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| Module 12 | | Studying Film Adaptations
of Literature and Theater |
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English teachers frequently employ film adaptations of literature, one example of integrating film into the English curriculum. In doing so, English teachers may bring a bias towards assuming that print or stage literature is somehow a superior form to film, while film teachers may assume that film is superior. These presuppositions having to with one form being superior to the other often lapses into discussions of whether the film or the text is “better” — failing to consider or judge the uses of specific techniques within a particular form.
| The extent to which a film or text succeeds needs to judged according to criteria specific to that particular medium. Many early film adaptations were highly staged as no more than a faithful reproduction of the original theater production. These films did not succeed in terms of using the film medium itself to create highly cinematic versions of the original story that employs engaging film techniques. These films therefore did not exploit the differences between film and theater forms.
| Differences between film and theater. In his textbook, Understanding Movies, Louis Giannetti (2002)
describes some of the differences between film and theater:
| time. Film can be highly flexible, moving backwards (with flashbacks) or forwards, as well as compressing or speeding up time; time in the theater is continuous and limited to moving forward in time.
space. Space in film is two-dimensional and viewers are positioned within that space through different types of shots — as close to a person or faraway from that person. Space in theater is three-dimensional and audiences can select what they and how they focus their attention. However, the space in a theater is a closed space — once actors leave the stage, they are forgotten, when film often uses “off-frame” action — the fact that we are aware of someone outside a frame.
language. Film employs both cinematography and language to convey meaning, whereas theater employs primarily language, although some theater productions incorporate multimedia/videos as part of the production. Theater therefore focuses primarily on characters and their relationships within relatively small, limited spaces, while film can place people in a range of different, much more open spaces.
directing. Film directors often have much more independence, control, and leeway to construct their own ideas and versions of the original screenplay, while theater directors are more limited to adopting the play. Film directors can redo a certain scene numerous times until it fits what they want to convey. While theater directors certainly will rework scenes, once the play begins its run, they have little control over the results.
settings. Film directors can work with a lot of different aspects of settings and forms of space, music, editing, and now — computer graphics and simulations, while theater directors are limited to the stage space.
costumes. In both film and theater, costumes are used to capture the historical or cultural contexts, using costumes to communicate the nature of the historical period; character’s class, gender, age, eroticism; attitude/style — often through colors or fit; or identity and personality — as eccentric, conventional, proper, elegant, etc.
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