Deja View: Cultural Functions of Hollywood Remakes

Abstract

This dissertation examines Hollywood remakes of US films in order to discern how the narrative and formal modifications between originals and remakes are analogous across sets of films. Performing a discourse analysis that utilizes theories of popular culture and social memory, I argue that the patterns of changes confirm that remakes fulfill some functions of modern-day folktales: stories that are adapted for the needs and interests of their contemporary audiences but that simultaneously tend to reaffirm and promote traditional ideologies. By analyzing shifts and alterations in narrative, visual and structural tropes and changes in trends of representation, I examine the ways in which such phenomena as political and social movements and historic events are depicted and consider what cultural needs these representations may fulfill for their audiences. My process was driven by several research questions. First, what kinds of films get remade? Secondly, what are the differences in content and structure in each set of films analyzed in this study and what are the relationships between the remakes and their original source films? Finally, my primary questions are: how do narrative structures, characterizations and plots change or stabilize within the same story over time? How can we utilize these changes and constants to identify the cultural functions remakes may serve that make them so prevalent right now?