A Study On The Film And Television Adaptation Of Thunderstorm

Thunderstorm is a play created by Mr.Cao Yu,which is a symbol of the maturity of modern Chinese drama art and a peak of modern drama art.Since its inception in 1934,it has received attention and praise from the literary community.Since then,it has been frequently performed on the stage of drama,causing widespread and strong reactions in society,and has a high reputation.Mr.Cao Yu has also established his position in the history of modern and contemporary Chinese literature.With the development of modern imaging technology,literary works are spread in new forms such as adapting movies and TV dramas,not only continuing the vitality of literary works,but also transforming them into more forms and appearances.Since 1938,over the course of nearly a century,Thunderstorm has produced seven versions of film and television adaptations,three of which are produced in the Hong Kong region.Considering the differences in social,political,economic,cultural,and historical processes,they are not included in the analysis and research of the article.According to the chronological order,the film Thunderstorm was adapted by director Fang Peilin in 1938,the film Thunderstorm was adapted by director Sun Daolin in 1984,the TV drama Thunderstorm was adapted by director Li Shaohong in 1996,and the film Curse of the Golden Flower was adapted by director Zhang Yimou in 2006.All these films and television works are film and television adaptations based on Thunderstorm in different times.The film and television works show different adaptation concepts,different characteristics of film and television artistic language,different narrative perspectives,character appearances,and cultural aesthetic orientations.These are rare research resources in the adaptation of literary classics,and should also be an important component of the study of Thunderstorm.1.The Historical Background of the Adapted Film and Television Works of ThunderstormThe adaptation of Fang Peilin’s film was made in the mid to late 1930 s.During this period,the historical background was characterized by economic abnormalities,prosperous film consumption,complex political situation,the retreat of the left-wing wave,and the system of private center in the film industry.The popular drama Thunderstorm was chosen as the adaptation object of the film,which was full of commercial philosophy.The Sun Daolin version of the film was adapted in the middle and early 1980 s.This period was in the recovery of the film after the economic system reform.The loosening of literary and artistic policy stimulates the vitality of literary and artistic creation.The academic community advocated the artistic attributes of the film,and the director was given independent creative space under the factory director responsibility system.The faithful adaptation of Thunderstorm into a film not only reflects the cultural consciousness of intellectuals,but also the spread and expression of elite cultural thoughts.Li Shaohong’s TV series was adapted in the mid-1990 s.During this period,TV stations experienced an industrial transformation,and the commodity attributes of literary and artistic products were recognized.The system of "separation of production and broadcasting" makes TV series prosperous.The choice of adapting Thunderstorm into a TV series is to appeal to the influence of famous works on the one hand,and the emotional elements of family ethical to the other,which providing protection for high ratings and economic benefits.The adaptation of Zhang Yimou’s version of the film was made in the early 21 st century,in an international film market environment where both the commercial and cultural attributes of the film were emphasized.After joining the World Trade Organization,the film system was reformed and revitalized.In the context of continuing the director center system,choosing Thunderstorm as the adaptation material is a re exploration of the elements of Chinese classic literary works,aiming to enhance the core of commercial blockbusters and strengthen competitiveness in the international film market.2.The Adaptation Types and Image Narrative Characteristics of Film and Television Works Adapted from ThunderstormBased on the analysis,induction,and summary of the terminology and definition system of domestic and foreign film and television adaptation methods,the "transplantation","annotation",and "approximation" adaptation types that cover a wide range of adaptation situations are selected as the dominant adaptation types for analyzing the film and television adaptation of Thunderstorm.Both Fang Peilin’s film and Li Shaohong’s film adopt the "annotation" adaptation type.Although the core narrative basis is retained,the focus is changed and the structure is restructured,highlighting the interpretation of the adaptors,which has the characteristics of the times.Sun Daolin’s film adopts the "transplant" adaptation type,which shows a high degree of consistency with the original work in terms of plot content,character images,"three unifications" narrative structure,etc.The Zhang Yimou version of the film adopts an "approximate" adaptation type,which is based on Thunderstorm and tries to avoid similarities with the original work,aiming to create a new one.In addition,the image narrative characteristics of film and television works are refined from the perspective of film and television artistic language.Fang Peilin’s film image narrative has obvious stage traces.Sun Daolin’s film image narrative presents the image narrative ideographic characteristics under the stage structure,Li Shaohong’s TV drama image narrative highlights the cinematic language ideographic characteristics,and Zhang Yimou’s film shows the image spectacle ideographic characteristics.3.Presentation of Character Images in Film and Television Works Adapted from ThunderstormAccording to the degree to which the character images in the film and television adaptation of Thunderstorm are faithful to the original character images,the presentation of character images is divided into four categories: reproduction,simplification,expansion,and reconstruction.The reappearance of character image mainly lies in being faithful to the original character image,to the aesthetic experience of the original readers,and to the echo of the original to the Zeitgeist.The main manifestation of character image simplification is the simplification of character behavior motivation,the weakening of character representation function,the weakening of character service narrative function,the indifference of character image shaping consciousness,and the lack of close connection between character image and theme narrative.The expansion of character images mainly manifests in enhancing the complexity of character images,increasing their ideological content,adding emotional color,integrating modern interpretations of character images,and adapting to the narrative scale of TV dramas.The reconstruction of character images mainly manifests in the extreme development of character personality,the opposite development of character personality,the superficial development of character images,the replacement of character interpretation,and the desire oriented narrative aesthetic characteristics of character images.4.The Theme Construction of the Adapted Film and Television Works of ThunderstormThunderstorm was first published in the "Literary Quarterly" in 1934.In 1998,Thunderstorm("first version")a single edition published in 1936 by Cultural Life Press,was re-included in the " Cao Yu Anthology" published by China Drama Press.For nearly half a century,many versions appeared with differences in characters and thematic ideas.Through comparative analysis,it can be concluded that the adaptation of Fang Peilin’s film is based on the single edition published in 1936 by Cultural Life Press.The film adaptation highlights the theme of family ethics and weakens the spiritual connotation of the original work.The film adaptation of Sun Daolin’s version refers to the "first version" and "second version of drama" of Thunderstorm,and makes a certain degree of integration.From the perspective of character image and artistry,it tends to be an upgraded version of the "first version",while from the perspective of theme and ideology,it follows the criticism of Literary realism thought of Thunderstorm at the same time.The film adaptation highlights the theme of social tragedy and returns to the spiritual connotation of the original work.The adaptation of Li Shaohong’s version of TV plays refers to the 1988 version of Thunderstorm,which is a return to the "first version".The adaptation of TV plays highlights the theme of women’s emotions and dissociates from the spiritual connotation of the original work.The adaptation of Zhang Yimou’s film only borrows the material and dramatic elements from Thunderstorm,highlighting the theme of royal conspiracy and deconstructing the spiritual connotation of the original work.5.The Cultural Choice of Film and Television Adaptation of ThunderstormThe transformation from the original work Thunderstorm to its adapted film and television works has also undergone a transformation from the elitist nature of the original work Thunderstorm to the popular nature of the adapted film and television works due to the influence of the cultural attributes of the narrative medium.As far as the specific works of the film and television works adapted from Thunderstorm are concerned,Fang Peilin’s film has a commercial cultural orientation,Sun Daolin’s film has an elite cultural orientation,Li Shaohong’s TV series has a popular cultural orientation,and Zhang Yimou’s film has a post-modern cultural orientation.