Content Category
Literary Criticism
Abstract/Description
Adaptations of classic novels are certainly not a new phenomenon. Novels from Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice (1813) to Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1897) have found their way into modern film and book adaptions. In fact, Dracula is so culturally influential that there are adaptations of its adaptations. However, at the turn of the century, a new cinematic trend (adapting young adult literature into film) began with J. K. Rowling’s Harry Potter novels (1997-2007), which were adapted into eight films. However, when it comes to adapted novels being culturally imbedded—or sewn—into society, Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein (1818) “[a]rguably . . . has a greater presence in popular media than any other single narrative over nearly two centuries” (Cutchins and Perry 2).
Despite Frankenstein’s popularity, however, young adult adaptations of Frankenstein seem to have drawn limited responses from the academic community. In this paper, I argue that Anthony Horowitz’s young adult series Alex Rider, specifically Point Blank (2001) and Scorpia Rising (2011) are what Kyle Bishop terms “adjacent adaptations” of Frankenstein. By drawing on themes found in Frankenstein, such as monstrosity and the double, they tackle complex societal and adolescent issues to a higher degree than a typical teenage adaptation.
Teenagers are expected to be what Victor intended his creation to be: a collection of social norms, knowledge, and a means for past generations to carry on. As a society, we expect teenagers to incorporate certain knowledge or behaviors into their lives and become a patched-together collection of information. Perhaps what Shelley has discovered, and Horowitz has emphasized, is that we should not be afraid to create untamed creatures (teenagers) but recognize them as already valid voices in society and creatures with their own agency and autonomy
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Faculty Involvement
Dennis Cutchins
The "Frankensteinian Process" in Young Adult Novels: The Double and Monstrosity in Anthony Horowitz's Alex Rider Series
Adaptations of classic novels are certainly not a new phenomenon. Novels from Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice (1813) to Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1897) have found their way into modern film and book adaptions. In fact, Dracula is so culturally influential that there are adaptations of its adaptations. However, at the turn of the century, a new cinematic trend (adapting young adult literature into film) began with J. K. Rowling’s Harry Potter novels (1997-2007), which were adapted into eight films. However, when it comes to adapted novels being culturally imbedded—or sewn—into society, Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein (1818) “[a]rguably . . . has a greater presence in popular media than any other single narrative over nearly two centuries” (Cutchins and Perry 2).
Despite Frankenstein’s popularity, however, young adult adaptations of Frankenstein seem to have drawn limited responses from the academic community. In this paper, I argue that Anthony Horowitz’s young adult series Alex Rider, specifically Point Blank (2001) and Scorpia Rising (2011) are what Kyle Bishop terms “adjacent adaptations” of Frankenstein. By drawing on themes found in Frankenstein, such as monstrosity and the double, they tackle complex societal and adolescent issues to a higher degree than a typical teenage adaptation.
Teenagers are expected to be what Victor intended his creation to be: a collection of social norms, knowledge, and a means for past generations to carry on. As a society, we expect teenagers to incorporate certain knowledge or behaviors into their lives and become a patched-together collection of information. Perhaps what Shelley has discovered, and Horowitz has emphasized, is that we should not be afraid to create untamed creatures (teenagers) but recognize them as already valid voices in society and creatures with their own agency and autonomy