After completing research including examples of present fictional adaptation and understanding what exactly it is, I've now decided to begin planning what essay question I am going to choose, as well as beginning a brief plan on what I'm going to do.
Essay Question
We went through each essay questions together whilst at university, highlighting the key intentions and importances of the questions. They all generally contain traces of similarities in terms of the significance of an adapted piece of film (as well as referring to at least one text), however all obviously differ. Below are the key points which I picked out from each question:
Question 1) In my opinion this question can be interpreted in many ways. The key parts of this question are to what extent (as it quotes "discuss") i the original work transformed into something different whilst retaining traces of what it was formerly. This generally means comparing the differences between the original and the adapted piece of film. You could however also argue that it may not include much originality however could've been done intentionally i.e. had little as the original may not've been very dramatical, etc. The essay could be a balanced argument as the essay question begins with Discuss. Additionally, you could even define what adaptation actually is and what makes it successful.
Question 2) This question however focuses more on the audience, it says to examine how adaptations of classic texts enable contemporary audiences to re-visit the past and how they are situated with the context of postmodern appropriations. Firstly, you can explore this by possibly outline by possibly outlining key conventions of adaptations - anything which is generally used to allow the audience to re-visit the original piece. You could then begin to compare the differences in postmodern and modern audiences, as the audiences are likely to differ from the time the original film was made compared to the newer one. Also, you could once again explore how maybe this 're-visit to the past' isn't as important as you may think, and that newer adaptations must conform to the genre of film in which they were made (the present instead of the past).
Question 3) Slightly less complicated to question two, the third question to consists of an argument however is more theoretical in a way compared to the other two questions. It explores whether the adaptor infringes the integrity of the original text. This too can explore the definition of adaptation and too can argue what actually makes the original text 'successful'. This is very similar to the first essay question however focuses more on whether this adaptation is arguably good or bad - depending on your views.
Essay Decision
I've decided to go for the first essay question. The main reason why is that it has such a wide oppuritionity in terms of interpreting. For example, you can talk about what adaptation actually is, the different audiences, whether its successful and even why texts may not contain much originality. This would seem to be the best option however I may change my opinion on the essay question (but this will be shown on my blog!)
Essay Ideas
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| 'The Great Gatsby' novel |
Even before picking the essay question, I already had an idea on what text I wanted to do. The only problem is that it isn't entirely 'broadcasted on television', therefore I will have to also include a television example (which additionally helps to show how adaptation isn't just evident on films).
Nonetheless, I've decided to focus my essay on 'The Great Gatsby' collection. This means I will focus not only on the original book, but also on the newest adaptation (which came out last year) and the older film made in 1974. To me, this is a perfect example of the essay question I am choosing as all three versions will allow me to create a more in depth evaluation and more importantly showing how adaptation has changed throughout the years.
Some of the key points I could focus on could be:
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| 'The Great Gatsby' Film (1974) |
- Comparison between the different audiences from the book to the latest
film e.g. the original audience from when the book was made,
compared to the modernist of the first film and the post-modernist of the
second.
- The significance of nostalgia: is it maintained throughout the
adaptations or has it changed?
- Any theoretical context i.e. semiotics and psychoanalysis, symbiosis
- Any signs of a pastiche or appropriation
- Reoccuring/new themes.
- Any avant grade references.
- The main character's homage and sense of security
- The main character's homage and sense of security
Now that I have a brief idea of what I am planning to do, I will begin my analysis each piece individually plus any other relevant research, so that I can begin to start my essay.
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| 'Gatsby' (2013) |
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