The Roles of American Values in Creating Differences among Three FilmAdaptations of Herman Melvilleâs Moby Dick: A LiteraryTransformation Study
2013
This thesis compares three film adaptations of Herman Melville�s Moby Dick.
The study is conducted within the framework of literature and particularly under the
scope of literary transformation. The objective of this paper is to understand aspects
involved in the literary transformation from the novel into film, to find out the
differences among the three film adaptations, and to see the shift of American taste in
the three films
The research is done by comparing three films entitled Moby Dick (1956),
Moby Dick (1998), and Moby Dick (2010) and relating them with the novel in terms
of the plot, characters, and dialogue. The analysis is undergone by comparing the
parallel scenes and characters in the novel and in the three films. The differences are
then related with the American society to find out the shift.
In relation with the novel, among the three films, film A and B, which are
produced in 1956 and 1998 respectively, are similar. Both of them are faithful in
terms of plot, characters and dialogue. However, some scenes are put in different
order in the two films so that it is different from the novel. Between the two films
there are also some differences such as the omission of certain characters. Unlike the
other two, film C which is produced in 2010 is very different from the novel. The plot
and the setting are entirely modified.
In regards to the American values in the three films, the analysis results in
several findings. The films are in some ways similar but in other ways are different.
The differences are in terms of the plot, the depiction of the characters, and the
visualization. These differences are triggered by several values of the society, in this
case are the American values such as religiosity that has become less explicit, the
issue of homosexuality that has become more sensitive, and the spirit of individual
achievement that has increased. Also, the spirit of salad bowl which has changed into
melting pot makes film C different from the other two films in which all characters,
despite their different ethnical background, there are almost no certain ethnical
attributes or acts. The last but not least, this version also shows that the liberalism
spirit to achieve success in economic has influenced the filmmaker to create a �free�
low-budget film adaptation.
Keywords:
- Correction
- Source
- Cite
- Save
- Machine Reading By IdeaReader
0
References
0
Citations
NaN
KQI