Project Choices
Book and film titles are underlined or italicized!
Here are the book/film choices for your final project. I tried to choose stories that have relevant themes and that are appealing, as well as intellectual. There are a lot of book/film pairs that I could have chosen; on this list are some of my favorites, some by authors we’ve studied in this class, and a few contemporary additions. Please do not choose something JUST because you’ve already read it! All of these books are valuable reading, and I hope that you will enjoy working on this project.
1. Dangerous Liasons by Chonderlos de Laclos & Cruel Intentions directed by Roger Kumble.
2. Romeo & Juliet by William Shakespeare & William Shakespeare’s Romeo + Julietdirected by Baz Luhrman.
3. The Taming of the Shrew by William Shakespeare & 10 Things I Hate About You directed by Gil Junger.
4. Rimbaud: Complete Works, Selected Letters by Wallace Fowlie; Rimbaud Biography & Total Eclipse directed by Nagienska Holland.
5. A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams & A Streetcar Named Desire directed by Elia Kazan.
6. The Basketball Diaries by Jim Carroll & The Basketball Diaries directed by Scott Kalvert.
7. Mysterious Skin by Scott Heim & Mysterious Skin directed by Greg Araki.
8. Brokeback Mountain by Annie Proulx (published as part of a collection, Close Range: Wyoming Stories) & Brokeback Mountain directed by Ang Lee.
9.Into the Wild by Jon Krakaur & Into the Wild directed by Sean Penn.
10. Twilight by Stephenie Meyer & Twilight directed by Catherine Hardwicke.
11. The Trial by Franz Kafka & The Trial directed by Orson Welles.
Info. to consider: Longest work: "Dangerous Liasons". Shortest work: "Wyoming Stories". Most sensitive subject: "Mysterious Skin" (child molestation). Most vulgar: "The Basketball Diaries" (the diary of a drug-addicted, foul-mouthed teenager). A different spin: "Rimbaud" is different in that there is no novel/play to read-- you are going to learn about his life and evaluate whether or not the film does justice to the Rimbaud you get to know through his works, letters, and biographies. Most difficult to research: "Twilight" (everyone wants to do this one, but they soon discover that finding research on it is difficult because it is so new). Easiest project: "Romeo and Juliet" (you should not choose this if you are an "A" student who can handle a challenge! :). Most similar book/film pair: "A Streetcar Named Desire" (students find that the lack of differences make this comparison a bit difficult, but the story is so good that they usually find an angle for the paper!). "The Trial" film can be hard to find; you should go ahead and purchase it.
