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Literature to Film
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Literature to Film
"Good"
Literature
Good literature is character-basesd, not plot -based .
It prompts readers to think and feel by providing multiple interpretations
(instead of a single, didactic "lesson")
Language
Medium
- only words
- no images
literary devices (i.e. metaphor, description, etc.)
Complexity
Useful for
Explaining complex ideas,
- usually in the form of characters' thoughts
Makes the reader think/feel via multiple interpretations
Success
Film represents change in a visual way
- plot (change in the world)
- character (change in person)
"Good" Film
Action!
- physical movement
- progression of story
- contrast between scenes
Medium
Representing Change
Strengths
- showing how the world/situation has changed (plot-based)
- demonstrating how a character has changed (character-based)
Independence Day (1996)
World is threatened
Hero takes action
World is saved
Plot-based Change
The Lives of Others (2006)
In divided Germany, Stasi officer is tasked with surveilling an artist
Character-based Change
listens as artist develops work
and also the small details of his life.
The artist is critical of the regime
(and should be reported). But is a good man.
Officer becomes convinced that artist is "good". He does not report him.
A successful film...
Criterion
makes the viewer think/feel by using tools of
- significant change
- effectss (music/cinematography/computer graphics, explosions, etc.)
So how can we determine if an adaptation is good or not?
Evaluating Adaptations
What criteria should we use?
Fidelity?
Is the film faithful to the text?
- essential narrative elements
- core meanings
Topic
Film represents through sequence (plot)
But the best literature is character-based, not plot based.
"Fidelity" would ignore this aspect
So this is not a good criterion
"An adaptation is not a better film because it is a close interpretation a opposed to an intermediate or loose one. In fact, some people argue that fidelity to a text is a surefire way to make a bad film" (Desmond & Hawkes 42).
the critics
some of the worst adaptations are the most faithful
This is one of the central questions of this course: what makes an adaptation successful?
To answer this question, we will look at theory, but also many short stories and their film adaptations on a case-by-case basis.
Other Criteria?
Question 1
Text Success
What makes the literary work successful? What do we admire about it?
- Beautiful writing?
- Tension?
- Character development?
What emotional or intellectual spark did you experience when reading?
Is the Film Successful?
If we could disregard the text, would the film be enjoyable as an individual work of art?
Film Adaptation
Has it translated the admirable quality/qualities from the text?
If so, what qualities? And what method(s) did the film use to translate them?