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Alice's Adventures: Lewis Carroll in Popular Culture
Will Brooker, author of Batman Unmasked and Using the Force, turns his attention to Lewis Carroll and Alice. He takes the reader through a fascinating and revealing tour of late 20th Century popular culture, following Alice and her creator wherever they go. Brooker reveals the ways in which this iconic character has been used and adapted, taking in cartoons, movies, computer games, theme parks, heritage sites, novelisations, illustrations, biographies, theatrical performances, toys and other products, websites, fan clubs and much more. The result is a remarkable analysis of how one original creation has expanded over time to symbolize many different things to many different people.>
384 pages, Hardcover
First published March 31, 2004
59 people want to read
About the author
Will Brooker
27 books13 followersDr. Will Brooker is a writer and academic, Professor of Film and Cultural Studies at Kingston University, England, and an author of several books of cultural studies dealing with elements of modern pop culture and fandom, including Batman, Star Wars and Alice in Wonderland
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
July 30, 2023
I really enjoyed this. I learned a lot and I’m glad I read it.
February 14, 2016
The first chapter is about biographical information about Lewis Carroll including the boat trip that led to Alice in Wonderland. The matter of his censored diaries is discussed along with the belief by some people that he proposed marriage to 11-year-old Alice Liddell. The author shows how supposed evidence can be interpreted in various ways to either support the concept that he had a thing for young girls or that he didn't.
The second chapter is all about the issue of whether or not he was a pedophile. He points out that this is a very complicated question. First, there is no absolute evidence linking him to child abuse or molestation. None. All the rumors and conjectures are based on circumstantial evidence.
He never married and he never had a relationship with a grown woman. Segments of his diaries were destroyed by someone (not him). He took clothed and nude photos of little girls (and a couple young boys). On the other hand, he took lots of photos of other people, buildings, etc. He wrote Alice in Wonderland for an 11-year-old girl. He may or may not have been attracted to her nanny or her mother.
Not a whole lot to build a strong case on. Then, the author points out, there is a vast difference in time in relation to how nude photos of children are seen. In Victorian times it was quite normal to photograph nude children and even use the photos in cards or decorations. Today anyone taking a nude photo of a child, even their own, is immediately suspected of being a child molester.
Further, there is no way to prove the matter one way or another. It was too long ago. Too much of the alleged possible evidence has been destroyed or lost. There are alternate explanations of his behavior, also. He was shy, stammered, and felt easier in the company of children. Alice in Wonderland is not the only book he wrote aimed at children. (He also wrote various books on mathematics.) He may have even seen them as someone he wished to be (if he had any trangendered tendencies at all.)
The next chapter analyzes the Alice book, bringing up the point that it may be a drug-oriented story. Some think the story is about a child growing up in an amazing, sometimes cruel adult world, working her way towards adulthood herself. In some ways, I feel, it could even be considered a science fiction novel of sorts.
The next chapter talks about the various people who have done the drawings for the various versions of the Alice books. The following chapter deals with how Alice has appeared in other publications. The following chapter is Alice in various films and the next chapter is devoted to American McGee's Alice game (the first one, not Alice: The Madness Returns). There's a chapter devoted to Alice in Wonderland fandom and a chapter on his own pilgrimage to places that are associated with Charles Dodgson/Lewis Carroll.
This is an interesting book but somehow, to me, the content does not really match the title. The sub-title is 'Lewis Carroll in Popular Culture' and there's not that much of that topic in the book. A good portion of the book is taken up with the pedophile discussion and the intricate differences in text in five specific movies.
I think there could have been more added on the popular culture topic including the various comic books series that have interpreted Alice, the variety of Alice-related books that are somewhat obscure, the significant number of Alice-related items on the Internet, etc.
The second chapter is all about the issue of whether or not he was a pedophile. He points out that this is a very complicated question. First, there is no absolute evidence linking him to child abuse or molestation. None. All the rumors and conjectures are based on circumstantial evidence.
He never married and he never had a relationship with a grown woman. Segments of his diaries were destroyed by someone (not him). He took clothed and nude photos of little girls (and a couple young boys). On the other hand, he took lots of photos of other people, buildings, etc. He wrote Alice in Wonderland for an 11-year-old girl. He may or may not have been attracted to her nanny or her mother.
Not a whole lot to build a strong case on. Then, the author points out, there is a vast difference in time in relation to how nude photos of children are seen. In Victorian times it was quite normal to photograph nude children and even use the photos in cards or decorations. Today anyone taking a nude photo of a child, even their own, is immediately suspected of being a child molester.
Further, there is no way to prove the matter one way or another. It was too long ago. Too much of the alleged possible evidence has been destroyed or lost. There are alternate explanations of his behavior, also. He was shy, stammered, and felt easier in the company of children. Alice in Wonderland is not the only book he wrote aimed at children. (He also wrote various books on mathematics.) He may have even seen them as someone he wished to be (if he had any trangendered tendencies at all.)
The next chapter analyzes the Alice book, bringing up the point that it may be a drug-oriented story. Some think the story is about a child growing up in an amazing, sometimes cruel adult world, working her way towards adulthood herself. In some ways, I feel, it could even be considered a science fiction novel of sorts.
The next chapter talks about the various people who have done the drawings for the various versions of the Alice books. The following chapter deals with how Alice has appeared in other publications. The following chapter is Alice in various films and the next chapter is devoted to American McGee's Alice game (the first one, not Alice: The Madness Returns). There's a chapter devoted to Alice in Wonderland fandom and a chapter on his own pilgrimage to places that are associated with Charles Dodgson/Lewis Carroll.
This is an interesting book but somehow, to me, the content does not really match the title. The sub-title is 'Lewis Carroll in Popular Culture' and there's not that much of that topic in the book. A good portion of the book is taken up with the pedophile discussion and the intricate differences in text in five specific movies.
I think there could have been more added on the popular culture topic including the various comic books series that have interpreted Alice, the variety of Alice-related books that are somewhat obscure, the significant number of Alice-related items on the Internet, etc.
September 12, 2008
In this book, pop culture analyst Will Brooker takes the reader on a tour through the various manifestations of Alice in Wonderland/Through the Looking Glass in our current society ('a tour through the wonderland of..' was just too predictable a phrase). He's a wonderful tour guide, and the perfect combination of anthropologist and literary critic to write such a book. It's a thoughtful and engaging book, written with a real, tangible love for the source material, as well as a thoughtful sympathy for the fans who dedicate significant amoutns of their time to it. And, best of all, the book is underpinned by a sort of personal journey with regards to the Alice books, one that manages to draw the book together in the end. A wonderful book for Alice aficionados.
March 11, 2010
This is a book I wish I'd written; I came across it originally when I was teaching a seminar on Lewis Carroll which included contemporary iterations of Alice and reacted with equal parts joy (wow! this!) and jealousy (he got there first). I'm absolutely glad it exists, as it's smart, thorough, and rigorous in its interrogations of not only various takes on Alice via illustration, sequel, film, etc., but also addresses the Carroll myth(s) thoroughly and intelligently.
July 15, 2014
Definitely some interesting information about Carroll that would be an asset to anyone looking into his life and works, but not great as a stand-alone piece as a lot of fascinating points of interest are missing. The writing style is fine, but a bit dry and doesn't sound particularly academic. But worth reading, alongside other similar works.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews