While eating my lunch today, I channel-surfed, as is my
wont, and stumbled on the splendid 1999 movie version of Jane Austen's Mansfield Park made by the Canadian
director Patricia Rozema, with none other than Harold Pinter playing Sir Bertram. Rozema was influenced in her interpretation by Edward Said's fascinating essay on the
novel. Some years ago, I gave a talk on
the subject at the Washington D.C. branch of the Osher Life Long Institute, by
invitation of my sister, who regularly teaches advanced courses in the OLLI
program on molecular biology and evolutionary genetics.
In the Spring, I shall once again be teaching at UNC in the
Philosophy Department. This time my
theme is Ideological Critique, and I plan to do a segment in the course on the Austen
novel, the movie, and the Said essay as a case study in ideological
critique. I am proud to say that I knew
Ed Said during my years at Columbia, though less well than I would have liked.
I shall actually show the movie in class -- the first time in
my entire teaching career that I have done such a thing. In my odd way, I think it is cheating to show
a movie in class, because it relieves me of the necessity of preparing for that
two hours or so. The students will
probably be quite pleased, although I am sure they would prefer something a bit
trendier.
2 comments:
I'm sure they will love it. I watched it after you recommended it here some years ago and it's now my favorite Austen movie (though I keep putting off learning more about Lord Mansfield). I also love Rozema's "I've Heard the Mermaids Singing" and wish she had done more movies. Also, Harold Pinter is amazing.
If you wish to see a cinematic representation of Lord Mansfield, take a look at the recent movie BELLE, which deals with another very important slavery case that he decided. It is a very moving film.
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