Fetishized reading and writing in the english patient and atonement film adaptations

Abstract

Reading and writing-related objects, whether in the form of books, letters, or typewriters, are central elements in the films The English Patient, by Anthony Minghella (1996), and Atonement, by Joe Wright (2007), both adapted from novels. By drawing similarities between these two adaptations (Hutcheon 2013; Elleström 2017), the present text illustrates how written words and writing-related objects can be cinematically fetishized (Apter 1991; Mulvey 1996). It also suggests why, despite being capable of existing as autonomous creations, both films proudly maintain a tight connection with their source novels, thus standing as purposeful doubles.