I don't recall saying snobs or that people who took English Literature had their heads in the cloud. I said that they were looking for meaning, and they were often unhappy people.

I take you that you didn't read or study the links I gave you.

You said, "If Eng Lit were so elitist, why do you think that TV and film adaptations of works by Jane Austen, Charles Dickens and others are so popular?" Again, I did not say it was elitist. If anything, I think it's quite the opposite.

You're confusing 'character development' with story arc. My article spoke about story arc, i.e. the person goes from bad to good, from good to bad, or they just remain as they are. Story arc is not characterization.

You said, " you read about the traumas that a character faces and start asking questions along the lines of "how would I have coped with that?"

Why on earth would anyone want to read about trauma in fiction.

You said, "You can't make that sort of distinction so easily..."

Again, you didn't read the links I provided. That was actual research, John.

Why do film makers make a few literary books? Same reason they make a lot more books by commercial fiction writers. To make money. :)