A Theory of Adaptation

by Linda Hutcheon, Siobhan O'Flynn (Afterword)

A Theory of Adaptation explores the continuous development of creative adaptation, and argues that the practice of adapting is central to the story-telling imagination. Linda Hutcheon develops a theory of adaptation through a range of media, from film and opera, to video games, pop music and theme parks, analysing the breadth, scope and creative possibilities within each. This new edition is supplemented by a new preface from the author, discussing both new adaptive forms/platforms and recent critical developments in the study of adaptation. It also features an illuminating new epilogue from Siobhan O’Flynn, focusing on adaptation in the context of digital media. She considers the impact of transmedia practices and properties on the form and practice of adaptation, as well as studying the extension of game narrative across media platforms, fan-based adaptation (from Twitter and Facebook to home movies), and the adaptation of books to digital formats. A Theory of Adaptation is the ideal guide to this ever evolving field of study and is essential reading for anyone interested in adaptation in the context of literary and media studies.

Genres: Nonfiction, Academic, Theory, Literary Criticism, Research, Criticism, School

304 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2006

Reviews

[J.I.]

Do you find yourself thinking about adaptation theory when your friends are talking about facebook apps? Ever come out of a movie adaptation of a book and think, hey they did some really interesting things with the source text there, I'm impressed? Do you like your theory with a good dose of non-snobbish simple english but still enough citations to fill half a bookshelf? If you answered yes to any of these questions, you're a nerd and Linda Hutcheon's book is perfect for you.

One of the few people who really gives films credence, Hutcheon spends a good deal of her time defending film against terrible and ill founded assumptions (film doesn't have tenses, can't do character's thoughts, etc.) but the rest of her time is spent illustrating how the adaptations offer a richness and newness and differentness. that last word is not a word. Not content to rest with films, however, Hutcheon discusses (briefly) other adaptations, that of paintings, of music, of videogames, amusement park rides and etc. Holy comprehensiveness batman!

Not especially 'fun' reading, but it is a book that hits a lot of smart notes and is compelling enough to finish in a few sittings.

[Leigh · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book could be much longer. In particular, I felt that the epilogue of the 2nd addition, though it pointed out some great examples of adaptations, fell short: where were the youtube adaptations, like The Lizzie Bennet Diaries that were hitting just as the book was getting ready for publication?

Also, it would have been nice to discuss the ineffectiveness of video game movies and analyze the possible reasons for this ineffectiveness.

All in all, though, it's a great read for anyone getting ready to teach a class in adaptation, like I am. :)

[Amarah H-S]

read for school.

i have definitely found myself frustrated by the prevailing cultural idea that fidelity to the source material is the most important attribute an adaptation can have. but i have struggled to articulate what it is instead that adaptations should strive for, beyond the vague notion of “the spirit” of the original work.

this book did a lot to push my thinking on adaptations—why they exist, what they do, and (maybe most interestingly) what makes them good. especially in a cultural context that often casts all adaptations as inherently second-rate.

i really like how hutcheon characterizes adaptations as “‘palimpsestuous’ works, haunted at all times by their adapted texts” (page 6). she employs a lot of different metaphors to help us think about the cultural place and development of adaptation, but i think adaptation as palimpsest is my favourite.

i also really enjoyed the way she works through specific examples, particularly those that have been adapted several times into several different mediums. in these moments, a meta-story kind of emerges, where the adapted text itself goes on an emotionally and culturally charged journey.

overall, really cool

[Tijana · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Teorija adaptacije" ima samo jedan problem, a to je naslov: u pitanju je zapravo apologija adaptacije, dug i strastan esej pisan u njenu odbranu. Ako, dakle, čitalac bude očekivao teoriju adaptacije (makar kad su ekranizacije u pitanju) mnogo više će dobiti od, recimo, Brajana Mekfarlana.
Ali ako to izuzmemo, dobićemo srazmerno kratku a izuzetno obaveštenu, inteligentnu knjigu sa dragocenim uvidima u prirodu adaptacije - ne samo kad su u pitanju ekranizacije romana, već i npr. različite varijacije u nizu istoriografija-književnost-opera-film, pa i odlomci posvećeni adaptacijama u video-igre ili njihovim novelizacijama, itd. itd. Tekst se ne svodi ni na uopšteno nabrajanje ni na "studije slučaja", mada sadrži i jedno i drugo, što doprinosi utisku o pomalo rasutoj celini i prevashodno esejističkom karakteru knjige. E, da: iako ne predstavlja neki koherentni teorijski pristup problemu, "Teorija adaptacije" je briljantno napisana i vrlo inspirativna za bilo koga ko se bavi problemima adaptacije, a time mnogi strože teorijski tekstovi na ovu temu ne mogu da se pohvale.

