RETHINKING THE JANE AUSTEN CONTINUUM : CROSS-CULTURAL AFTERLIVES AND DROP CULTURE IN BRIDE AND PREJUDICE
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.69980/ephijer.v10i1.186Keywords:
Canon, Adaptation Studies, Postcolonial Studies, Niche Culture, Drop CultureAbstract
Jane Austen’s novels are pivotal in the canon of English literature. This article attempts to make a foray into the ever-continuing presence of Austen in the global literary scenario, which gets boosted through the cross-cultural adaptations of the novels. Her novels have been a site of retellings over generations. The present article focuses on Bride and Prejudice (2004), a Bollywood cinematic adaptation of Pride and Prejudice directed by Gurinder Chadha, which is a cross-cultural and transnational translation.
The arguments are based on adaptation studies, postcolonial studies, and cultural studies. The film reinvents the portrayal of class, marriage, and female agency through culturally specific film aesthetics, paying attention to postcolonial diasporic cultures and altered notions of romance and marriage. The film is multilingual, located in multiple spaces, and is highly musical, making it an apt demonstration of the circulating and evolving potential of the Austen canon in the global popular culture scenario. The thesis of the article is that Austen’s relevance endures not just through her novels alone, but more powerfully through cultural reinventions.
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