CINEMA AND LITERATURE: THE FALL OF THE USHER HOUSE VERSUS THE MONSTER HOUSE, A COMPARATIVE STUDY
Fantastic. Horror. Allan Poe. House. Animated film.
The short story The Fall of Usher House, published by Edgar Allan Poe in 1839 and the cinematographic work The Monster House, directed by Gil Kenan and produced by Robert Zemeckis and Steven Spielberg in 2006, are the object of comparative analysis of this study, in the which it is verified how the houses are symbolically represented, both their internal and external spaces, according to theoretical foundations mainly from Todorov (1992), Furtado (1980) and Gaudreault (2009). The comparative analysis between cinematographic work and literary fiction will be presented taking into account the different temporal and spatial contexts that involve Poe's classic work and Gil Kenan's contemporary work, in addition to highlighting the differences in the languages of the works, since it is a literary work and an animation. These questions imply the use of theoretical texts that support the relationships between these different narratives, such as the text by Ivete Walty (2011) entitled Word and image: cross-readings, among other theoretical works. Even though almost two centuries separate them, it is interesting to analyze these works both from the point of view of similarities and differences, taking due care not to commit anachronism. In this way, the narrative elements that make up the works will be related so that meanings are produced capable of questioning the traditional image of “house” as a fundamental cell of the patriarchal family, since, instead of protecting the characters, they promote threats, fear and terror.