Twentieth International Conference on New Directions in the Humanities

Abstract

This paper seeks to illustrate the problems in evaluating adaptations in Black literature by examining whether adaptations should be judged on fidelity to the source material or as original works themselves. This is exemplified via an examinations of the adaptations of Toni Morrison’s Beloved, Solomon Northrup’s 12 Years a Slave, Octavia Butler’s Kindred, and James McBride’s the Good Lord Bird. Furthermore, it critiques the medium of which the adaptation is presented to provide context for what works or does not work in these regards. This paper is divided into six separate sections to evaluate the works and their adaptations grouping Beloved and 12 Years a Slave to discuss their film adaptations, Kindred with its graphic novel version, and The Good Lord Bird with its television series. These sections are rounded out with an introduction, a discussion of the nature of the adaptation and the conflicting views of critique, and finally a brief conclusion.