Mona Lisa Smiles: Copies and Originals in Vera Caspary’s Laura (1942) and Rian Johnson’s Glass Onion (2022)
This article analyzes the striking connections between Vera Caspary's 1942 noir novel Laura, printed serially in Colliers, and Rian Johnson's whodunit Glass Onion, released on Netflix in 2022. Both works present a similarly contradictory message about the dangers of mass media in the conte...
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| Veröffentlicht in: | URI:https://journals.openedition.org/belphegor, |
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| Format: | Article ou chapitre numérique |
| Sprache: | Anglais |
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Belphégor
2025
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openedition-oai:revues.org:belphegor_7387 |
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openedition |
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openedition-oai:revues.org:belphegor_7387 https://doi.org/10.4000/15ch6 urn:doi:10.4000/15ch6 en https://journals.openedition.org/belphegor/7387 2025-12-14T01:00:00Z info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess article info:eu-repo/semantics/article urn:handle:20.500.13089/15ch6 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ Mona Lisa Smiles: Copies and Originals in Vera Caspary’s Laura (1942) and Rian Johnson’s Glass Onion (2022) Belphégor LPCM info:eu-repo/semantics/reference/issn/1499-7185 URI:https://journals.openedition.org/belphegor Rolens, Clare Etats-Unis roman policier authenticité film policier Walter Benjamin detective fiction whodunit film United States authenticity Walter Benjamin This article analyzes the striking connections between Vera Caspary's 1942 noir novel Laura, printed serially in Colliers, and Rian Johnson's whodunit Glass Onion, released on Netflix in 2022. Both works present a similarly contradictory message about the dangers of mass media in the context of World War Two era print culture and pandemic era Internet culture, respectively. Through a close analysis of the wealthy, duplicitous art collecting murderers and the doubled women they seek to murder, the article argues that Laura and Glass Onion simultaneously frame authenticity as superior to and inferior to inauthenticity. While at first the villains seem to represent a lack of respect for authenticity, the heroines, each a set of doubles, also represent the superiority of copies rather than originals. By the end of each, these narratives seem to undermine their initial celebration of originals and authenticity with uncertain political ramifications of the inauthentic, imitative copy’s enduring power. Cet article analyse les liens frappants entre le roman noir Laura de Vera Caspary (1942), publié en série dans Colliers, et le film policier Glass Onion (2022) dirigé par Rian Johnson, sorti sur Netflix. Les deux œuvres présentent un message ambivalent sur les dangers des médias de masse. Laura considère ces dangers dans le contexte de la culture imprimée de l’ère de la Seconde Guerre mondiale, et Glass Onion dans la culture Internet de l’ère de la pandémie. Grâce à une analyse approfondie des meurtriers riches et fourbes collectionneurs d’art et des femmes doublées qu’ils cherchent à assassiner, l’article soutient que Laura et Glass Onion considèrent simultanément l’authenticité comme supérieure et inférieure à l’inauthenticité pour un État démocratique. Si au premier abord les méchants semblent représenter un manque de respect pour l'authenticité, les héroïnes, associées l’une et l’autre à un ensemble de sosies, représentent également la supériorité des copies sur les originaux. La fin de ces deux récits semble saper leur célébration initiale des originaux et de l’authenticité, avec des ramifications politiques incertaines sur le pouvoir durable de la copie inauthentique et imitative. |
| collection |
OpenEdition Journal |
| language |
Anglais |
| format |
Article ou chapitre numérique |
| building |
0/Bibliothèque numérique/ 1/Bibliothèque numérique/OpenEdition Journals/ |
| topic |
Etats-Unis roman policier authenticité film policier Walter Benjamin detective fiction whodunit film United States authenticity Walter Benjamin |
| spellingShingle |
Etats-Unis roman policier authenticité film policier Walter Benjamin detective fiction whodunit film United States authenticity Walter Benjamin Rolens, Clare Mona Lisa Smiles: Copies and Originals in Vera Caspary’s Laura (1942) and Rian Johnson’s Glass Onion (2022) |
| description |
This article analyzes the striking connections between Vera Caspary's 1942 noir novel Laura, printed serially in Colliers, and Rian Johnson's whodunit Glass Onion, released on Netflix in 2022. Both works present a similarly contradictory message about the dangers of mass media in the context of World War Two era print culture and pandemic era Internet culture, respectively. Through a close analysis of the wealthy, duplicitous art collecting murderers and the doubled women they seek to murder, the article argues that Laura and Glass Onion simultaneously frame authenticity as superior to and inferior to inauthenticity. While at first the villains seem to represent a lack of respect for authenticity, the heroines, each a set of doubles, also represent the superiority of copies rather than originals. By the end of each, these narratives seem to undermine their initial celebration of originals and authenticity with uncertain political ramifications of the inauthentic, imitative copy’s enduring power. |
| author |
Rolens, Clare |
| author_facet |
Rolens, Clare |
| author_sort |
Rolens, Clare |
| title |
Mona Lisa Smiles: Copies and Originals in Vera Caspary’s Laura (1942) and Rian Johnson’s Glass Onion (2022) |
| title_short |
Mona Lisa Smiles: Copies and Originals in Vera Caspary’s Laura (1942) and Rian Johnson’s Glass Onion (2022) |
| title_full |
Mona Lisa Smiles: Copies and Originals in Vera Caspary’s Laura (1942) and Rian Johnson’s Glass Onion (2022) |
| title_fullStr |
Mona Lisa Smiles: Copies and Originals in Vera Caspary’s Laura (1942) and Rian Johnson’s Glass Onion (2022) |
| title_full_unstemmed |
Mona Lisa Smiles: Copies and Originals in Vera Caspary’s Laura (1942) and Rian Johnson’s Glass Onion (2022) |
| title_sort |
mona lisa smiles: copies and originals in vera caspary’s laura (1942) and rian johnson’s glass onion (2022) |
| publisher |
Belphégor |
| publishDate |
2025 |
| container_title |
URI:https://journals.openedition.org/belphegor |
| url |
https://ezproxy.univ-orleans.fr/login?url=https://doi.org/10.4000/15ch6 https://ezproxy.univ-orleans.fr/login?url=https://journals.openedition.org/belphegor/7387 |
| _version_ |
1877291848432615424 |