ (ibid. p. 53); ‘snap it up’ (ibid. p. 47). The Knight, and in particular the Knight Errant, is a reoccurring symbol in both books reflecting the nature the two main protagonists, chivalrous and operating within their own code of honour as they travel the land in their quests for justice. This symbol is woven into the narrative and syuzhet of The Big Sleep starting with the description of the stain glass window on the opening page and later, when the chess game is used as a metaphor for events in the story ‘I looked down at the chessboard. The move with the knight was wrong. I put it back where I had moved it from. Knights had no meaning in this game. It wasn't a game for knights’ (Campbell, 1969. p129). This also reflects the narrative theory of the monomyth described by Campbell in Hero with a Thousand Faces (2008), updated by Vogler in The Writers Journey (2007) and used as template by many modern writers, including J. K. Rowling and J.R.R. Tolkien, as well as Hollywood filmmakers, including George Lucas in the Star Wars movies. The characters, story and plot of both books follow this formula. The call to action, an invitation to the Steadman mansion for Marlow, Secondment to the west end force on a murder for Rebus. They follow the rest of the hero’s journey, overpowering the enemy before returning with the elixir: Marlow, the release from potential incarceration and a promise of help for Carmen. Rebus, release from the refugee internment camp and housing for the Yurgl family. All seven of Chandler’s Phillip Marlow novels were made into movies, In The big sleep, Marlow was played by Humphrey Bogart who also plays Hammett’s hero, Sam Spade, in the Maltese Falcon. Many consider Bogart’s performance to be the definitive portrayal of Marlow. Fleshmarket Close, along with other John Rebus novels, has twice been featured in a TV series. The first starring John Hannah as Rebus, the second, Ken Stott. Stott’s, gravelly voice, gruff mannerisms and aura of grumpiness, fitted the image of a hardened Scottish detective better than the younger fresh faces Hannah, but Hannah’s episodes were darker in tone and more gruesome in detail than Stott’s which lack some of the bleakness of the novels. Rankin’s, Fleshmarket Close and Chandler’s, The Big Sleep are books that reflect the different historical and cultural settings and the social issues of their time and mark milestones in the development of the detective fiction genre, Chandler’s raising it from the province of pulp fiction magazines into mainstream literature, Rankin raising the profile of Tartan Noir and reflecting the best of the police procedural sub- genre who’s realistic style has become popular in literature, T.V. and film. Both writers attempt to convey greater meaning in their narrative discourse and even in their titles. Fleshmarket Close, a place previously populated by abattoirs and butchers foreshadowing the gruesome tale and the trade in human flesh. The meaning of The Big Sleep becomes apparent at the conclusion of the story as Marlow contemplates death, reflecting the depressive and sometimes suicidal nature of both the character and Chandler himself. APPENDIX THE BIG SLEEP – SYNOPSIS http://www.shmoop.com/big-sleep/summary.html It's a dreary October morning in Los Angeles. And it looks like it's about to rain. Private detective Philip Marlowe pays a visit to millionaire General Sternwood. The dying General is being blackmailed by Arthur Geiger, who claims that Sternwood's daughter Carmen owes him gambling debts. And it's Marlowe's job to track down Geiger's whereabouts. During the meeting, Marlowe also senses that there is something fishy going on with the disappearance of Rusty Regan, the General's son-in-law and husband to Vivian. Rumor has it that Regan ran off with Mona Grant. So in a nutshell, there seem to be two main plotlines in the novel: (1) the blackmail scheme, and (2) the disappearance of Regan. Let's start with the first plotline. Marlowe learns that Geiger's using his rare bookstore as a front for an illegal pornography