[merce · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5? i guess? god i finally finished this. i'm kind of annoyed at this book for having such an interesting thesis and such interesting opening chapters and then just... going on endlessly and needlessly. linda hutcheon has really thought-provoking ideas, but sometimes she just leans too much into the analysis of examples for pages and pages on end (i understand a theory needs examples but come on. you could have made your point in 60 pages less) and forgets to dissect the phenomenon itself, repeating the conclusion she had already reached before the example was introduced. i repeat i Do get that this is attempting to prove a point through actual, tangible cases, but i wish she would have leaned more towards the analysis of adaptation as intertextual creation, as a conversation between the "original" and the adapted text, and maybe about the adapter as a reader. also she should've just said fuck copyright law as she was close to doing at certain points but that's just my personal view. interesting book, could've been more interesting.

[hannah · Rating 4 out of 5]

interesting discussion of why we adapt works/what purpose adaptations serve. milan kundera mentioned on page 126 <3

[Kyo · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very interesting read about adaptations! The first chapter is excellent: it discusses the value, meaning and benefits of adaptation not as a static thing, but as a process. The writing style is very accessible, without becoming too simplified.
The first chapter especially deals with the actual 'theory' of adaptation, while the other chapter dive deeper into the ideas posited in that first chapter. Those other chapters are thus also very interesting, although at times Hutcheon uses a lot of space to describe and explain different texts/adaptations, which becomes tedious and a bit much after a while. Yet, those chapters still offer interesting and new insights not only in the process of adaptation itself, but also in the human need to adapt stories and the vitality of intertextuality both for the audience and the text/cultural product itself.
Would definitely recommend to anyone interested by the title/subject matter!

[Melanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Would have preferred not to slam through this in 24 hours...but grad-level course condensed from 16 weeks to 8 weeks will do that, I guess.

I'd always wondered why, especially with literary texts I treasure, I eagerly anticipate film adaptations and then find myself both eager and disappointed. This book helped to articulate that paradox and the notion of why we crave adaptations and how our level of attachment to the adaptation tends to impact our demands as an audience. Useful in terms of my future personal approach to and appreciation for adaptations.

[Liz · Rating 3 out of 5]

I originally read this book for a film class which I took and I have mentioned it in my post about Pride and Prejudice films, so I decided to share my thoughts on it with you. This is a non-fiction, academic book which will tells you the basics of adaptations. I think it's good for learning about them on a basic level. I say basic because I think this is a good starting point for those just beginning to delve into this realm of academia.

This is a bit of a slow read because there is so much terminology and it can be challenging to absorb every concept that the author introduces. She expresses her ideas with clarity, but because she packs in so much great content I found myself some times setting down the book so I could absorb what I'd just read. She makes the non-fiction subject matter much more accessible by using references that many of her readers would understand. When it came time to write my first paper for my film class, this proved to be a very useful source.

While it's not a page turner, A Theory of Adaptation gives its reader plenty to think about. On the whole, this is a very academic book but it's also good if you have any desire to learn more about adaptations.

[Notnotnerdygirl · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great read on theories of adaptation, but less one star because of the very focused chapter on Carmen, which I couldn't quite engage with.

[Alborz Taheri · Rating 4 out of 5]

کتاب چند نکتۀ مثبت داشت که اگر بخواهم تیتروار به برخی از آن‌ها اشاره کنم موارد زیر به ذهنم می‌آید:
یک. کتاب پر ارجاع و پر مثالی بود.
دو. بحث‌های پیرامون اقتباس محدود به ادبیات و سینما نبود. (اپرا، موسیقی، نقّاشی، بازی‌های کامپیوتری و ... را نیز شامل می‌شد.)
سه. به مباحثی مانند: چه چیزی اقتباس است؟ چه کسی اقتباس می‌کند؟ چرا به سراغ اقتباس می‌روند؟ چگونه اقتباس می‌کنند؟ چه تغییراتی در اقتباس رخ می‌دهد؟ تا حدّ خوبی پرداخت.
چهار. بحث پیرامون پارامترهایی که بر اقتباس تاثیرگذار هستند. (از محدودیّت‌های تغییر رسانه تا سیاست، اجتماع و مذهب.)
پنج. پرداخت این مطلب که یک اثر اقتباسی یک پدیدۀ دست دوم نیست.
شش. که یکی از مهم‌ترین بحث‌های کتاب بود، این مطلب است که چه اقتباسی، اقتباس خوبی به حساب می‌آید؟ مثلاً این نگاه (که تقریباً بسیار هم وجود دارد.) را به چالش می‌کشد که لزوماً وفاداری یک پارامتر مطلق برای تعیین یک اقتباس خوب یا بد نیست.
تنها مشکلم تکرار برخی از مطالب بود که جاهایی خسته کننده می‌شد..

