What Adaptations and Adaptation Studies Tell Us (and Sometimes Don't Tell Us) about Politics, Culture, and Social Change

This essay explores the implications of a Supreme Court dissent written by US Chief Justice John Roberts in the style of film noir. The article analyses Roberts's adaptation, discussing more broadly the use of classic literary types such as the hardboiled detective and the western cowboy in social and political discourse. The article argues for the significance of adaptation studies in our polarized contemporary society because its valuing of change counters formulaic appropriations of the past and fixed ideas and models of experience. The essay suggests not only that political leaders mired in the past cannot adapt to changing society and social roles, but also that adaptation studies hones readers' discernment, especially called for when public figures use fictional patterns to address real-world circumstances.