The literal importance of obtaining multiple viewpoints for a complete analysis. With so many of our favorite literary masterpieces becoming mainstream via TV series, podcasts or movies, could the sum of your analysis be lacking ?
Hi Readers,
I know this is a super touchy subject, but we have to go there, we need to have... the talk.
Now, I'll be the first to admit that I, like most of you, immediately roll my eyes when I see a new ad for a movie or TV series flashing the words 'Based on the hit novel...' I consider it a tick of mine. I'm trying to stop but what can I say...I've got ink in my veins, #booksquadforlife. My first thought is 'Really? find some original content people, stay out of our bubble!' but is that the right attitude to have?
Outside of the obvious reasons why the literary community should be more welcoming to various media adaptations, like financial stability for writers/industry💰, the accolades attributed to the print world🏆, and more exposure for new talent🔎. We also need to be more hospitable to the counterparts because the adaptations highlight the societal benchmarks at the time of reproduction, which is helpful for gaining a new perspective.
For the purposes of this post let's have our beloved books assume the position of art which isn't too far a stretch actually. According to Walter Benjamin, critical theorist, philosopher and fellow thinker the mechanical reproduction of art is valued differently, but still valued :
Works of art are received and valued on different planes. Two polar types stand out; with one, the accent is on the cult value; with the other, on the exhibition value of the work. Artistic production begins with ceremonial objects destined to serve in a cult. One may assume that what mattered was their existence, not their being on view. .. Today the cult value would seem to demand that the work of art remain hidden. .
Ok, so I am NOT saying bookish beings have a cult mentality. We don't, but we do tend to hoard our viewpoints in the context of text. Exploring Benjamin's theory on the mechanical reproduction of art helps us realize that the cult value of our beloved books starts and stops with us. Let's go on:
With the emancipation of the various art practices from ritual go increasing opportunities for the exhibition of their products. .. The same holds for the painting as against the mosaic or fresco that preceded it. And even though the public presentability of a mass originally may have been just as great as that of a symphony, the latter originated at the moment when its public presentability promised to surpass that of the mass.
To adapt what he's saying here, the 'cult' value of art alone limits our perspective to our own book community. We want a well rounded experience, a complete analysis, and in order to achieve that we need to take the exhibition value into consideration. When a work of literature is emancipated from it's paper confines we obtain an entirely new adaptation, a new viewpoint is born. One that is free but still reminiscent of the aura of what it once was.
That's a mouthful, but basically, we get to experience the work from a new perspective. We get to experience the adaptation in a new medium (film, podcast, TV) with all the bells and whistles, we get to see which components of the original are amplified, and which are omitted. These subtleties are means for discussion and analysis alone, and they speak to the position of the works position in society and time.
Finally, the takeaway
Perspective is an amalgamation of our experiences and creates a unique lens for us to observe the world around us. When we're doing analyzing a piece of literature, we want to pack as much background and periphery as possible.
Examining the reproduction of your favorite text allows you to experience the work in a way you wouldn't have achieved on your own. The reproduction will highlight and bring new qualities and perspectives to the forefront for you to explore. In addition, the release of the adaptation can reinvigorate the original works place in time, you may find some stunning new points of comparison.
That being said, I personally maintain the stance that on the subject of content, #thebookisalwaysbetter.
References: Benjamin, Walter. “The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction.” Walter Benjamin, www.marxists.org/reference/subject/philosophy/works/ge/benjamin.htm.
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