The Lasting of the Mohicans - History of an American Myth (Hardcover, New)

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There are few people for whom the phrase "last of the Mohicans" does not conjure up memories and associations - childhood games, films, TV programs. Yet most who profess acquaintance with Cooper's title actually have never read his book. The characters - Hawkeye and his Mohican friends Chingachgook and Uncas - owe more to the media than to Cooper's text for their popularity. But they have become familiar icons identified with the colonizing of the northeastern frontier and with the creation of "America". This ground-breaking and entertaining study focuses on the making and the remaking of media versions of Cooper's popular book. It shows that each new rendering extends to its audience a dynamic image of the American myth. Yet along with the appeal of frontier adventure these media adaptations bear the weight of powerful meanings. Each new version addresses these meanings differently and raises questions about wilderness and frontier, about western expansion, about the relationships between men and women, about the association of whites with "Indians". Why does this book that everyone knows but that few have read continue to be perennially attractive for the media? In answer to this question, this study throws a new light on the idea of frontier and on the meaning of the American Dream.

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Product Description

There are few people for whom the phrase "last of the Mohicans" does not conjure up memories and associations - childhood games, films, TV programs. Yet most who profess acquaintance with Cooper's title actually have never read his book. The characters - Hawkeye and his Mohican friends Chingachgook and Uncas - owe more to the media than to Cooper's text for their popularity. But they have become familiar icons identified with the colonizing of the northeastern frontier and with the creation of "America". This ground-breaking and entertaining study focuses on the making and the remaking of media versions of Cooper's popular book. It shows that each new rendering extends to its audience a dynamic image of the American myth. Yet along with the appeal of frontier adventure these media adaptations bear the weight of powerful meanings. Each new version addresses these meanings differently and raises questions about wilderness and frontier, about western expansion, about the relationships between men and women, about the association of whites with "Indians". Why does this book that everyone knows but that few have read continue to be perennially attractive for the media? In answer to this question, this study throws a new light on the idea of frontier and on the meaning of the American Dream.

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Product Details

General

Imprint

University Press Of Mississippi

Country of origin

United States

Release date

April 1996

Availability

Supplier out of stock. If you add this item to your wish list we will let you know when it becomes available.

First published

April 1996

Authors

,

Dimensions

229 x 152 x 24mm (L x W x T)

Format

Hardcover - Cloth over boards

Pages

277

Edition

New

ISBN-13

978-0-87805-858-7

Barcode

9780878058587

Categories

LSN

0-87805-858-3



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