《本杰明·巴顿奇事》小说文本到电影文本的主题变奏

The Variation of the Theme between the Novel andthe Movie of The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

菲茨杰拉德是美国现代文学史上的重要作家,被誉为"爵士时代"的杰出代言人。他与好莱坞关系密切,其作品也一再被好莱坞改编。《本杰明·巴顿奇事》是菲茨杰拉德创作的关于人生幻灭的短篇小说。2008年,好莱坞导演大卫·芬奇将其改编成电影。影片不仅在情节上大加改动,在主题的诉诸上也将原作中爱的幻灭与人生的虚无转化为爱的永恒和人生意义的追寻。电影改编的主题变奏既有时代原因,也是好莱坞电影创作主流叙事原则使然。同时,这种"变奏"也是作为个人精神体验的文学与作为大众文化媒介的电影之间的差异所造成。《本杰明·巴顿奇事》的文本改编,成为精英文化(严肃文学)被大众文化(影视作品)利用与改造的突出样例。

Francis Scott Fitzgerald is an important writer in American modern literatry history. He had close relationship with Hollywood. Many of his works were adapted to movies. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is a short novel about the disillusion of life. The famous director, David Leo Fincher, adapted the novel for the screen in 2008. The plots and the theme were changed greatly. The disillusion and the emptiness of life were changed to the eternal love and the quest for the value of life. The adaption was because of the age and the narrative principles of Hollywood. And the difference between the personal writing and the media of mass culture also led to the discrepancy of the adaption. The adaptation of The Curious Case of Benjamin Button becomes an outstanding example of elite culture （serious literature）being utilized and refashioned by mass culture （film and TV works）