Introduction
For the majority of us, watching a movie at the theaters or in the comfort of one’s own home is what we would consider entertainment in today’s society. Film is one of the most money- making industries in our time. Just about every person in the world has been to a theater to view their favorite character, hero, or basically listen and understand a story of interest. But one of the most compelling things about film is how it is characterized, such as whether it is staged theatrically or cinematically. The use of the camera’s position; an actor’s or actress’s tone, mood, and expression; setting and music are based on the producer’s or the director’s call. It is their ambition to promote audience involvement in the movie.
On the other hand, some of us would rather pick up a paperback book and read for enjoyment. Reading a book invites the reader to experience the story. The reader can imagine the setting, characters; these details are left to the imagination of the reader. Since the reader does not have a visual perception with prescribed images, he or she gets to live in the story to experience the character or characters. Either way, the audience or viewer’s desire to perceive the message of a story and or critique the elements is automatically within the viewer. The choice of written text or film all depends on the age of the viewer or audience. The younger generation would simply learn to identify character as well as sequence, while others, older students, tend to be more experienced in comparing and contrasting films to a literary text.
As we begin to learn about how films and literary texts work, we begin to see that there are some connections and we also learn to see that there are differences and similarities. Basically, most films are based on a screenplay, on textual information that is translated into film and some are adapted from literary texts. This is when one must ask the question: how much of the textual base or novel is transferred in a film? Usually some of the literary work is translated in part or whole to a feature film. How do we critique and analyze the adaptation of a film? In film adaptation, the written story as compared to a film may have similar or different elements than the literary text; this is even the case when the same story is adapted by different authors. Further, how is the character presented or portrayed to its audience? The central message is conveyed to the audiences from different perspectives, so the importance of how a story is presented is crucial. This is one of the reasons why students should be introduced to film adaptations of literary texts. I feel that this is an opportunity for students to become aware of using such skills as analyzing different elements and compare and contrast the film’s adaptation to a literary text. So watching a film or reading the text helps students to understand the history. In studying them, they are also able to live and breathe a film or a literary text rather than simply making quick judgments.
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