Literary Adaption: Narrative Form from Page to Screen

Catalog description

What happens when a written narrative is transformed into a visual one? And what makes these adaptations succeed or fail? We might ponder such questions as we watch today's barrage of popular films and television shows which began life as novels or short stories. As readers, we are frequently poised to judge these adaptations based on fidelity to the text - but most viewers can also attest that adhering too closely to the source material can result in narratives falling flat on film. This course will explore the practice of literary adaptation, including adapting texts across time, the challenges of adapting unfinished works, and the political dimensions of casting, deviations from the text, and other changes.