racket. Later the same day, Geiger is murdered and Marlowe finds Carmen naked at the scene of the crime… yikes. The next morning, another stiff surfaces, and this time it's Owen Taylor—the chauffeur. Apparently, Vivian is being blackmailed with nude photos of Carmen, and Marlowe traces the photos back to a Mr. Joe Brody. But before Marlowe is able to turn Brody in to the police, Carol Lundgren shows up out of nowhere and shoots Brody in the mistaken belief that Brody had killed Geiger. Don't worry if your head is spinning. Ours is, too. The plot is really convoluted and hard to follow, so you just have to go with the flow. Okay now on to the second plotline. Marlowe's job is technically done now. He has exposed the blackmailers and the case should be closed. But Marlowe decides against his better judgment to find the truth behind Regan's disappearance. No one wants to help Marlowe, least of all Vivian, who owes gambling debts to Eddie Mars (who also happens to be Mona's husband, as in the gal who supposedly ran off with Regan. Talk about a love triangle…. or quadrangle…). Enter Harry Jones. He has a scoop on Mona's whereabouts, but before Marlowe is able to get the necessary information, Harry is poisoned by Canino, Mars' right-hand man. Marlowe somehow manages to track down Mona, and a few fist fights and gunshots later, Marlowe has killed Canino and escaped with Mona. The next day, Marlowe pays a visit to the General and runs into Carmen, who wants Marlowe to teach her how to shoot a gun. And then…. bang, bang, bang, bang, bang! Carmen fires five shots straight at Marlowe. But having already suspected Carmen of foul play, Marlowe had loaded the gun with blanks. Phew, close call. Marlowe figures out that Carmen is the one who murdered Rusty, because he (like Marlowe) had also rejected her sexually. When Marlowe confronts Vivian, she confesses that Rusty is buried under an oil sump and that she had paid Mars to help her bury the body. At the end of the novel, Marlowe contemplates death—the "big sleep"—and concludes that death is the only escape from the nastiness and depravity of life. FLESHMARKET CLOSE – SYNOPSIS https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/205650.Fleshmarket_Close?from_search=true&search_version=service An illegal immigrant is found murdered in an Edinburgh housing scheme: a racist attack, or something else entirely? Rebus is drawn into the case, but has other problems: his old police station has closed for business, and his masters would rather he retire than stick around. But Rebus is that most stubborn of creatures. As Rebus investigates, he must visit an asylum seekers' detention centre, deal with the sleazy Edinburgh underworld, and maybe even fall in love... Siobhan meanwhile has problems of her own. A teenager has disappeared from home and Siobhan is drawn into helping the family, which will mean travelling closer than is healthy towards the web of a convicted rapist. Then there's the small matter of the two skeletons - a woman and an infant - found buried beneath a concrete cellar floor in Fleshmarket Close. The scene begins to look like an elaborate stunt - but whose, and for what purpose? And how can it tie to the murder on the unforgiving housing-scheme known as Knoxland REFERENCES Amnesty International UK. (2014). Human Trafficking in Scotland. [Online]. Available at https://www.amnesty.org.uk/human-trafficking-scotland [accessed 08/05/ 2016]. Anderson, P. (2007). The Triumph of the Thriller London: Random House. Buckland, D. (2014). Death-in-Hollywood-The-dark-seedy-side-of-the-American-dream-1920s-1930s. [online] available at http://www.express.co.uk/celebrity-news/458806/m [Accessed 08/05/2016]. Chandler, R. (1939). The Big Sleep. London: Hamish Hamilton. Chandler, R. (1950). The simple art of murder. New York: Houghton Miffin . Chandler, R. (1969). The Raymond Chandler Omnibus. Borzoi Books Chandler, R. (2005). The Big Sleep. London: Penguin Books. Campbell, J. (2008). The Hero with a Thousand Faces . New World Library. Cobley, P. (2001). Narrative. New York: