The plays of William Shakespeare have long been considered a source of cultural and educational interest by both academics and filmmakers, and the practice of adapting Shakespeare’s works to film has existed for almost as long as film itself. The name “Shakespeare” evokes ideals of cultural legitimacy and importance, and Shakespeare film as a genre is always caught up in questions of fidelity and legitimacy. In adapting Shakespeare to the screen, filmmakers also adapt, whether deliberately or not, the various cultural beliefs that his work is steeped in. Early modern ideas about gender, race and class are reproduced in modern film through the adaptation of Shakespeare, often excused or unexamined in the name of fidelity. This thesis discusses Shakespeare’s three plays Hamlet, Richard III and The Taming of the Shrew, all of which deal in some way with gender roles and the place and power of women, whether that power is sexual, political or verbal. I also examine three film adaptations of the plays: Kenneth Branagh’s Hamlet, Ian McKellen and Richard Loncraine’s Richard III, and Gil Junger’s 10 Things I Hate About You. All three films serve as examples of the way the misogyny present in Shakespeare’s works is reproduced and sometimes magnified through adaptation to the screen. The reproduction of early modern gender hierarchies is naturalised in a number of ways across the three films, including the use of star power, the invocation of Shakespeare as a cultural authority, and specific filmic techniques such as flashback and the cutting and editing of film and screenplay. I argue that in all three films, the faithful adaptation of Shakespearean ideas of gender comes at the expense of both the women characters and those women who make up the films’ audience.

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Social Science scholars study how the New Left - the wave of leftist governments in Latin America since 1999 - redefines leftism in the Post-Cold War. Part of this redefinition is a new social pact between the Queer community and those Latin American governments. Chapter 1 traces the ideological itinerary of this new social agreement and establishes the methodology of the study. El lobo, el bosque y el hombre nuevo (The Wolf, the Forest and the New Man) by Senel Paz reformulated the relationship between the dissident subjects of the patriarchy and the leftist state in Cuban society of the 1990s. Chapter 2 highlights Paz's text for its separation from the Cold War narratives centered on the leftist armed insurgent movements. Chapter 3 studies how the film adaptation of Paz's work globalized the argument and structured it within the Post-Cold War. Chapter 4 analyzes the theatrical adaptations of Paz's work made in Latin American countries after 1999. Two are compared from countries with New Latin American Leftist governments, Venezuela and Argentina, with others made in non-Latin American countries, the United States and Spain. The critical reception of the two theatrical adaptations done in Latin America showed the argument as part of their reality, in contrast to the representations made in the United States and Spain. Chapter 5 analyzes the repercussions of Paz's text in popular culture through the reggaeton "Fresa y chocolate."

Hamlet (1601), de William Shakespeare, é, desde o Fólio de 1623, circundada por um enorme e variado volume de leituras, que abrangem desde textos críticos e teóricos até as mais diversas adaptações teatrais e cinematográficas. Desde o final do século 19, o cinema vem adaptando peças de Shakespeare, fornecendo novos pontos de vista e sugestões para a encenação dessa obra ao levá-la inúmeras vezes para as telas. Dentre uma longa lista de adaptações fílmicas de Hamlet, o Hamlet mainstream de Franco Zeffirelli (1990) e o Hamlet 2000 (2000), filme independente de Michael Almereyda, compõem o corpus eleito para análise nesta dissertação. Dialogando com noções de críticos e teóricos que desenvolveram estudos sobre o conceito de adaptação, tais como André Bazin, Robert Stam e Linda Hutcheon, sugiro uma desierarquização entre a peça shakespeariana e os filmes logo, entre literatura/teatro e cinema. O objetivo final deste trabalho encontra-se na proposta de uma reflexão sobre esses filmes enquanto potenciais materiais críticos elucidativos para o estudo da peça, úteis na discussão de alguns de seus mais importantes temas e/ou questões / Hamlet (1601), by William Shakespeare, has been, since its publication in the First Folio (1623), surrounded by a huge and varied number of readings, ranging from critical and theoretical texts up to several different theatrical and cinematographic adaptations. Since the end of the 19th century, cinema has adapted Shakespearean plays, proposing alternative points of view and interpretations when transposing them to the screen. Among a list of several filmic adaptations of Hamlet, Franco Zeffirellis mainstream Hamlet (1990) and Michael Almereydas independent Hamlet 2000 (2000) make up the corpus under analysis in this dissertation. Establishing a dialogue with ideas developed by important critics and theorians such as André Bazin, Robert Stam and Linda Hutcheon about the notion of adaptation, I suggest a dismissal of the hierarchy between the Shakespearean play and the films; therefore, a dismissal of the notion of literature/theater's superiority to cinema. The main aim of this dissertation consists in proposing that the chosen films be taken as potential critical material providing access to the Shakespearean play in the discussion of its major issues

