The Front Page by Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur was originally performed in 1928. It has been adapted as a film four times since then: The Front Page (1931), His Girl Friday (1940), The Front Page (1974), and Switching Channels (1988). With the exception of Switching Channels, which barely resembles the source material, the preceding three adaptations were fairly faithful to the original play.
The story, in a bubble, follows newspaper editor Walter Burns and newspaper reporter Hildegard Johnson as they cover the upcoming execution of convicted murderer Earl Williams.
What makes looking at either the 1931 or 1974 adaptations of the play in comparison with 1940's His Girl Friday an excellent exercise for a gender studies unit, is the choice of casting. Traditionally, both Walter and Hildegard are men. But for Howard Hawk's 1940 adaptation, Hildegard becomes Hildy, a female reporter and Walter's ex-wife.
What makes the change remarkable is that most of the play's original dialogue is left untouched. Hildy's lines are relatively the same as Hildegard's lines.
Deborah Appleman states that "understanding the role that one's gender plays as one reads is a significant step toward understanding one's gender role in society at large" (82). I think that recasting the male as the female offers opportunities for students to see not only societal stereotypes, but the stereotypes that they themselves may harbour.
As we were discussing in class, in regards to boys speaking more than girls during class discussions, is that gender stereotypes are not always immediately visible. We take things for granted, and when presented with an idea like girls not getting a chance to participate in discussions, we adamantly deny that it is happening.
Making students aware of gender stereotypes, through gender recasting activities, can be both fun and revealing.
The Front Page trailer (1974):
His Girl Friday trailer (1940):
In an age where I hear people complain repeatedly about the prevalence of remakes in current cinema, it is a nice sobering reminder to realize that remakes (and adaptations) have always been a hallmark of Hollywood.
Comparing the different versions of the play is a great idea. The differences in the choice of casting is really interesting and would be a fun way to look at gender studies with a class. I think that students would become more involved with this than with just reading about gender studies. Also, you make a good point that not all gender stereotypes are visible and so we sometimes deny that they are happening. Using an activity involving gender recasting, such as showing two versions of the play, would help students to become more aware.
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