The camera is mightier than the pen: Resistance, revolution, and revision in the film adaptations of Alice Walker's 'The Color Purple', Zora Neale Hurston's 'Their Eyes Were Watching God', and Toni Morrison's 'Beloved'

This study analyzes the cinematic adaptations of Alice Walker's The Color Purple, Zora Neale Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God, and Toni Morrison's Beloved. The goal of this dissertation is to examine if the resistance, revolution, and black literary conventions that the respective authors use in the printed version of the texts are maintained in the cinematic version of the texts or if they are omitted or distorted to maintain the viewing pleasure of the mainstream audience. This study proceeds in the following manner: Chapter 1 examines the cinematic adaptation of Alice Walker's The Color Purple. The analysis examines the elements that the author uses to resist hegemonic social categories in the printed text. The chapter also analyzes the way these elements are rendered in the cinematic version of the text and examines how the transfer or lack there of alters the plot or meaning of the printed text. Chapter 2 examines the cinematic adaptation of Zora Neale Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God. The analysis examines the elements that the author uses to resist hegemonic social categories in the printed text. The chapter also analyzes the way these elements are rendered in the cinematic version of the text and examines how the transfer or lack there of alters the plot or meaning of the printed text. Chapter 3 examines the cinematic adaptation of Toni Morrison's Beloved. The analyses examines the elements that the author uses to resist hegemonic social categories in the printed text. The chapter also analyzes the way these elements are rendered in the cinematic version of the text and how the transfer or lack there of alters the meaning of the printed text.