Comparative Analysis: Literature and Film

TL;DR

You'll learn to compare and contrast literature and film texts, focusing on how they use "subversive affection" to challenge societal norms. Specifically, you'll examine how Elizabeth Barrett Browning critiques Victorian ideals and how Baz Luhrmann addresses materialism and class in The Great Gatsby. This analysis helps you understand how different mediums reflect and challenge values across different eras.

1. The Mental Model

Think of it as looking at two different artistic reflections of society. Each reflection (book vs. film) uses a similar tool ("subversive affection") but aims it at different societal problems (Victorian restrictions vs. modern materialism) and uses unique techniques to do so.

2. The Core Material

When comparing literature and film, you're essentially looking at how two different mediums convey similar themes or ideas, often across different historical contexts. Your main focus here is on "subversive affection" – how love or romantic desire is used in a way that challenges or undermines established societal norms.

Literary Analysis: Elizabeth Barrett Browning's Sonnets from the Portuguese

Elizabeth Barrett Browning (EBB) uses "subversive affection" to challenge restrictive Victorian ideals, especially those placed on women.

• Context: EBB's personal struggles with illness, isolation, and parental control deeply influenced her writing. Victorian women were expected to be passive, modest, obedient, and emotionally restrained.
• Challenging Norms:
  • Divine Endorsement: EBB presents love not just as personal feeling but as a "divinely endorsed challenge," giving it spiritual authority to go against rigid societal rules.
  • Emotional Confinement: Phrases like "darkness and the death-hour rounding it" highlight the oppressive context of her life. Yet, her love for Robert Browning is seen as so profound that it might even "diminish" in the "perfection of the afterlife," suggesting its powerful, grounded existence here and now, "body and soul as one."
  • Female Expression: Initially, she fears her affection might seem a "'cuckoo-song'," showing the internal pressure to conform to modesty. By articulating her desires, she challenges patriarchal conventions that sought to "regulate women's voice."
  • Transformative Force: Her letters, initially "All dead paper, mute and white!", become "alive and quivering" when imbued with her love. The "white" symbolizing purity or blankness is subverted, as the emotional content brings the paper to life. This shows art (her poetry) as a "transformative force that resists societal erasure."
• Overall Goal: EBB asserts love as a "spiritually empowered force capable of transcending the restrictive moral, social and gendered expectations of Victorian society."

Film Analysis: Baz Luhrmann's The Great Gatsby

Baz Luhrmann (Luhrmann) uses romantic desire in The Great Gatsby to unveil the dominance of materialism and class divisions in a secular age, suggesting social values are "largely resistant to disruption." He also challenges the "mythologised glamour of the Jazz Age."

• Context: The 1920s, post-WWI, saw increased wealth and loose morals, coupled with a "spiritual emptiness" despite the pursuit of the "American Dream."
• Destabilizing Glamour: Luhrmann immediately critiques the Jazz Age's superficiality. He uses a "contemporary rap soundtrack 'No Church in the Wild' layered over 1920s party imagery."
  • This "collision of modern music with flapper-era visuals" creates a "world out of time," highlighting the critique through the "loose morals of women, the increase of money... and their lack of religious values." This suggests a "fragmented society and cultural decay."
• Themes: His work explores "the pursuit of wealth and rigid social class status." The film evokes the "universal consequences of the modern era suggesting material excess demolishes the authenticity of love and the unattainable American Dream."
• Overall Goal: Luhrmann uses the romantic aspirations (particularly Gatsby's desire for Daisy) to expose how "materialism and class divisions" corrupt genuine human connection and perpetuate unachievable ideals.

graph LR
    A["Literary Context: Victorian Era"] --Challenges--> B["Literary Theme: Restrictive Ideals & Female Expression"]
    A --Utilizes--> C["Literary Device: Subversive Affection (EBB's Love)"]
    C --Exposes--> B

    D["Film Context: 1920s Post-WWI / Postmodern"] --Challenges--> E["Film Theme: Materialism, Class Divisions, Spiritual Emptiness"]
    D --Utilizes--> F["Film Device: Romantic Desire (Gatsby's Love)"]
    F --Exposes--> E

    B --Highlights--> G["Love as Spiritually Empowered / Transformative"]
    E --Highlights--> H["Love Demolished by Material Excess / Unattainable"]

    style A fill:#cef,stroke:#333,stroke-width:2px
    style D fill:#fce,stroke:#333,stroke-width:2px

3. Worked Example

Let's look at how both texts use a specific element (letters/communication) to embody their "subversive affection."

• Elizabeth Barrett Browning: In her sonnet, she describes "My letters! All dead paper, mute and white! And yet they seem alive and quivering." Here, the simple letters, mundane objects ("dead paper"), are transformed by the love pouring out of the pages. This makes them "alive" and "quivering," subverting the expectation of Victorian modesty and restraint. The private act of writing and sharing deep affection challenges the societal norm that women should be emotionally subdued. The "white" paper, typically symbolizing purity/blankness, here becomes a canvas for a vibrant, challenging love.

• Baz Luhrmann's The Great Gatsby: Luhrmann's film often visually represents communication (or the lack thereof) to highlight the emptiness behind opulent displays. Consider the scene where Gatsby throws colourful shirts from his mansion onto Daisy. While not "letters," these material objects are Gatsby's attempt to convey his affection and impress Daisy. However, this grand gesture, rooted in excessive wealth, ultimately fails to create authentic, lasting connection in the same way EBB's genuine words do. The shirts, though visually stunning, underscore the idea that "material excess demolishes the authenticity of love," revealing the superficiality of their romance in a materialistic society, rather than subverting it for deeper meaning.

4. Key Takeaways

• "Subversive affection" is a tool used in both literature and film to challenge societal norms.
• Elizabeth Barrett Browning uses her love story to critique Victorian ideals of female expression and social conformity.
• Barrett Browning presents love as a divinely sanctioned and spiritually authoritative force that can transcend societal restrictions.
• Baz Luhrmann uses romantic desire in Gatsby to reveal how materialism and class divisions corrupt genuine love.
• Luhrmann challenges the glamour of the Jazz Age by showing the resulting "spiritual emptiness" and "cultural decay."
• Both artists, through different mediums and historical contexts, highlight the tension between personal affection and societal values.
• Social values can be resistant to change, even when challenged by powerful emotions like love.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Don't just summarize the plots; analyze how each author/director uses "subversive affection" as a technique.
• Avoid treating the Victorian era and the 1920s as having the exact same societal problems; they had distinct issues.
• Don't ignore the specific medium (poetry vs. film) when discussing techniques; how they achieve their effects differs greatly.
• Don't forget to link your analysis back to your thesis statement about social change and resistance.

5. Now Try It

Choose one specific scene from Luhrmann's The Great Gatsby (e.g., the first party scene at Gatsby's mansion, the green light at the end of the dock, or Gatsby's death). Analyse how that scene, through its visual and auditory elements, reinforces Luhrmann's argument that "material excess demolishes the authenticity of love and the unattainable American Dream," and how this parallels or contrasts with Barrett Browning's use of "subversive affection."

Success looks like: You can pinpoint specific visual details, soundtrack choices, and character actions in the scene, and explain how they contribute to Luhrmann's critique of materialism and the American Dream. You should also briefly connect this back to how Barrett Browning's work offers a contrasting perspective on love's power.