Taylor & Francis. Deutsh, K.A. (2013). Black Mask Magazine. [online]. Available at http://www.blackmaskmagazine.com/ [Accessed 08/05/2016]. Forsyth, M. (2013) The Elements of Eloquence. London: Icon books. Ian Rankin (2015). The path from Rankin to Rebus [Online]. Available at https://www.ianrankin.net/the-literary-path-from-rankin-to-rebus/ [Accessed 08/05/2017]. Ian Rankin. (2017). John Rebus. [Online]. Available at https://www.ianrankin.net/character/john-rebus/ [Accessed 08/05/2017]. Jones, R.M. (2015). Pretense in Parquetry in Raymond Chandler’s The Big Sleep. The Explicator, Volume 3, No.3, pp. 177-179. Linder, D. (2001). Chandlers, The Big Sleep. The Explicator, Volume 59, Issue 3, p. 137. Linder, D. (2001). Hammett’s the Maltese Falcon and Chandler’s The Big Sleep. The Explicator, Volume 60, Issue 1, p. 35. Prince, G. (2003). A dictionary of narratology. Lincoln, NE: University of Nebraska Press. Rankin, I. (2014). What Ian Rankin has learned about writing: a good writer never stops learning. [Online]. Available at http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/what-ian-rankin-has-learned-about-writing-a-good-writer-never-stops-learning/article17036493/ [Accessed 8/05/2017]. Rankin, I. (1987). Knots and Crosses. London: Orion publishing. Rankin, I. (2005). Fleshmarket Close. London: Orion publishing. Rankin, I. 2005). Introduction. In Chandler, R (2005). The Big Sleep. London: Penguin books. p. v. Stephenson, R. L. (1991). The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. New York: Dover Publications. BIBLOGRAPHY Abbott, P.H. (2008). The Cambridge introduction to narrative. 2nd edn. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 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(2001). Narrative. New York: Taylor & Francis. Fontana, E. (1995) “Chivalry and Modernity in Raymond Chandler's The Big Sleep.” The Critical Responses to Raymond Chandler. Ed.J. K. Van Dover. Westport, CT: Greenwood. pp. 159–65. Forsyth, M. (2013). The Elements of Eloquence. London: Icon books. Denton, W. (2001). Twists, Slugs and Roscoes: A Glossary of Hardboiled Slang. [Online] Available at http://www.miskatonic.org/slang.html [accessed 07/05/2016]. Deutsh, K.A. (2013). Black Mask Magazine. [online]. Available at http://www.blackmaskmagazine.com/ [Accessed 08/05/2016]. Drama UKTV. Hanna vs Stott who’s the better Rebus. Chandler, R . (1995). The Big Sleep 1939. Stories and Early Novels, Edited by: MacShane, F. New York: Library of America. pp 587–764. [online]. Available at https://drama.uktv.co.uk/rebus/article/hannah-vs-stott-rebus/ [Assessed 09/05/2016]. Gardner, E.S. (1965). “Getting Away with Murder.” New York: Atlantic. Gardiner, D and Walker, K. S. (1962). Raymond Chandler Speaking. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. Genette, G. (1983). A Narrative Discourse: An Essay in Method. Cornell University Press. Goldin, H. E., O'Leary, F. and Lipsius, M. (1950). Dictionary of American Underworld Lingo. New York: Twayne. Halliday, M. A. K. (1978). Language as Social Semiotic, London: Edward Arnold. Hammett, D. (1999). The Maltese Falcon. 1930. Complete Novels. Edited by Marcus, S. New York: Library of America. Hiney, T. and MacShane, F. (2000.) The Raymond Chandler Papers: Selected Letters and Non-Fiction (1909–1959). London: Hamish Hamilton. Hoffman, S. The Hero’s Journey - A Postmodern Incarnation of the Monomyth [Online] Available at https://www.researchgate.net/publication/239835061_The_Hero%27s_Journey_A_Postmodern_Incarnation_of_the_Monomyth [Accessed 09/05/2016]. Horsley, L. (2001). The Noir Thriller . Houndmills & New York: Palgrave. Ian Rankin. (2015). The path from Rankin to Rebus [Online]. 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New York: Signet. Stephenson, R. L. (1991). The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. New York: Dover Publications. Todorov, T. (1973). The fantastic: A structural approach to a literary genre.Translated, R.H., Todorov, P.T. and Howard, R. (1973) Cleveland: Cleveland, Press of Case Western Reserve University.
