jalicia's adaptation journal

[adaption2022spring]

The Teen Market & Young Adult Literature

Twilight (2008)

I hate Twilight, I know my opinion really doesn't matter but I will admit I actually cannot stand this movie. I've always wondered what the obsession with it was in terms of why it has so many additional new movies but this week's lecture seemed to put things into perspective. Twilight is about more than just a young girl falling in love with some vampire. It's also a bit about the culture of fandoms honestly. What I gathered from the readings from Nelson and Robinson is that the participation from consumers of the film and source material really can shape the ways a film is engraved in pop culture. To most critics, the film is very lackluster and it has received poor ratings. Yet that doesn't matter to these production companies because the entire twilight sage has grossed over 3.3 billion dollars it has been very successful commercially. That commercial success stems from consumers being active participants in the way a film production can be swayed. Fans converse online through twitter, reddit boards, and creative content made by fans who unconsciously or consciously bring to life what fans as a whole want the production to look like. So there becomes a question of an authorship role in the films. The communication that fans have with each other and the people involved with the production of adapted films is very important also it’s quite clear to see how that relationship started in the late 90s and early 2000s with shows like Lost and Buffy the Vampire Slayer, where it is now. Films like twilight were very influential with that change in how the teen film genre changed and how it has become cross-generational simply because studios were able to communicate and understand the expectations of the audience. 

[adaption2022spring]

Male Gaze, Girlhood & Representation: The Remake Edition

Movie remakes are a unique type of narrative or that is a twice told tale. It's seemingly known by a lot but there is always a new way that they can still be able to be loyal to the source yet while introducing something new to the story. Remakes make up the larger part of the adaptation umbrella. There is the initial adaptation of the source and now there are a number of aspects to remakes and adaptations. Everytime that a remake is made or discussed being made one of the aspects that is important is economic and is honestly just a battle of property and the rights to a story. In terms of Lolita both versions are adaptations of the book but, what makes the difference is that they were made at different times so often there tends to be different expectations. In the text there is a distinction between a sequel and a remake and the different rhetoric that they portray. In a sequel audiences are looking for the stories of the characters to be continued and see a bit of a different story. In a remake audencies come in with some expectations of what may happen with the story. Sometimes there are changes made to the story in ways like the casting, the directions and feel. It's an expectation that is common and I think that in the 1997 version of Lolita has a few of the characteristics that it takes to be a remake. For example, the first time that Lolita and Humbert meet Kubrick version of Lolita is presented as older and a bit more sexualized as she is posed seductively and dressed which is a direction that Kubrick took. Yet Lyne’s version seems to be more loyal to the source as Lolita is seen in a light of as shes a dream not real and reminding Humbert of his first love. 

Lolita (1997)

[adaption2022spring]

A Tale of Two Adaptations: Male Gaze, Girlhood & Representation

Lolita is a film that I initially thought was just romanticizing pedophila since they always described it as Humbert as being obsessed with Lolita and being sexually attracted to her. I thought that it was just that but it seems to be more to the story as well. I still think about the relationship between the two but after discussing the readings and watching the film again I feel essentially that it's just about desire and how it can destroy you like it did to Humbert. I'm able to view some other points made by people. I found one line in the film to be quite ironic. At one point Humbert says to Lolita, “ Lo, at your age, people are going to take advantage of you” which is quite literally what he does. It's like he is aware of this innocentence that she has which anyone would notice yet he's so obsessed with her he can't seem to correct his behavior and wants to justify it. There is a power dynamic in the relationship that Humbert has and he uses that to his advantage. Mulvey’s writing discusses the concept of the gaze in hollywood. Mulvey states that in Hollywood women are often typically on display and are viewed as objects since the control of the gaze (camera) is usually always from a heterosexual male perspective. Paired with that is Trilling’s review of the text Lolita which explores the idea of sexual desire as a taboo and explores the western hypocrisy of sexual mores and the crystallization of the teenage girl. 

