Abstract
In adaptation scholarship, there is a clear disconnect between the espoused measures of fidelity and modern modes of intermedial adaptation. Many scholars have dismissed fidelity as a result, however the demand for fidelity is central in fan spaces. By evolving our definition of fidelity according to Bazin’s ‘spirit’ concept and Murray’s adaptive systems, academia can return to the fidelity conversation. This essay utilizes the adaptive system of Austen’s Pride and Prejudice—namely the 1995 BBC mini-series and the 2012 vlog-style The Lizzie Bennet Diaries—to exhibit the new mode of fidelity evaluation. The integration of fans into modern adaptations creates flexibility in both narrative means and authorship, something that must also be considered in evaluating adaptations. This new potential future for fidelity becomes a means for accommodating the diversifying adaptive modes while maintaining familiar terminology from existing scholarship in the field.
Presenters
Savannah WillardStudent, Msc Comparative Literature, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, City of, United Kingdom
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
KEYWORDS
Adaptation, Transmedia Storytelling, Fidelity, Future Directions, Critical Discourse, Literary Studies
