Who is this who is coming? From neurosis to neurodegeneration in television adaptations of M. R. James’s ‘Oh, Whistle and I’ll Come to You, My Lad’ | Intellect Skip to content
1981
  1. Home
  2. A-Z Publications
  3. Journal of Popular Television, The
  4. Volume 9, Issue 3
  5. Article
Television and Nostalgia Now
  • ISSN: 2046-9861
  • E-ISSN: 2046-987X

Abstract

This article discusses two BBC television adaptations of M. R. James’s classic ghost story ‘Oh, Whistle and I’ll Come to You, My Lad’ (1904), the first directed by Jonathan Miller (1968) and the second by Andy de Emmony (2010). Arguing that de Emmony’s film takes Miller’s as a point of departure, it attempts to track the progressive ‘psychologization’ of James’s tale, a development that it explores with reference to Sarah Cardwell’s notion of ‘meta-textual’ lineage. The article outlines how Miller knowingly reimagines James’s story as a Freudian parable by drawing on the resources of classical psychoanalysis and its understanding of neurosis as the expression of a dynamic interior conflict, one in which something repressed menacingly returns. It goes on to read de Emmony’s film, which reorganizes the story around a case of dementia, as an effort to extend the tale into the psychic terrain of the ‘new wounded’, a term coined by philosopher Catherine Malabou to describe emergent psychopathologies unique to neurological injury or degeneration. Taking conceptual support from Malabou, the article demonstrates both the self-consciousness with which the later adaptation builds from its antecedent and its reinscription of the story within a frame of reference that specifically exceeds the psychoanalytic ontology presupposed by Miller. The films reimagine and contemporize the Jamesian haunting – with its climactic coming of a mysterious other – in ways that are utterly distinct but also cumulatively psychological. Looked at in apposition, the article suggests, they exemplify adaptation not simply as a revival or reconstitution of a past text but as an ongoing, intertextual and incremental labour of reinvention.

© 2021 Intellect Ltd
Loading

Article metrics loading...

/content/journals/10.1386/jptv_00062_1
2021-10-01
2024-05-02
Loading full text...

Full text loading...

