Successful Adaptations: A Study of an Adaptation's Success in the context of its Reception
Author
Broch, Rasmus
Term
4. term
Education
Publication year
2019
Submitted on
2019-06-03
Pages
70
Abstract
Denne kandidatafhandling undersøger de forskellige versioner af Stephen Kings The Mist – novellen, spillefilmen og tv-serien – for at udvikle en praktisk måde at vurdere tilpasninger ud fra deres modtagelse blandt publikum og kritikere. Metoden er at kortlægge, hvordan centrale fortælleelementer (fx plot, karakterer, tone, slutning, synsvinkel og temaer) blev ændret i tilpasningsprocessen, og derefter sammenholde disse ændringer med forskellene mellem The Mists versioner for at identificere underliggende elementer, der prægede modtagelsen. Analysen konkluderer, at novellen og filmatiseringen var succesfulde, mens tv-serien ikke var det. Arbejdet er forankret i adaptation studies og forholder sig kritisk til den traditionelle “troskabsdiskurs”, hvor originalværket ofte anses som overlegent, og hvor vurderinger baseres på, hvor tro en adaptation er mod forlægget. I tråd med teoretikere som Linda Hutcheon – især i bogen A Theory of Adaptation – udfordrer afhandlingen denne tilgang ved at fokusere på, hvordan konkrete fortællevalg påvirker modtagelsen. Resultaterne viser, at ændringer i fortælleelementer kan påvirke modtagelsen både positivt og negativt. Desuden kan mønstrene i The Mist bruges som pejlemærker i vurderingen af andre tilpasninger for at udpege, hvilke ændringer der sandsynligvis har formet deres modtagelse. I diskussionen anvendes denne ramme til at reflektere over andre adaptationer i lyset af deres narrative ændringer og parallellerne til The Mists variationer.
This master’s thesis examines the different versions of Stephen King’s The Mist—the original novella, the feature film, and the television series—to develop a practical way to evaluate adaptations based on how they were received by audiences and critics. The approach maps changes to key storytelling elements (such as plot, characters, tone, ending, point of view, and themes) during the adaptation process and compares them across The Mist’s versions to identify underlying elements that shaped reception. The analysis concludes that the novella and the film adaptation were successful, while the television series was not. The study is situated within adaptation studies and engages critically with the long-standing fidelity discourse, which often treats the source as superior and judges adaptations by their closeness to the original. In line with theorists such as Linda Hutcheon—especially in A Theory of Adaptation—the thesis challenges this view by focusing on how concrete narrative choices affect reception. The findings show that changes to narrative elements can influence reception in both positive and negative ways. Moreover, patterns observed in The Mist can be used as signposts when assessing other adaptations, helping to identify which changes likely shaped their reception. In the discussion, this framework is applied to other examples of adaptations in light of their narrative changes and parallels with the variations of The Mist.
[This abstract was generated with the help of AI]
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