4.0 out of 5 stars
Even a sacred cow requires an examination, February 4, 2012
This review is from: Screen Adaptations: To Kill a Mockingbird: A close study of the relationship between text and film (Paperback)
I read this book because I have always loved both the novel and the film, but I have always questioned the approach taken by the director in the adaptation of the film. Certainly, Gregory Peck is Atticus. He has become Atticus in our American consciousness, and Atticus has become Gregory Peck in glasses. Still, what were the social attitudes at the time of the book's release? What were its controversies? What obstacles had to be faced in its adaptation (for surely it is a true adaptation in the spirit of Harper Lee's great novel)?
This book explores these questions and more, and it is, for the most part, illuminating. At its best moments, Palmer's text is illuminating and definitely succeeds in shedding new light on the novel, the film, and the relationship between the two. At its best moments, this book takes a fresh look at two of the 20th century's sacred cows. In the spirit of true criticism, however, we are not given either sensational praise or panning of the novel, but a truly fair and academic look at the film and novel.
If Palmer's writing has a flaw it is that at times it comes across as elementary. Do we really need to resort to Wikipedia or IMDB as sources when other, more reliable sources surely exist? At times, Palmer spends too much time stating the obvious and not enough pulling back the curtains. These moments are noticeable, but scarce; and this is fortunate, for this book has a lot to say, and for the majority of Americans who have embraced _To Kill a Mockingbird_, it is an illuminating text.
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