By edward stanley 23 Jan, 2024
This essay will analyze and evaluate the devices and strategies of narrative discourse used in a twenty-five-page extract from the Screenplay, Burning Heart, including its function within the context of the full screenplay. Consideration will be given to where it fits within the broad genre of action adventure and its many subgenres, the ways in which it either conforms to or subverts genre expectations and how this, or any other factors effects the use of story space in communicating meaning through both visual and verbal narrative including the use of mise-en-scene and the use and juxtaposition of space and environments to create meaning and re-enforce binary opposites found within the genre conventions, for example good v evil, and within the discreet text, heterosexuality v homosexuality. The choice of perspective, will be considered as will the use of largely heterodiegetic narration, although some deliberate ambiguity remains. The screenplay follows the format of a three-act structure (Field, 2003) the extract being the first act and part of the second. The protagonist, Laura, is first seen in the familiar setting of her local fencing club. The equilibrium is disrupted (ibid) by the appearance of Jane with disturbing news about the death of Laura’s brother, Damon, some 8 years earlier. Jane’s violent death eight minutes into the screenplay could be considered an inciting incident (ibid), but as Laura is not aware of this until much later in the story it has no immediate effect on her actions. A value charged turning point is reached when Laura learns of her trial for the British team. However, the first major turning point, that has a profound effect on Laura’s life and signals the end of Act 1, comes after twenty minutes, when Laura earns her place on the British fencing team. She walks out of her Job and leaves home to begin her quest to become Olympic champion. The extract displays the codes and conventions associated with the Monomyth, the Hero’s Journey (Campbell, 2008), the template used for classic action adventure films including Star Wars: Episode V - The empire strikes back (Irvin Kershner, 1980) and Raiders of the Lost Ark. (Stephen Spielberg, 1981) The characters we meet in this extract include, Laura, the Hero; John, initially the Antagonist but becomes the Despatcher; Jane, the Herald who’s message will eventually send Jane on her parallel journey to find her brother’s killers, and like Campbell’s Herald once her role is fulfilled she is of no further use; Antonio and Don Carloni are protagonists Laura will meet later in the story; Antonio also plays the role of mentor; Chris is the first protagonist; she meets after her call to adventure; Bill is the Mentor and later the Father; Amy and John are Guardians of the First Threshold, ensuring Laura has everything she needs for the journey; John is also a Donor; Emma is a protagonist and later a Donor; The opposing teams fencers, in particular the Russians, are protagonists. Beth is the Princess. The concept of genre in western society originates in ancient Greece with Plato and Aristotle. Genette (1992) in describing this early concept of genre suggested that ‘…its structure is somewhat superior to…those that have come after’ (p 74) which he proposes are flawed by their ‘hierarchal taxonomy’ (ibid.) Devitt (1993) suggest ignoring restrictions placed on genre by historical classification and viewing genre as a rhetorical device which allows for greater choices. Mckee (1999) supports this argument by suggesting that the modern system of genre classification is ‘…evolved from practice not from theory’ which ‘turns on the differences of subject setting role event and value.’ (p.80) He further suggest that this classification although comprehensive is not rigid but ‘evolving and flexible’ and that genres ‘…often overlap and merge with one another’ (ibid p 86). Burning Heart can be classified primarily as action adventure film and the codes and conventions of this genre are displayed and re-enforced by the narrative devices used to tell the story. The emphasis is on action rather than dialogue which is illustrated in the scene in the coffee bar when Laura calls to collect her wages. Instead of responding to Chris’s taunting with pleas or demands, she uses action. The visual imagery that results is far more powerful particularly in exposing character. Her only word of dialogue in the scene is ‘Arsehole’. This use of action rather than dialogue is typical of the genre. The use of ellipsis in narrative discourse to maintain a fast pace, also genre typical, is used appropriately throughout the extract. Even in scenes where the atmosphere is contemplative and the pace slower, unnecessary dialogue and action is omitted. When Laura and Jane decide to leave the café, we next see them outside. We don’t need to watch them put on their coats and walk to the door. However, the extract also displays codes of other genres and sub genres that ‘overlap and merge with one another.’ (ibid p86) including: Quest, Laura’s journey to win Olympic gold and find her brother’s killers; Mystery, the burning heart symbol; Detective fiction, finding her brother killers Conspiracy, the secret society; Romance, her relationship with Beth. This highlights the two key areas where the codes and conventions of the genre are subverted. A female antagonist and her sexuality. Popular high profile films in this genre with a female protagonist are rare, but include Laura Croft’s character played by Angelina Jolie in Tomb Raider, (Simon West, 2001) and, if one stretches genre boundaries, Thelma and Louise (Ridley Scott, 1991). These films also share common values and themes, the positive representation of women, and their struggle to against power and authority in a male dominated society. The fencing tournaments provide a setting for the story to unfold as Laura battles to achieve her goals and highlight the binary opposites of sport and combat, symbolized by the Russians fighting style. It can also be included and in the Sports genre because the rules and techniques are explained in the early scenes of the screenplay so that the audience can appreciate and understand the significance of the action, especially the technique of disengaging, which Laura uses effectively to defeat her opponents and achieve her goal. The Karate Kid (John G Alvidsen, 1984) uses a similar narrative device. The function of the extract is to introduce the main characters and establish their types, round or flat, and the roles they play in Laura’s story, as described earlier the Hero’s Journey. In particular, we see her fighting spirit and growing confidence as she challenges and prevails over male dominated power and authority, a theme, woven into the screenplay and reflecting its ideology. It establishes the main premise of the story, Laura’s quest for Olympic gold, and introduces the first subplots, the secret society searching for Damon’s diary, the relationship with Beth, the rivalry with Emma. the search for a mysterious book by members of Damon’s a fencing club. It foreshadows later events and creates set ups for later payoffs including the importance of the disengage in fencing techniques, Antonio’s concern over events discussed with Don Corlino and Laura’s anger when her mum defends her father who deserted them. It also creates mystery intrigue and suspense: Why was Jane killed and by whom? Who are Antonio and Don Corlino? What is the significance of the burning heart symbol and the diary? Will Laura earn her place on the British team? When considering perspective, Gennette (1980), poses the question ‘…[W]ho is the character whose point of view orients the narrative perspective? and the very different question, who is the narrator? …who sees?…who speaks?’ (p186). He suggests that this is ‘…[An] apparently obvious but almost universally disregarded distinction.’ (ibid). To describe this distinction, Porter Abbott (2009), recommends the use of the term focalization ‘ [F]or that complex of perspective, position, feeling and sensibility… that characterizes our visual purchase on the narrative.’ (p240) In burning heart the story is focalized on Laura, it is from her prospective that the story is told and that the actions of the other characters are orientated. The story is focused on Laura achieving her goals, and exploring her moral dilemmas, sexuality, thoughts and feelings. The actions of the other characters are only seen in relation Laura. Porter Abott (2009) goes on to recommend the term voice ‘…[F]or the narrative voice that we hear.’ (p 240) In the extract form Burning Heart, deliberate ambiguity is caused by the framed narration at the beginning. Is this unknown narrator the one telling the story from some undisclosed discourse space? If so, who is the perceived narratee? In this case the narration would remain extradiegetic. However, the narration suggests that the narrator may later be revealed to be a character in the story, or at least be able to influence events rather than simply observing and re-telling. ‘…but I swear when the time comes to face the evil, she will not face it alone.’ In this case the narration would become intradiegetic. However, the apparent omniscience of the narrator, his ability to observe all the events in the story space outside the experience of any character within it, would signify that the narrator is the author of the screenplay, in which case the perceived narratee is the reader of the screenplay and the narration heterodiegetic. This use of ambiguity and parallel narration is used effectively in New York Trilogy (Auster, 1985), raising questions of reliable narration and ‘the relationship of a text to reality’ (Gioia 2017) Cobley (2005), suggest that ‘Both Plato and Aristotle considered drama to be a mimetic art,’ as opposed to ‘lyric poetry’ which was seen as ‘representative art, narrated in the poets own voice‘ (Cornford 1945, p82 cited in Cobley 2005, p61) Films therefore are intrinsically memetic but can include diegetic elements. For example, the intradiegetic narrator played by Morgan Freeman in The Shawshank Redemption. (Darabont,1994). In Burning Heart, the framed, narration in discourse space at the beginning is diegetic. This separation of visual and verbal into discreet forms differs from the ‘show don’t tell’ mantra expounded by Hollywood gurus like Robert Mckee (1999), which describes best practice for memetic narration in story space, but could apply to excessive diegetic narration in discourse space. This is illustrated in Burning Heart when the device of a class of new members is used to demonstrate detailed information on fencing rules, etiquette and techniques that will allow the audience to better appreciate later action. Dr. Watson’s lengthy monologue to tell Holme’s back story in The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, episode 1, A Scandal in Bohemia (ITV 1984) is an example of telling rather than showing. The use of flashback images to accompany the narration would have provided a more interesting experience for the audience. The environments created in the story space by the mis-en-scene, lighting, music , camera angles and scene changes, support the action and dialogue to create mood, convey meaning, expose character, and move the story forward. Although some of these elements, such as camera angle and music, are often outside the remit of the screenwriter, he can suggest these through dialogue and the description of action. How this is achieved in Burning Heart can be seen on these early scenes. Jane comes from somewhere dark and miserable (a rain swept street at night) which reflects her mood and the dark message she brings with her, the evil that stalks her. and foreshadows her death. This contrast with the brightly lit gymnasium she enters and Laura’s white clothing suggesting innocence, optimism and openness. The welcoming lights of the café in the dark windswept street suggest comfort and safety from the danger and loneliness lurking outside. This intentionally references The Nighthawks (Edward Hopper 2017). The suggested matched cut from the car that kills jane to another car in a dark tunnel suggests a link between the two. The dark conversation in the bright sunshine and beautiful scenery suggest that evil intentions are hidden behind an innocent facade. Language is used appropriately for characterization and genre. Bill’s, clipped military tone and speech patterns, ‘OK, listen up,’ reflect his military background, northern roots and job as team manager. Language is also used to reflect the character’s mood and circumstances. When Emma feels threatened by Laura her manner becomes aggressive and defensive. ‘…but don’t get in my way, understand?’ Dialogue is used sparingly which reflects both the genre and the nature of the main characters. Elite sports people, members of a secret society and trained killers are all used to expressing themselves in action rather than words. As well as the overt meaning of language, subtext is used to suggest other meanings leading to further action. For example, when Laura says ‘What do boys always want’ in response to Beth’s question after Michael propositions her, it suggests to Beth that is not what Laura wants, and encourages her to visit Laura’s bedroom later that night. I believe this extract from Burning Heart displays a sound knowledge of narrative structure and discourse which is used in an appropriate and creative manner and achieves its function to entertain, educate and stimulate the audiences desire to see the rest of the story.
By TED STANLEY 23 Jul, 2023
‘A courageous and controversial film that both reflects and challenges the conventions of the Hollywood film industry of the early 1990’s’This is a subtitle for your new post
Examining the speeches of Martin Luther King and John F Kennedy
By Ted Stanley 30 Apr, 2023
A comparison of these two great orators of the 1960’s, with particular reference to Kennedy’s inaugural speech in January 1961 and King’s Lincoln Memorial speech in August 1963.
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