Hopefully I can manage to finish this tommorow.
The first bit of my English essay. If I can colour you interested, any comments are appreciated ^_^ . It still lacks an ending, and pretty much any backup/quotations/etc. The first sentence in particular irritates me a bit...it's too wordy, doesn't quite work right. I also probably need a clearer thesis, as even I'm not quite sure what it is.
Lost in Adaptation: Douglas Adams’ The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
Whenever one reads, watches or otherwise consumes a book, movie or other media, there is invariably something that must be extrapolated by the reader, watcher or consumer, implicit in the limitations imposed by that media. When material is adapted from one medium to another, what specifically is lost? Ideally, only what must be assumed by the original medium’s limitations. However, since the adaptor is required to follow his own assumptions, they may not always be the same ones that the consumer, or even the author, would have made. In most cases, the adaptor will also have to sacrifice some of the original material to accommodate the replacement medium’s limitations. Very rarely, however, an adaptation may amount to more than the sum of its differences from the original.
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy has been many things. Originally a radio play, it has also made its way onto books, records, television, the stage, and movies. The author himself has barely managed to keep track of how things came about, and admits that its disparate versions and sequels often contradict each other. In fact, there is only one case where two separate editions of The Hitchhiker's Guide are completely consistent with each other, and this is the original radio play with The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: The Original Radio Scripts (Adams xi).
A specific example of how an element can change in adaptation is a character named Zaphod Beeblebrox. It just so happens that Zaphod has two heads. Here the source material reflects its roots in radio: originally, his having two heads was meant to be a one-shot joke. Since the listeners cannot see Zaphod, it does not matter what he looks like; whether he has two heads or five does not particularly matter to the operating budget. This carried into the novels, since it is still the reader who must imagine the second head. Later in the series his second head accrued a higher purpose, although this didn’t particularly matter at the time. However, the BBC had a tiny problem when they adapted the Guide for television: they would have to provide, in an economical fashion, a visible second head. The special effects of the time resulted in a vaguely head-shaped thing which rarely moved, never spoke, and lifelessly lay on Zaphod’s shoulder. When it came time to make a feature film, it was opted to put Zaphod’s second head inside his neck instead. This time it would only be visible when it was needed, despite the increases in technology which would have more feasibly allowed two heads side by side.
It is almost impossible for two people to assume exactly the same thing, and rarely will two interpretations be exactly alike. One will come to love their interpretation, just as a different interpretation is cherished by another. Ultimately it is only the adaptor’s interpretation that matters, and this is reflected in the choices made in the process of adaptation. In The Hitchhiker’s Guide, (and here I go into the various Heart of Golds...)
Here goes a paragraph on pacing. Paradoxically, by cutting out sections of the dialogue, the movie moves slower than its predecessors.
Here goes a conclusion. Blah Blah Blah.
Oooh, btw, Ottawarians, they're playing Wallace and Grommit + Corpse Bride at the Mayfair on the 2nd ^_^ . Study break, anyone?
Lost in Adaptation: Douglas Adams’ The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
Whenever one reads, watches or otherwise consumes a book, movie or other media, there is invariably something that must be extrapolated by the reader, watcher or consumer, implicit in the limitations imposed by that media. When material is adapted from one medium to another, what specifically is lost? Ideally, only what must be assumed by the original medium’s limitations. However, since the adaptor is required to follow his own assumptions, they may not always be the same ones that the consumer, or even the author, would have made. In most cases, the adaptor will also have to sacrifice some of the original material to accommodate the replacement medium’s limitations. Very rarely, however, an adaptation may amount to more than the sum of its differences from the original.
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy has been many things. Originally a radio play, it has also made its way onto books, records, television, the stage, and movies. The author himself has barely managed to keep track of how things came about, and admits that its disparate versions and sequels often contradict each other. In fact, there is only one case where two separate editions of The Hitchhiker's Guide are completely consistent with each other, and this is the original radio play with The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: The Original Radio Scripts (Adams xi).
A specific example of how an element can change in adaptation is a character named Zaphod Beeblebrox. It just so happens that Zaphod has two heads. Here the source material reflects its roots in radio: originally, his having two heads was meant to be a one-shot joke. Since the listeners cannot see Zaphod, it does not matter what he looks like; whether he has two heads or five does not particularly matter to the operating budget. This carried into the novels, since it is still the reader who must imagine the second head. Later in the series his second head accrued a higher purpose, although this didn’t particularly matter at the time. However, the BBC had a tiny problem when they adapted the Guide for television: they would have to provide, in an economical fashion, a visible second head. The special effects of the time resulted in a vaguely head-shaped thing which rarely moved, never spoke, and lifelessly lay on Zaphod’s shoulder. When it came time to make a feature film, it was opted to put Zaphod’s second head inside his neck instead. This time it would only be visible when it was needed, despite the increases in technology which would have more feasibly allowed two heads side by side.
It is almost impossible for two people to assume exactly the same thing, and rarely will two interpretations be exactly alike. One will come to love their interpretation, just as a different interpretation is cherished by another. Ultimately it is only the adaptor’s interpretation that matters, and this is reflected in the choices made in the process of adaptation. In The Hitchhiker’s Guide, (and here I go into the various Heart of Golds...)
Here goes a paragraph on pacing. Paradoxically, by cutting out sections of the dialogue, the movie moves slower than its predecessors.
Here goes a conclusion. Blah Blah Blah.
Oooh, btw, Ottawarians, they're playing Wallace and Grommit + Corpse Bride at the Mayfair on the 2nd ^_^ . Study break, anyone?