References

  1. Armitt, L.. ( 2016;), ‘ Ghost-al erosion: Beaches and the supernatural in two stories by M. R. James. ’, in L. Fletcher. (ed.), Popular Fiction and Spatiality: Reading Genre Settings, New York:: Palgrave;, pp. 95–108.
     [Google Scholar]
  2. Barker, P.. ( [1991–95] 2014), The Regeneration Trilogy, Harmondsworth:: Penguin;.
     [Google Scholar]
  3. Bassett, K.. ( 2012), In Two Minds: A Biography of Jonathan Miller, London:: Oberon;.
     [Google Scholar]
  4. Behuniak, S. M.. ( 2011;), ‘ The living dead? The construction of people with Alzheimer’s disease as zombies. ’, Society & Ageing, 31:1, pp. 70–92.
     [Google Scholar]
  5. Briggs, J.. ( 1977), Night Visitors: The Rise and Fall of the English Ghost Story, London:: Faber;.
     [Google Scholar]
  6. Cardwell, S.. ( 2002), Adaptation Revisited: Television and the Classic Novel, Manchester:: Manchester University Press;.
     [Google Scholar]
  7. Cowlishaw, B.. ( [1998] 2007;), ‘ “A warning to the curious”: Victorian science and the awful unconscious in M. R. James’s ghost stories. ’, in S. T. Joshi, and R. Pardoe. (eds), Warnings to the Curious: A Sheaf of Criticism on M.R. James, New York:: Hippocampus Press;, pp. 162–76.
     [Google Scholar]
  8. Cross, N.. ( 2010), Captured, London:: Simon and Schuster;.
     [Google Scholar]
  9. Fisher, M.. ( 2012;), ‘ Old haunts: The landscapes of M. R. James. ’, DVD booklet , Ghost Stories: Classic Adaptations from the BBC: Whistle and I’ll Come to You, London:: BFI;, pp. 1–4.
     [Google Scholar]
  10. Fisher, M.. ( 2016), The Weird and the Eerie, London:: Repeater Books;.
     [Google Scholar]
  11. Freud, S.. ( 1901), The Psychopathology of Everyday Life, The Standard Edition of the Complete Psychological Works of Sigmund Freud (trans. J. Strachey.), vol. 6, London:: Hogarth;.
     [Google Scholar]
  12. Freud, S.. ( 1905;), ‘ Three Essays on the Theory of Sexuality. ’, in The Standard Edition of the Complete Psychological Works of Sigmund Freud, vol. 7, London:: Hogarth;, pp. 125–245.
     [Google Scholar]
  13. Freud, S.. ( 1910;), ‘ Five lectures on psychoanalysis. ’, in The Standard Edition of the Complete Psychological Works of Sigmund Freud, vol. 11, London:: Hogarth;, pp. 3–55.
     [Google Scholar]
  14. Freud, S.. ( 1913;), ‘ Totem and taboo. ’, in The Standard Edition of the Complete Psychological Works of Sigmund Freud, vol. 13, London:: Hogarth;, pp. 1–161.
     [Google Scholar]
  15. Freud, S.. ( 1915;), ‘ Thoughts for the times on war and death. ’, in The Standard Edition of the Complete Psychological Works of Sigmund Freud, vol. 14, London:: Hogarth;, pp. 273–300.
     [Google Scholar]
  16. Freud, S.. ( 1917;), ‘ A difficulty in the path of psychoanalysis. ’, in The Standard Edition of the Complete Psychological Works of Sigmund Freud, vol. 17, London:: Hogarth;, pp. 135–44.
     [Google Scholar]
  17. Goux, J. J.. ( 1993), Oedipus, Philosopher (trans. C. Porter.), Stanford:: Stanford University Press;.
     [Google Scholar]
  18. Gracey, J.. ( 2013;), ‘ Whistle and I’ll Come to You (2010). ’, Behind the Couch, 24 December, http://watchinghorrorfilmsfrombehindthecouch.blogspot.com/2013/12/whistle-and-ill-come-2010.html. Accessed 9 August 2020.
     [Google Scholar]
  19. Hay, S.. ( 2011), A History of the Modern British Ghost Story, London:: Palgrave;.
     [Google Scholar]
  20. Hordern, M., and Romain, M.. ( 1992;), ‘ Conversations: Sir Michael Hordern. ’, in M. Romain. (ed.), A Profile of Jonathan Miller, Cambridge:: Cambridge University Press;, pp. 151–53.
     [Google Scholar]
  21. James, M. R.. ( [1904] 2013;), ‘ Oh, Whistle, and I’ll Come to You, My Lad. ’, in D. Jones. (ed.), Collected Ghost Stories, Oxford:: Oxford University Press;, pp. 76–93.
     [Google Scholar]
  22. James, M. R.. ( [1910] 2013;), ‘ The Stalls of Barchester Cathedral. ’, in Collected Ghost Stories, Oxford:: Oxford University Press;, pp. 165–78.
     [Google Scholar]
  23. James, M. R.. ( [1931] 2013;), ‘ Preface to The Collected Ghost Stories of M.R. James. ’, in Collected Ghost Stories, Oxford:: Oxford University Press;, pp. 418–20.
     [Google Scholar]
  24. Johnston, D.. ( 2015), Haunted Seasons: Television Ghost Stories for Christmas and Horror for Halloween, Basingstoke:: Palgrave;.
     [Google Scholar]
  25. Johnston, D.. ( 2018;), ‘ Landscape season and identity in Ghost Story for Christmas. ’, Journal of Popular Television, 6:1, pp. 105–18.
     [Google Scholar]
  26. Kahr. B.. ( 2016), Tea with Winnicott, London:: Routledge;.
     [Google Scholar]
  27. Laplanche, J., and Pontalis, J. B.. ( [1967] 1973), The Language of Psychoanalysis (trans. D. Nicholson-Smith.), London:: Karnac;.
     [Google Scholar]
  28. Malabou, C.. ( [2007] 2012), The New Wounded: From Neurosis to Brain Damage (trans. S. Miller.), New York:: Fordham University Press;.
     [Google Scholar]
  29. Malabou, C.. ( [2009] 2012), Ontology of the Accident: An Essay on Destructive Plasticity (trans. C. Shread.), Cambridge, MA:: Polity Press;.
     [Google Scholar]