Lolita (1962)

[adaption2022spring]

A Story Many Times Told: Innovation, Imagination & Diverse Storytelling

The Fall (2006)

This week's reading seems to be a further extension of what was discussed last week. Last week the topic of interpretation of the story no matter who is telling it or who influences the story. This week it seems to be all dependent on the person chosen to adapt a story. Most of Disney's works are adapted from fairy tales and folklore. There are dozens of adaptations of the same story but when it comes to disney there is a level of expectation that come s with the story. Whether that expectation be the art style of the film or the way that the characters act or present themselves. It's important in the way that the story is told but there are niche characteristics.  Authorship is less of a norm and more of an aberration. The success of establishing the credentials is largely a function of the identification of certain auteurs. The Fall (2006) was a film that contained a lot of messages but the easiest one to recognize is how we rely on the people and events around us to shape our stories. In the film Roy tells the stories to Alexandria and we see them through the eyes of Alexandria, we see the story's characters be played by the people around her; they shape her in ways she didn't even realize. Another point I found interesting is that a story is an agreement between people. Once shared it becomes a plural and the story is no longer yours which relates to the reading. Once astory is shared it no longer becomes yours and is allowed to be adapted and evolve on the accord of others, it's nice to be able to relate it to the original but that is the beautiful part of stories.

[adaption2022spring]

Kids’ Stuff III: The (un)Dead Author

This week's assigned reading and film were a bit hard for me to interpret. After watching The Sweet Hereafter and reading The Children of Hamelin on the surface it appears to just be a film that revolves around the story of the pied piper. It feels as if the story has a bit of disconnect. Foucault's “What is an Author” discusses the text as focused on the singular relationship that hold s between an author and a text , the manner in which a text appenrentaly to a figure who is outside and proceeds it. I think this piece of text can relate to the film in a way that there are different stories being told from different perspectives of the lives affected by the tragedy. So there is no singular relationship and there are several “authors” that are telling the story. Relating back to the text the Foucault connects to larger cultural concerns about who gets to speak, who has credence, and who is valued and legitimized as a public. It gives everyone a voice and kills the idea of a sole author that tells one story their way. Barthes “The Death of an Author” discusses that topic as well. Barth says that no text is original but a composite from thousands of sources and cultures. Which makes sense as to why I felt a disconnect initially to the material. There is no one way of doing things when adapting work from sources. The book “The Sweet Hereafter” alludes to the story “The Children of Hamelin” but the film is adapted from the text. So in a way “killing” the author allows the text to stand on its own and be interpreted and understood in a number or ways which is essentially the essence of adaptation.

[adaption2022spring]

Adaptation: Introduction

The Tale of A Vampire was a bit boring to me, to say the least. I thought that it was a nice independent film that adapted a story well, it just didn't fit my particular taste well. It was the perfect film to introduce us to the ways of a film adaptation. The first assigned reading was a poem by Edgar Allen Poe “ Annabel Lee” which is telling the story of young love that ends early because of tragedy. This is a story about a beautiful and painful memory. Tale of a Vampire is loosely based on the poem by Poe; it is a good example of the Point made by Cartman and Whelehan’s in the other assigned reading. Adaptation is at the intersection of literature and film studies. Adaptation also for people to move away from the text and view the films as an independent object. There are ways for the source material to be further discussed when it comes to adaptation. It's also an important way to give some creative freedom no matter what the medium may be. It's easy to see some of the connections made from the source to the film. Tale of A Vampire is a great example of a film adapted from a source that pushes boundaries and reflects the current world that we live in or current experiences. Essentially Tale of A Vampire (Sato 1992) and Annabel Lee (Poe)  are about the same thing but they were created in different times.

[adaption2022spring]

Kid Stuff Part 2

Company of Wolves Screening

This film had so much body horror that it made my skin crawl. Maybe it wasn't that bad to others but, I was very displeased with it.  I'm not a fan of gore whether it's cheesy or done with an artistic taste. The main topics of this week that are mainly discussed in the readings as well are themes of gothic horror, dark romance and coming of age. The filmis gothic in a way that it has dream-like imagery( like the dinner table scene with the 80s special effects which is my favorite part about this movie) , supernatural elements, nightscapes, and subversive gender roles. The list goes on as well but the film also feels a bit like a fairytale as well which aligns well with this week's topic or the “Kid Stuff”.  Angela Carter’ and Neil Jordan's “The Company of Wolves reading'' is the source material for the film. It reads as this meta narrative like its being read as a voiceover. “The Company of Wolves isn't just an adaptation of Carter's story in the same way that Carter appropriated fairy tales for her own purpose whatever it may be. In Carter’s case it appropriated conventions and modes of horror and fantasy. It's also a connection of this inherent appeal of the monsters is this connection of hyper masculinity with feminized abjection and vulnerability. Carter's story is the essence of Oral Tradition and the fairytale horror that in some way has a connection to youth and coming or age. Like its almost another adaptation Little Red Riding Hood although I'm not sure which of the stories came first.