[Alexis]

interesting comparisons between adaptations in media and biology

[max theodore]

used the first two chapters of this heavily in my thesis project. will read the rest in more depth someday. hutcheon's mind is a cathedral and i owe her everything

[Eugenia · Rating 5 out of 5]

This revised version is subtler, more sophisticated, and more up-to-date -- it wastes less time arguing against "fidelity studies" (which nobody does any more anyway, and not many people did even when it first came out -- even the "common reader" or moviegoer doesn't waste that much time any more saying,"The book is better," because it's clear what a pointless discussion that is -- and the epilogue by Siobhan O'Flynn takes adaptation theory up to mobile computing and transmedial genres or modes. One problem that still remains in this edition is that given how broad a continuum Hutcheon and O'Flynn allow for "adaptation" - "transcodings" of all kinds -- almost anything can be read as an adaptation, but they don't quite go all out (as Desmet does in Shax and App, say) and suggest that adaptation/appropriation is a mode of *reading* as much as anything else (they talk a little about this in the intro as "oscillation," but esp. given the commercial and legal stakes at play in any theory of adaptation, there is more work do be done exerting pressure against these points.

[Laura Walin · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting, clearly explained view on how adaptations are made from one media to another, what challenges there are, what are the adapters motives, and audiences' expectations. The addendum on social media and smartphones/pads is also an interesting one in explaining how the media that we use really afects the reception. This would be good reading to anybody interested in the phenomena of modern entertainment industry.

[Daniela Carvalho Dias de Souza · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is so dense, but so easy to understand.
I admire the way Ms. Hutcheon guides me through my favorite subject of discussion: it is ALL about adaptation!
Discursive memory, writing, re-writing, from one medium to another. How everything intertwines. We are all stories. Those stories have been adapted so many times.
As a palimpsest… you write, write all over again and again and again.

[Chrisanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

My classmates and teachers raved about this book, citing a theory over and over until I had to pick it up. Particularly interesting were their related thoughts on YouTube adaptations.

It's not bad. Used her thoughts in a conversation this week.

[Ash · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not as helpful for my thesis as I had hoped. For someone who spends a lot of time talking about telling versus showing, Hutcheon completely ignores the option of the graphic narrative in between the two.

[Iris Windmeijer · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a really nice book with great academic value. The topics that Hutcheon talks about are very interesting and her language and examples are clear and explained well.

[Erin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hutcheon makes some good points, but is too dismissive of non-conventional adaptation methods and mediums to actually make a text that looks at adaptation wherever it can be found.

[Guilherme Smee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Um livro muito bom sobre adaptações de mídia que, eu creio, que toda pessoa que fosse trabalhar com esse tipo de adaptação deveria ler. Existe uma versão em português, inclusive, que saiu pela Editora da UFSC, para tornar o texto acessível aos brasileiros. Este livro também trabalha com os diversos cliché que se sabe sobre como fazer adaptações, que vemos ser cometidos tanto no cinema, como nos livros, quanto nos quadrinhos, enfim, por tudo. As adaptações costumam ter as pessoas torcendo o nariz para elas, porque geralmente caem nesses clichês. Linda Hutcheon fala de vários tipos de adaptações baseando-se na técnica narrativa do to show e to tell, tentando estabelecer uma diferença entre as artes puramente narrativas e as artes performáticas. Ela também fala da gamificação quando analisa as adaptações interativas, bem como todo o movimento entre essas formas de contar uma história. Mas existem muito mais questões sobre a adaptação do que se pode deduzir e este livro apenas arranha a superfície, perguntando sobre autoria, sobre lugar, espaço e tempo do discurso que privilegia, e também por que razões essa adaptação está sendo ou deve ser feita em um momento histórico específico. Se alguém for adaptar qualquer coisa, por favor, não deixe de ler!

