Ovid's Myth of Pygmalion on Screen

Reviews / Votes

Paula James has produced a brilliant and engaging study of how and why the modern media of film and television continue to refashion ancient mythological narratives for contemporary audiences, in this case, Ovid's story of Pygmalion and his ivory statue come to life. In a series of provocative and detailed chapters, James expertly examines an array of cinematic and televisual texts - from classic films like Vertigo (1958) to more recent screen productions such as Lars and the Real Girl (2007) and Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997-2003) - that correspond on both the narrative and figurative levels to Ovid's myth of the "made-over woman." James deftly unravels the myth's infinite and powerful layers as she explores the popular genre of "make-over films," while delving into the question of our eternal fascination with the theme of artfully - or artificially - created life and the problems of "perfection" inherent in the eyes of the beholder. With the analytical skills of a classicist and the ardor of a film fan, James succeeds in assessing both the impact of the classical myth on modern viewers, as well as how each onscreen reception in its current cultural context sheds further interpretive light on the ancient story. Monica S. Cyrino, University of New Mexico, USA The story of Elisa Doolittle, the working class flower girl transformed into the image of a Duchess by Professor Higgins, was made famous by the 1964 musical My Fair Lady. In her excellent book, Paula James positions this story within a more complex and long standing literary and cinematic tradition. Beginning with Ovid's epic poetry and his version of the Pygmalion myth, James explores how the narrative trope of the make-over has been repeatedly reworked and re-imagined on screen. Bringing together an exciting range of literary, cinematic, and televisual texts as diverse as Pygmalion, Vertigo, Pretty Woman, Miss Congeniality and Buffy the Vampire Slayer, James offers an insightful discussion of the perennial cultural need to fashion and re-fashion women into a fantasy ideal. Scholarly and engaging, this book will make you look at these texts, whether classical or pop culture, like never before. Stacey Abbot, Reader in Film and Television Studies, Roehampton University, London, UK Drawing on an impressive range of scholarship, James generously acknowledges the work of others as well as forming her own conclusions surrounding the ultimate inadequacies of the created feminine ideal.. The book explores the ongoing fascination with Ovid's Pygmalion story, explains why it still has powerful resonances today and, furthermore, suggests how its new reworkings can illuminate readings of Ovid's Metamorphoses itself. -- Rosemary Barrow * Bryn Mawr Classical Review * The fortunes of the Pygmalion story in literature and the fine arts have been well canvassed over the years; James provides the most extensive coverage so far for film and television. -- Gordon Braden University of Virginia * Translation and Literature *