Brian McFarlane＇s adaptation analysis method, first described in Novel to Film （1996）, is one of the most elaborated ones, and is often used in some form by contemporary scholars and critics. McFarlane attempts to ...Brian McFarlane＇s adaptation analysis method, first described in Novel to Film （1996）, is one of the most elaborated ones, and is often used in some form by contemporary scholars and critics. McFarlane attempts to use Roland Barthes＇ （1990） narrative theory for the comparison of novels and films, In any narrative, Barthes distinguishes two main groups of functions： functions proper and indices. McFarlane＇s ultimate aim with this taxonomy is to determine what elements of a novel are subject to adaptation proper and which ones are transferred directly into film. He concludes that a certain type of functions proper is transferable, while indices are more broadly open to adaptation than to the directness of transfer. The author finds McFarlane＇s theory problematic With the help of a Henry James＇ novella and its film adaptation, the author will try to demonstrate that functions proper are far too complex to enable a simple transfer. The author＇s point is that what is actually transferred from novel to film is something rather similar to the narrative functions described by early 20th century formalist Vladimir Propp展开更多
＂I love suits! One feels so save and kept together in it. Like in an armour!＂ （von Taube, 2008, p. 1）. This remark by designer Tom Ford in a newspaper article a couple of years ago finds expression in the behaviou...＂I love suits! One feels so save and kept together in it. Like in an armour!＂ （von Taube, 2008, p. 1）. This remark by designer Tom Ford in a newspaper article a couple of years ago finds expression in the behaviour of George Falconer （Colin Firth）---the main protagonist in Ford＇s directorial debut A Single Man （2010） which follows the outlines of the landmark 1964 novel of the same title by Christopher Isherwood. In this article the author want to ask questions concerning the different aesthetic potentials of the novel on the one hand and the movie on the other hand. How are the main topics of loss and solitude presented and which relevance has the beauty of the image in these two different staging acts？展开更多
This article examines transnational collaboration in the production of Mandela＇s biopics and what it means for Mandela＇s self-image, for South African history, and for the globalization of human experience. The film...This article examines transnational collaboration in the production of Mandela＇s biopics and what it means for Mandela＇s self-image, for South African history, and for the globalization of human experience. The films covered in this discussion include： Mandela （1987）, Sarafina （1992）, Mandela and de Klerk （1997）, Goodbye Bafana （2007）, Endgame （2009）, and Invictus （2010）. The article examines the portrayals of Mandela as a lover, action hero, conciliator, and as a symbol of the anti-apartheid liberation struggle, and then focuses on Invictus, Clint Eastwood＇s adaptation of Carlin＇s book, Playing the Enemy to show the degree to which Mandela is incarnated on screen through Morgan Freeman＇s stunning performance while at the same time underscoring the dangers of Euro-American cultural production of Mandela＇s image. While Carlin＇s book employs reminiscences, flashbacks, and shifting chronology to expose the injustice, oppression and brutality that the Springboks symbolized, the film instead focuses on magnifying Mandela＇s image and charm at the expense of South African history, leading to the misrepresentation of Mandela： the ＂heroic self-transcendence＂ typical of Hollywood＇s shallow treatment of historical material for commercial and cultural expediency.展开更多
文摘Brian McFarlane＇s adaptation analysis method, first described in Novel to Film （1996）, is one of the most elaborated ones, and is often used in some form by contemporary scholars and critics. McFarlane attempts to use Roland Barthes＇ （1990） narrative theory for the comparison of novels and films, In any narrative, Barthes distinguishes two main groups of functions： functions proper and indices. McFarlane＇s ultimate aim with this taxonomy is to determine what elements of a novel are subject to adaptation proper and which ones are transferred directly into film. He concludes that a certain type of functions proper is transferable, while indices are more broadly open to adaptation than to the directness of transfer. The author finds McFarlane＇s theory problematic With the help of a Henry James＇ novella and its film adaptation, the author will try to demonstrate that functions proper are far too complex to enable a simple transfer. The author＇s point is that what is actually transferred from novel to film is something rather similar to the narrative functions described by early 20th century formalist Vladimir Propp
文摘＂I love suits! One feels so save and kept together in it. Like in an armour!＂ （von Taube, 2008, p. 1）. This remark by designer Tom Ford in a newspaper article a couple of years ago finds expression in the behaviour of George Falconer （Colin Firth）---the main protagonist in Ford＇s directorial debut A Single Man （2010） which follows the outlines of the landmark 1964 novel of the same title by Christopher Isherwood. In this article the author want to ask questions concerning the different aesthetic potentials of the novel on the one hand and the movie on the other hand. How are the main topics of loss and solitude presented and which relevance has the beauty of the image in these two different staging acts？
文摘This article examines transnational collaboration in the production of Mandela＇s biopics and what it means for Mandela＇s self-image, for South African history, and for the globalization of human experience. The films covered in this discussion include： Mandela （1987）, Sarafina （1992）, Mandela and de Klerk （1997）, Goodbye Bafana （2007）, Endgame （2009）, and Invictus （2010）. The article examines the portrayals of Mandela as a lover, action hero, conciliator, and as a symbol of the anti-apartheid liberation struggle, and then focuses on Invictus, Clint Eastwood＇s adaptation of Carlin＇s book, Playing the Enemy to show the degree to which Mandela is incarnated on screen through Morgan Freeman＇s stunning performance while at the same time underscoring the dangers of Euro-American cultural production of Mandela＇s image. While Carlin＇s book employs reminiscences, flashbacks, and shifting chronology to expose the injustice, oppression and brutality that the Springboks symbolized, the film instead focuses on magnifying Mandela＇s image and charm at the expense of South African history, leading to the misrepresentation of Mandela： the ＂heroic self-transcendence＂ typical of Hollywood＇s shallow treatment of historical material for commercial and cultural expediency.
