Fiction Adaptation: Essay Prep

Chosen Question:

“Discuss the view that ‘with a successful adaptation, the original work is transformed into something new and different, although retaining traces of what it was formerly’ with reference to at least one text adapted for broadcast on television”

Reading/Watch List:

-       And Then There Were None (1939) by Agatha Christie (text)

-       And Then There Were None (2015) by BBC TV (TV miniseries)

-       Family Guy: And Then There Were Fewer Pt 1 (2010, S9EP1) by Fox Television (TV series)

-       And Then There Were None (1945) by Twentieth Century Fox (Film)

-       Family Guy: “Blue Harvest” (2007, S6EP1), “Something, Something, Something, Dark Side” (2010, S8EP20), “It’s A Trap” (2011, S9EP18)

-       Adaptation in Contemporary Culture: Textural Infidelities by Rachel Carroll. (Chapter 4, 9, 13, 16)

-       Adapting Detective Fiction: Crime, Englishness and the TV Detectives by Neil McCaw

-       McDougal

Outline of my aims:

I want to look at the BBC adaptation of “And Then There Were None”, as well as the Family Guy parody, entitled “And Then There Were Fewer”.

I want to explore the themes of an adaptation, and look at what qualifies as a ‘successful adaptation’.

I want to explore the idea that adapting something into animation form, brings it to a new audience, and gives you endless possibilities.

To do this I will look at other adaptations/parodies that Family Guy have created, most notably, their parody of the original Star Wars Trilogy, which maintains many traces of the original films, whilst still being a typical Family Guy episode with gags and agendas.

I want to investigate the influence the adaptor has on the adaptation. E.g. Seth MacFarlane is the producer/writer/voice actor on Family Guy, and I believe his political and social views do affect the way the show tells stories.

I also want to look at how the current social environment has affected the original story of ‘And Then There Were None’, as the original had a racist word in the title. E.g. The BBC is quite balanced; how does this affect their adaptation?

Questions I would like to answer-

-       How has the current social environment affect the original story?

-       Do the adaptors personal views affect the adaptation?

-       Does animation give you endless possibilities when adapting a piece of work, as well as the opportunity to bring it to a new audience?

-       How do the three example adaptations differ from one another? Why do they differ?

-       Do the adaptations transform the original text into something new and different, whilst still maintaining traces of what they once were?

-       How do Family Guy use their status to bring old stories to a new audience? And how do these new adaptations/parodies differ from the original stories, whilst still maintaining traces of the original?