[Gaspar Larrain · Rating 3 out of 5]

The theory was incredibly interesting, especially in the first chapters, where Hutcheon sets limitations (which are incredibly necessary) for what constitutes an adaptation. Further on, the theory continued to be incredibly insightful throughout the book. Yet, here I am, giving it three stars because of the pain of trying to find the theories in a pool of meaningless examples. Don't get me wrong, examples are incredibly necessary and help reinforce the theories through real-world implementations. But saying Hutcheon exceeded herself is an understatement. It was incredibly tempting to skim through some of the examples. They referenced influential works but failed to explain their correlation to the topic at hand. By the end, the examples felt superficial, overwhelming, and insignificant. Even after everything, I wish I could rate it higher, but it is what it is.

[Annie · Rating 4 out of 5]

To transfer the essence from one medium to another demands alteration.

As someone who loves literature and film I find this subject fascinating. I used to have a problem with adaptations, especially when it was done with a book as the source material and then into a film. I couldn’t stop thinking about the changes and how it annoyed me that it wasn’t “like the original”. This book helped me change that view. There is something unbelievably interesting about transmediation! Now I try to see an adaptation as a new piece of work (or piece of art if you may) which everyone should.

To get a fuller view on adaptations one should definitely read essays/articles written by theorist on the subject.

[Sheridan Library]

An impressive amount of research on any and all things adaptations. What is an adaptation? Do memes and museum exhibits count? Are all performances basically an adaption of a script? What does 'based on a true story' really mean when the nature of historiography can be so subjective? What happens when stories criss-cross between different media formats? What changes in the story when social/cultural/political/historical perspectives change throughout time and place? Is franchise-building just a money-grab? What exactly is 'the spirit' of an original work? What happens when the adaptations become more popular than the 'original' material?

Read for yourself and then come find me at the library to discuss the phenomenon of adaptation!

[Crow N · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book is relatively short, but pretty dense in content. It took me a while to get all the way through, but the ideas it raises with regards to the reasons why adaptations are a thing, both from the perspective of those who make them and those who consume them are pretty neat!
It's very pleasantly annotated and cited, which is always a bonus if, like me, you are reading the thing because you need sources on your own paper.
Overall, I do recommend it, both because it was a nice read, and because within its subject it's one of the most useful books I've read.

[Conor Seery · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hutcheon forgoes the reticent idea of judging a an adaptation by its fidelity or proximity to its source, instead offering a refreshing view that liberates adaptations from the idea that they are 2nd class. This is an incredibly stimulating book, the precedent being that an adaptation should be judged on it's own merits, perhaps even on the ingenuity of its transfer to a different medium. Medium, however, is not the be all and end all and perhaps the best way of theorizing adaptation is through its mode of engagement: showing and telling.

[Javi Ocaña · Rating 4 out of 5]

A pesar de que los ensayos académicos suelen estar plagados de verborrea barata y una construcción de frases a priori exageradamente recargada, he disfrutado muchísimo de "A Theory of Adaptation" de Linda Hutcheon. La autora trata de definir el concepto de adaptación en cuanto a la literatura, cine, música y teatro se refiere. Una ardua tarea que la autora es capaz de concretar, parando en ejemplos concretos y abordando todo sobre la adaptación.

Una base teórica estupenda para cualquier interesado o interesada en el mundo de las adaptaciones, sean del medio que sean 📚

[Afshin · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book is not as great as I expected; looks confusing at times and over-saturated with examples! However, it's a great book to start with, when it comes to studying "adaptation". Linda Hutcheon with an unbelievably extended familiarity with variable adapted texts scrutinizes the different aspects of adaptation and how to think about that. Well recommended!

[Rebecca · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was so fascinating. I love when I get really interested in something and find that other people are just as excited about it and have written such great scholarship about it as well. Hutcheon uses so many concrete examples from everything from opera to pop culture that I was honestly impressed with the breadth of her knowledge. A definite must read for anyone studying adaptations.

[Joni Newman · Rating 4 out of 5]

This review is entirely biased given my thesis topic (adaptation for stage)--some of the content is a bit outdated or less relevant to my research, but Hutcheon's work is still foundational for any scholar of adaptation theory.