Historical adaptation, anachronism, and appropriation: Functioning outside of chronology

Vanessa Fisher

London School of Film, Media and Design

Supervisors:

Professor Jeremy Strong

London School of Film, Media and Design

Dr Jon Crewe

London School of Film, Media and Design

The presentation will examine the definitions of anachronism and appropriation, where they converge and diverge, and where they work in conjunction with adaptation. This will branch into a discussion on history as adaptation and its position as a driving force during the process of creation and how historical adaptations, especially transmedial (from historical document to literary work) transformations may harness anachronism due to the inherent elements of fiction and chronology in relation to setting. Examples will be highlighted, such as The Tragedy of Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare and The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald both of which use deliberate anachronism. Through these examples, we can analyse the ways in which anachronism helps create comedic effect, aids audiences to better relate to the work, or makes a bold impact as a literary device.

As a device, anachronism possesses different variations: behavioural/cultural, parachronism, and prochronism. Each use will be examined and linked to examples to highlight how they function (i.e., A Murder in Time by Julie McElwain uses prochronism whereby a modern woman time travels to the 19th century) and where they may deliberately be deployed in adaptation. Furthermore, with the use of contemporary examples, the presentation will showcase how appropriation within historical narratives make use of deliberate anachronism and will eventually link to a small portion of my PhD artefact (a novel) where the use of anachronism works to help mediate the reader as they oscillate between the past and present and how that plays a role in helping the protagonist along their journey.