[adaption2022spring]

Kids Stuff Part 1

Film: Snow White and The Huntsman

This film made for an entertaining change of pace. I like fairytale adaptations since they feel like the experience that is. I think that most fairytale stories seem to have the same type of narratives that there is this young beautiful woman that is pure and needs to be saved from all kinds of evil. Oftentimes the young woman has a bit of obstacles that she must go through before she prevails and gets happily ever after. Through her hardships though she is not allowed to be unpleasant and just be as she was before. This adaptation though it felt a bit different, Snow White was beautiful and pure and yes she faced hardships due to a certain evil. This snow white was different from what we had seen before. She was a warrior to the fighter which isn't something not written or discussed in fairy tales often. The reading assigned this week  ‘With a Smile and a Song:’ Walt Disney and the Birth of the American Fairy Tale,”Marvels & Tales 27 (2013) by the writer Tracy Mollet made a point of that in the reading. Mollet discusses the fact that some scholars suggest that each fairytale has a singular narrative that inherently belongs to folk who have told these stories and deviate from the values of that time. Mollet argues against that idea and tells of how they view that there are no “original” values inherent in these tales. That these values are used as a means of literary tradition and oral story-telling. There is free reign in telling these stories and even though the story is told it is able to change and shift its ideals and cater to what the storyteller feels is right. I feel like this adaptation fits in perfectly with the text. During this films release it was a point in the industry that was making a point to release films that empowered young women, during this time there was also the hunger game series with Katniss everdeen and also the divergent series that were also adaptations that had strong female characters.

[adaption2022spring]

Bodies, Youth, and The Supernatural

During this week we were assigned the Screening of let the right one in and to read Battis “Supernatural Youth” and Williams “Film Bodies”. I personally did not care for the film. A pattern that I sensing to notice that with some of these films are usually adaptations of very dark and somewhat scary writings. It delivers all of the expectations that one would want to see in a frightening film but I personally just don't like it. The readings make for a great explanation or connection to the screening. Battis’s reading “The Supernatural Youth” which describes adolescence as a space for fear and discovery. To bring back to the film which plays on the childhood terror and fantasies. Also the old trope of how a vampire must be asked in before entering a home. It also reminds of the liminal ages between childhood and adolescence often flag a type of dangerous supernatural power. I also feel like there is some sense of horror in the space like almost as if the characters are trapped. Battis reading also discussed the structurally perverse canon role of teen fantasy that marginality coexists in a way with empowerment that they reinforce one another. 

[adaption2022spring]

Qeering Comics: Representation

Open texts like comics invite interpretation of the text. This week we had the opportunity to listen in on a author that has study the art of comics and the undertone of queer representation that comics contain. Comics are more inclusive than I was led to believe for a long time. Comics are considered low quality media since they’re cheap and easily accessible. But what I found to be very interesting and admirable about comics is how expansive they are and just how much representation that is found in comics. Comics hail counterpublics which are alternative spaces of community building. The Scott and Fawaz reading discusses how things like superheroes specifically the x-men are queer coded. There are so many different areas that can be found in the texts. It is important to recognize the differences that make these characters feel like individuals whose identities help them be comfortable even in environments that dont always make them feel safe or respected.

[adaption2022spring]

Remixing The Old Is New Again

I like what the reading mentioned about how comics embody the political texts and how if a hero changes too much then to a casual readers they become less recognizable and to devoted readers they must react to a changing world or they won’t resonate to them. I feel like this particular part of the reading resonated with the actual film. In the first Captain American film Captain Rogers is a man that views his government as good and righteous and what he fight for it is morally right. But at the time it’s The 1940s and what is morally right to people is somewhat similar because the world or at least America looks similar in politics (or thats what was represented at the time). In the winter solider we see steve rogers as a man out of time. He faces a world that is completely different than that what he used to know. The government that he once stood for has succumb to corruption and has been infiltrated by the same group of people that he once fought against. Captain Rogers faces a problem and he decides to go his own way and against what he used to know and change his old ways of thinking. So in that way the reading was correct as steve rogers goes through these changes you see him grow and adapt to the new world he is in. While it may be difficult he still prevails because as a character he has the capability to do that.