Hamlet (1601), de William Shakespeare, é, desde o Fólio de 1623, circundada por um enorme e variado volume de leituras, que abrangem desde textos críticos e teóricos até as mais diversas adaptações teatrais e cinematográficas. Desde o final do século 19, o cinema vem adaptando peças de Shakespeare, fornecendo novos pontos de vista e sugestões para a encenação dessa obra ao levá-la inúmeras vezes para as telas. Dentre uma longa lista de adaptações fílmicas de Hamlet, o Hamlet mainstream de Franco Zeffirelli (1990) e o Hamlet 2000 (2000), filme independente de Michael Almereyda, compõem o corpus eleito para análise nesta dissertação. Dialogando com noções de críticos e teóricos que desenvolveram estudos sobre o conceito de adaptação, tais como André Bazin, Robert Stam e Linda Hutcheon, sugiro uma desierarquização entre a peça shakespeariana e os filmes logo, entre literatura/teatro e cinema. O objetivo final deste trabalho encontra-se na proposta de uma reflexão sobre esses filmes enquanto potenciais materiais críticos elucidativos para o estudo da peça, úteis na discussão de alguns de seus mais importantes temas e/ou questões / Hamlet (1601), by William Shakespeare, has been, since its publication in the First Folio (1623), surrounded by a huge and varied number of readings, ranging from critical and theoretical texts up to several different theatrical and cinematographic adaptations. Since the end of the 19th century, cinema has adapted Shakespearean plays, proposing alternative points of view and interpretations when transposing them to the screen. Among a list of several filmic adaptations of Hamlet, Franco Zeffirellis mainstream Hamlet (1990) and Michael Almereydas independent Hamlet 2000 (2000) make up the corpus under analysis in this dissertation. Establishing a dialogue with ideas developed by important critics and theorians such as André Bazin, Robert Stam and Linda Hutcheon about the notion of adaptation, I suggest a dismissal of the hierarchy between the Shakespearean play and the films; therefore, a dismissal of the notion of literature/theater's superiority to cinema. The main aim of this dissertation consists in proposing that the chosen films be taken as potential critical material providing access to the Shakespearean play in the discussion of its major issues

Contemporary theatre is increasingly visual, an aesthetic shift that has been analyzed in, among others, Hans-Thies Lehmann’s influential Postdramatic Theatre. This shift is apparent in Japanese director Tadashi Suzuki’s intercultural adaptations, which adapt plays of the Western repertoire for contemporary Japanese and international audiences in a style that is richly and evocatively visual. Notions drawn from postdramatic theatre, metatheatre and postcolonial theories are applied as framing devices to uncover the deep cultural and theatrical significance of Suzuki’s adaptive work. My approach to analyzing the three case studies: Suzuki’s King Lear, The Trojan Women, and Cyrano de Bergerac takes a more globalized view of theatrical adaptations that acknowledges the visual turn of contemporary theatre and contributes to the fields of intercultural performance studies and adaptation studies by expanding the notion of interculturalism beyond the limits imposed by current Western analytical perspectives.

Cette thèse met en perspective le contexte particulier du recul de l’enseignement du français dans les universités portugaises comme le symptôme de phénomènes plus vastes, dont la redéfinition de la mission des universités dans un champ éducatif transnationalisé, ou la mise en cause des humanités dont la littérature constituait un élément central. Sont examinées les transformations à l’oeuvre dans les sociétés contemporaines marquées par la dimension culturelle qui caractérise la mondialisation actuelle et par les bouleversements qui affectent la place et le statut des langues et l’ensemble des catégories qui informent les disciplines traditionnelles comme les Études françaises. La division disciplinaire en langues, littératures et cultures, est interrogée au regard de divers facteurs, comme la mise en valeur des fondements culturels de la langue, la redéfinition de la littérature comme discours et phénomèn! e culturel parmi d’autres, ou l’émergence de domaines professionnels consacrés à la gestion de contenus, de significations et de valeurs culturelles. Du point de vue épistémologique, la culture légitime et canonique et les littératures nationales sont également observées selon la perspective des Études culturelles et postcoloniales, qui remettent en cause les frontières disciplinaires et les logiques « mono-identitaires ». À la lumière de l’analyse de ces transformations la réflexion débouche sur un projet didactique qui envisage les Études françaises, mais aussi l’enseignement de la littérature et les humanités en général comme un chantier en devenir, où les disciplines traditionnelles sont amenées à se repenser et à se réinventer au contact de discours culturels et littéraires renouvelés dans lesquels l’adaptation et le mélange des langages jouent un rôle décisif / This thesis problematizes the specific context of the decline in the teaching of French in Portuguese universities as a symptom of other phenomena, such as the redefinition of the mission of universities in a transnationalised educational field, and the questioning of the Humanities, partly caused by the destabilization of areas of study where literature was a central element. Ongoing transformations in contemporary society, dictated by the cultural dimension of globalisation, have led to changes in the place and status of languages, which in turn have affected the categories that inform the so-called traditional disciplines, of which ‘French Studies’ is an example. As a consequence, the disciplinary division between languages, literatures and cultures has been questioned from a variety of angles, such as the valorization of the cultural essence of language, or the re-definition of literature as discourse and cultural phenomenon. This di! vision has been further destabilized by emerging professional fields dedicated to the production, management and circulation of cultural contents, meanings and values. Furthermore, canonical cultures and national literatures are now conceptualised and read from critical places informed by fields such as Cultural Studies and Postcolonial Studies, fields which question disciplinary boundaries and ‘mono-identitary’ logic. In a context where French Studies, as well as the teaching of literature, and the Humanities more generally speaking, are being induced to rethink and reinvent themselves, it becomes crucial to consider discourses that are closer to contemporary socio-cultural realities, discourses which operate within webs of intertextuality that are somewhat alien to canonical literatures and revelatory of the diversity of the cultures and languages associated with them / A tese problematiza o contexto específico do declínio do ensino do francês nas universidades portuguesas enquanto sintoma de outros fenómenos, como a redefinição da missão das universidades num campo educacional transnacionalizado e o questionamento das Humanidades, provocada pela desestabilização de áreas de ensino em que a literatura era um elemento central. As transformações em curso na sociedade contemporânea, marcadas pela dimensão cultural que caracteriza a globalização, levaram a transformações em relação ao lugar e ao estatuto das línguas, afetando as categorias que informam as disciplinas ditas tradicionais, das quais fazem parte os "Estudos Franceses".Assim, a divisão disciplinar em línguas, literaturas e culturas, tem sido questionada em relação a diversos fatores, tais como a valorização da essência cultural da língua, a redefinição da literatura enquanto discurso e fenómeno cultural entre outros, ou ainda o surgimento de campos profissionais dedicados à produção, gestão e comunicação de conteúdos, significados e valores culturais. Além disso, a cultura legítima e canónica e as literaturas nacionais são pensadas e interpretadas a partir de lugares críticos como os Estudos Culturais e Pós-Coloniais, questionando as fronteiras disciplinares e as lógicas "mono-identitárias". Num contexto em que os Estudos Franceses mas também o ensino da literatura, e as Humanidades em geral, são levados a repensar-se e a reinventar-se, torna-se crucial considerar novos discursos culturais e literários.

