The Lasting of the Mohicans: History of an American Myth

Jackson: University Press of Mississipp, 1995. x, 248 pages: illustrations; 24 cm. New in original shrinkwrap. Paperback. ISBN: 0878058591

Contents: The Mohican myth and the American dream -- Cooper's book -- Becoming a classic -- Movie Mohicans, 1909-1936 -- Movie Mohicans, 1947-1992 -- The television and cartoon versions -- Comic books: The Hidden tradition -- In the matter of the Mohicans. / "There are few people for whom the phrase "last of the Mohicans" does not conjure up memories and associations - childhood games, films, TV programs. Yet most who profess acquaintance with Cooper's title actually have never read his book. The characters - Hawkeye and his Mohican friends Chingachgook and Uncas - owe more to the media than to Cooper's text for their popularity. But they have become familiar icons identified with the colonizing of the northeastern frontier and with the creation of "America." This ground-breaking and entertaining study focuses on the making and the remaking of media versions of Cooper's popular book. It shows that each new rendering extends to its audience a dynamic image of the American myth. Yet along with the appeal of frontier adventure these media adaptations bear the weight of powerful meanings. Each new version addresses these meanings differently and raises questions about wilderness and frontier, about western expansion, about the relationships between men and women, about the association of whites with "Indians." Why does this book that everyone knows but that few have read continue to be perennially attractive for the media? In answer to this question, this study throws a new light on the idea of frontier and on the meaning of the American Dream." — Publisher // Literature and society -- United States -- History. Popular culture -- United States -- History. Film adaptations -- History and criticism. Mohegan Indians in literature. Social values in literature. Myth in literature. Canon (Literature) Historical fiction, American -- History and criticism. Social values. Roman historique américain -- Histoire et critique. Littérature et société -- États-Unis -- Histoire. Culture populaire -- États-Unis -- Histoire. Mohegan (Indiens) dans la littérature. Valeurs sociales. Mythe dans la littérature. Chefs-d'œuvre (Littérature) Adaptations cinématographiques -- Histoire et critique. Valeurs sociales dans la littérature. Art appreciation. Canon (Literature) Film adaptations. Literature and society. Mohegan Indians in literature. Myth in literature. Popular culture. Social values in literature. War and literature. Mythevorming. Indianen. Romans. / Cooper, James Fenimore, 1789-1851. Last of the Mohicans. Cooper, James Fenimore, 1789-1851 -- Appreciation -- United States. Cooper, James Fenimore, 1789-1851 -- Film adaptations. Cooper, James Fenimore, 1789-1851 -- Appréciation -- États-Unis. Cooper, James Fenimore, 1789-1851 -- Adaptations cinématographiques et télévisées. Cooper, James Fenimore, 1789-1851. Last of the Mohicans. Cooper, James Fenimore, 1789-1851 / Criticism, interpretation, etc. Film adaptations. History. Filmand video adaptations. French and Indian War, 1754-1763 -- Literature and the war. États-Unis -- Histoire -- 1755-1763 (Guerre de Sept Ans) -- Littérature et guerre. United States. / United States -- History -- French and Indian War, 1755-1763 -- Literature and the war; Historical fiction, American -- History and criticism; Literature and society -- United States -- History; Popular culture -- United States -- History; Mohegan Indians in literature; Social values in literature; Myth in literature; Canon (Literature); Cooper, James Fenimore, 1789-1851. Last of the Mohicans; Cooper, James Fenimore, 1789-1851 -- Appreciation -- United States; Cooper, James Fenimore, 1789-1851 -- Film and video adaptations