A Dramaturgy of Nostalgia

This monograph explores for the first time the cinematic and serial adaptation of picturebooks and picturebook series as sources for live action films, animated films, and hybrid film productions. The interdisciplinary study, which relates to current issues in children's literature research, children's film studies, and narrative studies, addresses this trans-medial phenomenon from an interdisciplinary perspective. This complex topic, which reflects dramaturgical and formal-aesthetic aspects, focuses on questions of educational issues and the influence on various audience groups by considering multiple media formats. These are determined by changes in social, historical, and cultural contexts, such as stereotypes in the depiction of characters, changing family roles, or the deliberate rejection of clichés. By addressing adults and children as a dual target group, the concept of nostalgia becomes key. The study is thus situated within the context of interdisciplinary memory studies, which are becoming increasingly important in media studies.