It is the contention of this thesis that the field of adaptation studies is struggling to emerge from a restrictive, outdated and static paradigmatic framework. It proposes that the field would benefit from widening its current frame of reference to include more input and perspectives from the evolutionary biological sciences. This thesis considers the implications for the study of culture of the Darwinian theory of evolution – how it might become a more integral part of how we understand culture generally, and of how we read specific texts. It attempts to re-contextualise adaptation studies within an ongoing, conceptual paradigm shift in Western culture, initiated by Darwin’s publication of his theory of evolution by natural selection. It contends that the Darwinian Revolution is far from complete within the humanities and that the time is ripe for greater consilience and exchange between the bio-sciences and humanities disciplines. This thesis explores the current state of adaptation studies as a discipline, referring in particular to recent work by adaptation theorists such as Robert Stam, Linda Hutcheon, Thomas Leitch and Julie Sanders and their efforts to reinvigorate and redirect adaptation studies. It considers how deeply ingrained, evaluative modes of thought could be holding back these efforts, and if an updated, mutable Darwinian paradigm could aid them. This thesis also speculates on the viability of an evolutionary unit of culture, the meme, and its possible relevance to adaptation studies and the wider study of culture. Finally, it applies a Darwinian perspective, on various levels, to an extensive, detailed textual analysis of the non-fiction book The Orchid Thief and the film Adaptation.

This thesis analyzes the representation of disability in adaptations of Shakespeare’s Richard III in order to propose a theory of Prosthetic Adaptation. Ian McKellen and Richard Loncraine’s film adaptation, and Patrick Warren’s manga adaptation, are closely read through the lenses of Adaptation Theory and Critical Disability Studies. Prosthetic Adaptation is the use and incorporation of disability in adapted texts in such a way that both the text and the portrayal/reading of the disability are mutually transformed. Close reading analysis is conducted with both Critical Disability Studies and Adaptation Studies lenses. The transformation of the texts and disability work together to push the boundaries of their genre/medium that they have been transformed into, using those broken boundaries to comment on disability itself. McKellen and Loncraine’s film uses archetypes of war films and shifts in tone to comment on the dangers of the disability stereotype and spectacle in film; Warren uses color and form to create a strong visual metaphor of the invisibility of disability to the able-bodied eye, commenting how disability is erased and removed from sociocultural context. It is through these commentaries that both the concept of disability and the texts themselves experience a broadening of potential meanings and a reshaping of boundaries.

The purpose of this thesis is to evaluate and refute Yvonne Griggs’ claims that the films “House of Strangers” (1949) and “Broken Lance” (1954) are as Griggs deems “genre-based adaptations” of William Shakespeare’s “King Lear.” I argue that the films, although they have some essential elements of “King Lear,” lack intentionality and reception, pivotal components in determining viability as a Shakespearean film adaptation. Using Griggs’ book as my critical background, I will show that these films are better classified under their respective genre categories, Western and film noir, not as “King Lear” genre adaptations. I will also suggest criteria for determining the level of canonicity of a “King Lear” film adaptation. Popularity of films does not determine validity, and a film does not need purported Shakespearean provenance to validate its ratings. Some films, like these, merely reference or pay homage to Shakespeare through use of essential elements of “King Lear”; here, I deem such affinities to be more unintentional than intentional.