An American in Europe: US colonialism in The Talented Mr Ripley and Ripley's Game

<![CDATA[Making comparative analysis of two of Patricia Highsmith's Ripleiad novels, ‘The Talented Mr Ripley’ (1955) and ‘Ripley’s Game' (1974), and the pair of film interpretations, of each, Plein Soleil/Purple Noon (Renè Clement 1960) and The Talented Mr Ripley (Anthony Minghella 1999), Der amerikanische Freund/The American Friend (Wim Wenders 1977) and Ripley's Game (Liliana Cavani 2004), this article examines the meaning of Europe for Americans and of American popular culture for Europeans. The conclusion is drawn that American attraction to European ‘high culture’ and European desire for American cultural commodities work as a metaphor for American cultural, economic and political colonialism, beginning in the nineteenth century, accelerating after World War II and continuing into the post-Soviet globalized era. Underpinning this argument is the recurrent theme of forgery and stolen identity.]]>