Media and film studies

Adaptation: Filming Fiction

Module code: P5049
Level 5
15 credits in autumn semester
Teaching method: Seminar, Film
Assessment modes: Coursework

This module examines film adaptations of various forms of print fiction. A diverse range of literary and film texts will be considered, along with critical and theoretical perspectives on adaptation. The module focuses on film adaptations of short stories, literary and popular novels, and children’s illustrated fiction, including picture books.

The adaptations themselves represent a variety of film modes, from mainstream cinema to experimental and avant-garde film. The module will approach adaptation as both an industrial mode of commercial production and a creative mode of critical interpretation. We will consider the significance of the idea of fidelity for the reception and theorization of film adaptation. Cinematic strategies deployed to reproduce literary devices (as well as the word-image relations of illustrated texts) will be analysed in order to think about adaptation’s value for theories of medium specificity.

Module learning outcomes

• Demonstrate knowledge of critical debates associated with screen adaptations
• Demonstrate understanding of screen adaptations in their industrial and cultural contexts
• Demonstrate skills in the critical analysis of screen adaptations
• Critically engage with relevant scholarship in the critical analysis of screen adaptations