The Great Gatsby: What it says to modern America

[xchrom]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-14238693

A new film adaptation of The Great Gatsby, starring Leonardo DiCaprio, begins shooting in Australia in the coming weeks. As the US struggles with a sense of its own decline, is this story of thwarted ambition the perfect tale for modern America?

Eighty-six years after being published, The Great Gatsby is undergoing a revival.

Hollywood stars Leonardo DiCaprio and Carey Mulligan are preparing to fill the shoes - brogues and high heels, no doubt - of Jay Gatsby and Daisy Buchanan, in a new adaptation directed by Baz Luhrmann. Filming is due to start in late August or early September, with a 2012 cinema release.

Gatsby-mania has been going on for months. A new spin-off novel that traces the fortunes of Daisy's daughter Pamela has not long arrived in bookshops. It follows the success of Gatz, a six-hour-long off-Broadway hit at the end of last year.

[Warpy]

1. I need to reread it.

I liked it when I was a kid because I knew people like that, people who always expected other people to clean up their messes and since they were rich, other people always did.