Writers like me: Fitzgerald, West, Parker, Schulberg, and Hollywood.
Item
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Title
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Writers like me: Fitzgerald, West, Parker, Schulberg, and Hollywood.
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Identifier
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AAI3142876
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identifier
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3142876
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Creator
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Cerasulo, Tom.
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Contributor
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Adviser: Marc Dolan
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Date
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2004
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Language
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English
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Publisher
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City University of New York.
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Subject
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Literature, American | Cinema
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Abstract
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This dissertation reconsiders the myth of the film industry's corrosive effect on American writers by tracing the professional lives and works of an interrelated group of "highbrow" authors who wrote for---and often about---the movies during the Studio Era. Looking through the lenses of both literature and film, and taking into account both text and context, the project argues against the critical commonplace that Hollywood screenwriting ruined the careers of F. Scott Fitzgerald, Nathanael West, Dorothy Parker, and Budd Schulberg. The movie industry greatly benefited these four authors and certainly did not drain them of their talent. Hollywood provided the financial, social, and creative resources they each needed during a complex moment in American cultural life. Furthermore, an examination of the production histories of selected films reveals the contributions these writers, who had all established themselves in other genres, were able to make to the art of the motion picture. Ultimately, Hollywood was good for these artists, and these artists were good for Hollywood.;But this reciprocal relationship was far from painless. Screenwriters and their bosses not only battled over creative control of individual texts, but over notions of authorship and authority in general. Working in Hollywood made writers question their professional roles and deepened their anxiety about their cultural roles. However, despite their fears that Hollywood was a wasteland, working for the movies was fruitful for each of the four authors this dissertation considers. And by lending their time and names to the long battle for recognition of the Screen Writer's Guild, they helped to buoy a movement fighting for changes that would benefit writers throughout the industry. In the end, Fitzgerald, West, Parker, and Schulberg all realized that understanding Hollywood was far more important than vilifying Hollywood. Rather than being destroyed by the studio system, their careers were invigorated by it.
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Type
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dissertation
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Source
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PQT Legacy CUNY.xlsx
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degree
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Ph.D.
