Desmond, J. M., & Hawkes, P. (2006) Adaptation: Studying film and Literature Film Adaptation: The Case of Apples and Oranges Presentation on the weekly reading Jason M. Ward 1/12

A 200-word Summary 1/3 Desmond & Hawkes’s chapter helps students investigate adaptations. The authors explain that fidelity is impossible because language is vague, but images are specific. This makes it hard to adapt but also easy because filmmakers have flexibility in their interpretations. The chapter show how characters in films are different because filmmakers must choose the available actors and work with their characteristics too. 2/12

A 200-word Summary 2/ Another difference is that unlike text, film is multi-track using performance, words, music, sound effects, and images. A scene from an adaptation is analyzed to show the decisions made by filmmakers about lighting, costume etc. Desmond & Hawkes differentiate between what is communicated and how: the story and the discourse. They talk about how a text’s dialogue usually needs to be shortened to fit the discourse of film. They explain that there is no core meaning to transfer only a reading and dismiss the judgmental language of fidelity

A 200-word Summary 3/3 4/12 Auteur theory is suggested as a way to credit the director with more creativity but is criticized for simplifying the collaborative nature of filmmaking. Intertextuality is introduced since texts and films always connect with other texts and films. The chapter concludes by suggesting ways to study adaptations by considering what is kept, dropped and added and the possible reasons.

Discussion Question 1: Is it possible to talk about an adaptation as close, intermediate or loose? (p. 43) I am not sure that I agree that it is possible in all cases because all adaptations are adaptations of texts constructed in the minds of readers. An adaptation that adds a lot of extra material not suggested by the text might be regarded as not ‘close’ but to judge whether it is ‘intermediate’ or ‘lose’ assumes that there is a set point (like an ‘original text’) from where it is possible to measure this distance of closeness. 5/12

Discussion Question 2: “One can identify the author of a book but one cannot identify the author of a film” (p. 45). How true is this statement? I agree that a director is not the sole auteur/author of a film but the same could be said of a book’s author, who is assisted by an editor and under pressure from a publisher and the market. Furthermore, it is possible to identify the signature style of certain auteurs like Speilberg, Tarantino, Wes Anderson or the Cohen brothers. 6/12

Discussion Question 3: If literature and film are so different, how is it possible to translate a narrative from one medium to another? The text talks about story and discourse where the former is the narrative, what is said, and the latter is how it is expressed. I prefer Dudley Andrew’s explanation, which stresses “connotation”. Although both media work in different ways, they still connote the same emotions or conflicts that created the text. This is how adaptations can draw our attention to the author’s creative decisions too. 7/12

Discussion Question 4: “The language of fidelity is the language of buried metaphors”: What does this mean and is there a better way to talk about fidelity without using this word or similar? This is about the personification of an adaptation as unfaithful, betraying or straying from the text etc., which makes it seem like the film is a person who has cheated the text or let it down in some way (the text is also personified). We could use less loaded terms that stress difference rather than value judgements, but I personally think that these derogatory terms are useful because they express how we often feel about adaptations and how we unfairly judge them. The important thing is then to question why. 8/12

MCQ 1 A: Which of the following is stated in the reading? 1.“There are prejudices … in our cultural attitudes that assume literature is superior to film” 2.“There are prejudices … in our cultural attitudes that assume film is superior to literature” 3.“There is no longer any prejudices in our cultural attitudes … that assume literature or film is superior” 9/12

MCQ 1 A: Which of the following is stated in the reading? 1.“There are prejudices … in our cultural attitudes that assume literature is superior to film” 2.“There are prejudices … in our cultural attitudes that assume film is superior to literature” 3.“There is no longer any prejudices in our cultural attitudes … that assume literature or film is superior” 9/12

MCQ 2 B. What do the authors say about Humphrey Bogart in The Maltese Falcon? 1. He didn’t look anything like the “blond Satan” described in the book 2. His appearance was altered with elaborate makeup and a wig to make him look more like the character in the book 3. His casting was a betrayal of the original book and completely ruined the film version 10/12

MCQ 2 B. What do the authors say about Humphrey Bogart in The Maltese Falcon? 1. He didn’t look anything like the “blond Satan” described in the book 2. His appearance was altered with elaborate makeup and a wig to make him look more like the character in the book 3. His casting was a betrayal of the original book and completely ruined the film version 10/12

MCQ 3 C. Which of the following is NOT true about James M. Cain regarding his book Double Indemnity? 1.He didn’t like the ending which was softened for a film audience 2.He wrote the book quickly for money 3.He would have used some of the ideas in the film if he had thought of them 11/12

MCQ 3 C. Which of the following is NOT true about James M. Cain regarding his book Double Indemnity? 1.He didn’t like the ending which was softened for a film audience 2.He wrote the book quickly for money 3.He would have used some of the ideas in the film if he had thought of them 11/12

MCQ 4 C.What did J.K. Rowling demand before she gave permission for film adaptations of the Harry Potter series? 1. A trailer on the set with champagne, a hot tub, and a big TV to watch the film as it was being made. 2. Authority to approve the director and actors. 3. Muggles should be given roles in the film and paid equally. 12/12

MCQ 4 C.What did J.K. Rowling demand before she gave permission for film adaptations of the Harry Potter series? 1. A trailer on the set with champagne, a hot tub, and a big TV to watch the film as it was being made. 2. Authority to approve the director and actors. 3. Muggles should be given roles in the film and paid equally. 12/12

Who is this?

Thank you! Any Questions? 9/10

Also… If time allows… How would you film this sentence? 1. “A tree stood in front of the house where I used to live” 2. Can you think of a film that copied something from another film or any other example of intertextuality? 3. Do you think that a text has a core meaning or spirit that can be adapted? 4. What is Postmodernism and why do you think I mention it now?

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