سارا رحمانی

Since the early ۲۰۰۰s, when Linda Hutcheon’s A Theory of Adaptation was first published as an important contribution to scholarship in theorizing and “de-hierarchizing” cultural products in favor of adaptation, the media landscape has undergone major transformations. These changes have complicated the process of adaptation, arguably contributed to intensifying the marginalization of literary texts in the global cultural sphere, and facilitated the centrality of fast-moving, readily accessible, easily consumable visual content. This thesis examines the implications of this shift, which represents a change not only in scope but also in nature, for the literary, political, and cultural discourses, exploring the significance and limitations of Hutcheon’s theory for a critical engagement with adaptation, and adapted cultural products, today.

Central to this research project is a critical re-evaluation of Hutcheon’s approach to adaptation in light of the more recent media developments. Hutcheon argues, and re-affirms with increased confidence in the ۲۰۱۳ edition of her work, that (literary) adaptations should be viewed as non-derivative works in their own right, separate from the works they adapt. In this research, however, I will argue that her optimistic defense of adaptation overlooks the potentially erosive effects of a movement away from the scribal culture and unapologetically towards visual products not only on the literary discourse but also on rational frames of mind and the very democratic principles that underlie her “de-hierarchizing” aspirations.

By close-reading Philip Roth’s The Human Stain (۲۰۰۰) and its ۲۰۰۳ film adaptation, of the same title, directed by Robert Benton, this project explores the extent to which the literariness of the novel is, and can be, translated to non-literary, non-linguistic media and, furthermore, how the transition between mediums more often than not fundamentally changes the narrative’s depth and socio-political thrust. Through this case study, Hutcheon’s theoretical assumptions across disciplines will be put to the test of practice.  

The significance of this research lies in its critical re-assessment of Hutcheon’s theory from three perspectives: Reflecting on the implications of the dominance of adaptation in eroding contemporary cultural, literary, and political discourse; examining the adequacy of existing adaptation theories for a critical engagement with the new media landscape; and exposing the limitations of Hutcheon’s Western-centric approach. Positioned outside the Western postmodernist framework within which Hutcheon explicitly positions her critical perspective, the present study broadens the scope of analysis, and adaptation studies, through an examination of Abbas Kiarostami’s Five (۲۰۰۳), to further complicate understanding of adaptation and its literary and socio-cultural effects.

This study deploys a qualitative methodology, incorporating adaptation theory and its course of development, concepts from intersemiotic translation, theories in media, and a comparative close-reading of Roth’s novel and Benton’s film. This interdisciplinary approach not only elucidates the intricacies of adaptation, and particularly adaptations of literary texts, but also underscores the need for a renewed understanding of adaptation in our digital age.