  30. Malabou, C.. ( 2013;), ‘ Go wonder: Subjectivity and affects in neurobiological times. ’, in C. Malabou, and A. Johnston. (eds), Self and Emotional Life: Philosophy, Psychoanalysis, and Neuroscience, New York:: Columbia University Press;, pp. 1–72.
     [Google Scholar]
  31. Miller, J.. (ed.) ( 1972), Freud: The Man, His World, His Influence, London:: Weidenfield and Nicolson;.
     [Google Scholar]
  32. Miller, J.. ( [1967] 2017;), ‘ Beyond dispute. ’, in I. Greaves. (ed.), One Thing and Another: Selected Writings 1954-2016, London:: Oberon Books;, pp. 168–74.
     [Google Scholar]
  33. Miller, J., and Romain, M.. ( 1992;), ‘ Work in progress: A dialogue with Jonathan Miller. ’, in M. Romain. (ed.), A Profile of Jonathan Miller, Cambridge:: Cambridge University Press;, pp. 21–94.
     [Google Scholar]
  34. Murphy, P. J., and Porcheddu, F.. ( 2013;), ‘ Amateur error, templar terror and M. R. James’s haunted whistle. ’, Philological Quarterly, 92:3, pp. 389–415.
     [Google Scholar]
  35. Newton, M.. ( 2015;), ‘ Haunted half hours: How the BBC made Christmas creepy. ’, The Guardian, 31 October, https://www.theguardian.com/film/2015/oct/31/bbc-christmas-ghost-story-halloween. Accessed 9 August 2020.
     [Google Scholar]
  36. North Downs Cinematograph Society ( 1956), Whistle and I’ll Come to You!, UK:: BFI;, https://player.bfi.org.uk/free/film/watch-whistle-and-ill-come-to-you-1956-online. Accessed 9 August 2020.
     [Google Scholar]
  37. Paskins, T.. ( 2010;), ‘ Review: “Whistle and I’ll Come to You” (2010). ’, Gothic Imagination , http://www.gothic.stir.ac.uk/blog/whistle-and-ill-come-to-you-review/. Accessed 30 September 2018. [no longer available] .
  38. Scovell, A.. ( 2017;), ‘ The early ghost story for Christmas you’ve never seen. ’, British Film Institute , 20 December, https://www.bfi.org.uk/news-opinion/news-bfi/features/ghost-story-christmas-whistle-ill-come-you. Accessed 9 August 2020.
  39. Solms, M., and Turnbull, O.. ( 2002), The Brain and the Inner World: An Introduction to the Neuroscience of Subjective Experience, London:: Karnac;.
     [Google Scholar]
  40. Warren, A.. ( 2012;), ‘ DVD review: Whistle and I’ll Come to You (BFI). ’, Popmatters , 16 September, https://www.popmatters.com/163118-whistle-and-ill-come-to-you-2495816406.html. Accessed 9 August 2020.
  41. Wheatley, H.. ( 2006), Gothic Television, Manchester:: Manchester University Press;.
     [Google Scholar]
  42. Wilson, A. N.. ( 2010;), ‘ Review of “Whistle and I’ll Come to You”. ’, Radio 3 , 22 December, https://learningonscreen.ac.uk/ondemand/index.php/prog/0189D09A?bcast=57899652. Accessed 9 August 2020.
  43. Wollaston, S.. ( 2010;), ‘ TV review. ’, The Guardian, 27 December, https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2010/dec/27/weekend-tv-highlights. Accessed 9 August 2020.
     [Google Scholar]
  44. Christopher Lee’s Ghost Stories for Christmas ( 2000, UK:: BBC;).
     [Google Scholar]
  45. Doctors ( 2000–present, UK:: BBC;).
     [Google Scholar]
  46.   ‘ Whistle. ’ (Series 16, Episode 124 ; 31 October 2014).
  47. Ghost Story for Christmas ( 1971–78, 2005–06, 2010, 2013, 2018–19 , UK:: BBC;).
     [Google Scholar]
  48.   ‘ The Stalls of Barchester. ’ (24 December 1971).
  49.   ‘ A Warning to the Curious. ’ (24 December 1972).
  50.   ‘ Lost Hearts. ’ (25 December 1973).
  51.   ‘ The Treasure of Abbot Thomas. ’ (23 December 1974).
  52.   ‘ The Ash Tree. ’ (23 December 1975).
  53.   ‘ The Signalman. ’ (22 December 1976).
  54.   ‘ The Ice House. ’ (25 December 1978).
  55.   ‘ A View from a Hill. ’ (22 December 2005).
  56.   ‘ Number 13. ’ (22 December 2006).
  57.   ‘ Whistle and I’ll Come to You. ’ (24 December 2010).
  58.   ‘ The Tractate Middoth. ’ (25 December 2013).
  59.   ‘ The Dead Room. ’ (24 December 2018).
  60.   ‘ Martin’s Close. ’ (24 December 2019).
  61. Omnibus ( 1967–2003, UK:: BBC;).
     [Google Scholar]
  62.   ‘ Whistle and I’ll Come to You. ’ (7 May 1968).
  63. Ray, Nicholas. ( 2021;), ‘ Who is this who is coming? From neurosis to neurodegeneration in television adaptations of M. R. James’s “Oh, Whistle and I’ll Come to You, My Lad”. ’, Journal of Popular Television, 9:3, pp. 355–76, https://doi.org/10.1386/jptv_00062_1
     [Google Scholar]
http://instance.metastore.ingenta.com/content/journals/10.1386/jptv_00062_1
Loading
Who is this who is coming? From neurosis to neurodegeneration in television adaptations of M. R. James’s ‘Oh, Whistle and I’ll Come to You, My Lad’
Journal of Popular Television, The 9, 355 (2021); https://doi.org/10.1386/jptv_00062_1
/content/journals/10.1386/jptv_00062_1
/content/journals/10.1386/jptv_00062_1
Loading

Data & Media loading...

  • Article Type: Article
Keyword(s): adaptation; Andy de Emmony; dementia; ghost stories; Jonathan Miller; M. R. James; psychoanalysis

Most Cited Most Cited RSS feed

This is a required field
Please enter a valid email address
Approval was a success
Invalid data
An error occurred
Approval was partially successful, following selected items could not be processed due to error