The future of the nineteenth-century dream-child : fantasy, dystopia, cyberculture / by Amy Billone.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Billone, Amy Christine, 1972- author.

Series:

Children's literature and culture ; 113.

Children's literature and culture ; 113

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Carroll, Lewis, 1832-1898. Alice's adventures in Wonderland.

Carroll, Lewis.

Barrie, J. M. (James Matthew), 1860-1937. Peter Pan.

Barrie, J. M.

Alice's adventures in Wonderland (Carroll, Lewis).

Peter Pan (Barrie, J. M.).

Young adult literature, American--History and criticism.

Young adult literature, American.

Children in popular culture.

American fiction--English influences.

American fiction.

Dreams in literature.

Dreams in motion pictures.

Young adult literature, English--History and criticism.

Young adult literature, English.

American fiction--21st century--History and criticism.

Children's literature, American--History and criticism.

Children's literature, American.

Children's literature, English--History and criticism.

Children's literature, English.

Genre:

Criticism, interpretation, etc.

Physical Description:

180 pages ; 24 cm.

Place of Publication:

New York : Routledge, 2016.

Summary:

This book investigates the reappearance of the 19th-century dream-child from the Golden Age of Children's Literature, both in the Harry Potter series and in other works that have reached unprecedented levels of popular success today. Discussing Harry Potter as a reincarnation of Lewis Carroll's Alice and J.M. Barrie's Peter Pan, Billone goes on to examine the recent resurrection of Alice in Tim Burton's Alice, and of Peter Pan in Michael Jackson and in James Bond. Visiting trends that have emerged since the Harry Potter series ended, the book studies revisions of the dream-child in texts and films that have inspired mass fandom in the twenty-first century: Stephenie Meyer's Twilight, E.L. James's 50 Shades of Grey and Suzanne Collins's The Hunger Gaines. The volume argues that the 21st-century desire to achieve dream-states in relationship to eternal youth results from the way that dreams provide a means of realizing the fantastic yet alarming possibility of escaping from time. This current identification with the dream-child stems from the threat of political unrest and economic and environmental collapse as well as from the simultaneous technophilia and technophobia of a culture immersed in the breathless revolution of the digital age. This book not only explores how the dream-child from the past has returned to reflect misgivings about imagined dystopian futures but also reveals how the rebirth of the dream-child opens up possibilities for new narratives where happy endings remain viable against all odds. It will appeal to scholars in a wide variety of fields including Childhood Studies, Children's/YA Literature, Cinema Studies, Cultural Studies, Cyberculture, Gender Studies, Queer Studies, Gothic Studies, New Media, and Popular Culture. Book jacket.

Contents:

1 "Quicker and Easier than Falling Asleep": Harry Potter, Dreams, and Specters from the Past 15

2 Sentenced to Neverland: Three Contemporary Resurrections of Carroll's Alice and Barrie's Peter Pan 59

3 From Twilight to Fifty Shades Freed: "Childhood is the Kingdom where Nobody Dies" 91

4 "Keep Your Eyes Open": Dreams, Alertness, and innocence in the Twenty-First Century 132.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9781138938915

1138938912

OCLC:

948360691