From fictions of cinema to cinematic fiction

In this chapter, we move from film and cinema as subject in DeLillo’s work to the idea that the fiction itself might be described as ‘cinematic’. It is commonplace in literary criticism to refer to a writer’s style as ‘cinematic’ although this description is not always accompanied by a great deal of technical precision. The aim here, therefore, is to move beyond casual analogy and establish in detail the key signatures of the DeLillo mise-en-scène . The chapter explores aspects of the narrative structure, the ‘framing’ of scenes and ‘shot’ selection (the use of long shots, medium shots and close-ups), setting and key locations and the use of ‘props’. We return to the idea of ‘literary montage’ with close readings of crowd scenes in Mao II and Underworld . At the same time, we also consider the relevance of André Bazin’s alternative to montage which advocated the use of the long take and deep focus. Examples of DeLillo as a literary practitioner of Bazinian ‘slow cinema’ are explored in depth. Following a consideration of genre, the chapter concludes with the sub-field in film theory of adaptation studies in relation to DeLillo’s screen writing credits alongside adaptations of his work including Cosmopolis, The Body Artist and White Noise.