Filmic Adaptation Of Literary Classics From The Perspective Of Transtextuality

With the popularity of films all over the world, literary classics have constantly offered inspiration to film-makers. More and more scholars have grown increasingly interested in the relationship between literary classics and their film adaptations. Studies have begun to move out of the shackles of fidelity to analysis of multi-layered intertextuality.Based on Bakhtin’s concept of "dialogism" and Kristeva’s "intertextuality" Genette presented his transtextuality theory and five useful analytic concepts in his three related works:The Architext(1992), Palimpsests (1997), and Paratexts (1997). Robert Stam in Literature and Film:A Guide to the Theory and Practice of Film (2006) proposed that Genette’s concept can be extrapolated in the field of filmic adaptation.This thesis chooses The Great Gatsby as a case study under Genette’s theory for the following reasons:first, the novel is one of the great classics of twentieth-century literature, telling a high-octane tragedy of incorruptible dreams and impossible love and reflecting modern times and social struggles. Second, three adapted films were separately published in1973,2000, and will be published in2013. The long time span, different content and popularity gap are more easily to be compared. Third, the new3D version of film The Great Gatsby with modern characteristics is to be screened in May,2013. Therefore, this thesis would show a great amount of reality.Chapter one illustrates the "intertextuality" in the form of quotation, plagiarism, and allusion. By analyzing the effective co-present elements of the novel and the adapted films, it proves the importance of intertextuality in the film adaptation field. Chapter two "paratextuality" studies the relation between the movies and all the accessory messages and commentaries around the movies such as posters, film reviews, awards, games. Chapter three explores the "metatextuality". It discusses the commentary relation between the novel and adapted films on theme, character and plot. Chapter four is Genette’s fourth type "hypertextuality" which also refers to the relation between one text and adapted films. It explains how adapted films are "transformed" and "imitated" from the source book. Chapter five explores "architextuality" from two perspectives:film genre and film narratology.Through the analysis, this thesis aims to prove the operability of the theory in filmic adaptation of literary classics and hopes to offer a new perspective in the study of filmic adaptation of literary classics. This theory might also guide film-makers to create a more acceptable and popular adaptation. Moreover, a successful film adaptation can inspire audiences to return to the literary classics and thus maintain the literary canon.