Adaptation

Take a look at this video....



This is the intro live action Spider Man TV show from the 70s. Maybe the production quality is not exactly up there, but for the most part, it's the same Spider Man we've read in the comics as we grew up.

Now, take a look at this one from just around the same time. It's Spider Man, only not what we expect...



Now, for those who have recovered from the shock and still reading, that was the first episode of the Japanese Spider Man TV show.

Here's another one.

Michael Jackson's Thriller



Here's Micheal's hit in India....




Alright, time for me to actually get to the point of all this. Adaptations are a common thing to see. Usually when something is a big hit and sees global distribution, it often does not take long for others to come by attempt to copy it in one way or another.

The examples above are examples of adaptations done done within the same medium. Most adaptations that we tend to be familiar with are of the popular book-to-motion picture, which has been done forever. In fact, many times certain works are actually adaptations because we don't know that there was an original source of a particular work.

Thinking about this reminds me of a film course I took a few semesters back, dealing strictly with adaptations and it has helped open my eyes more to how and why certain things are done when a work is being adapted for another medium. Often times, when we watch another version of a work, many of us will always think, "Why couldn't it stay closer to the *insert original source here*?"

Well, there can be many reasons why this happens. When something is translated to another medium, often times certain elements must be accomodated to fit to that medium. Lets take a book. We read a very detailed description about a setting, whe as for a visual medium like TV or theatre, we actually see that setting before our eyes. But other times, elements like story and characters can be changed without seemingly any reason. Often times, it could be a matter of the directors personal tastes, style, maybe even political or religious views can shape how he or she adapts a work.

It is unavoidable to judge an adaptation strictly by its fidelity to the original, but often times that tends to not reflect on perhaps the production values of a movie or the quality of the acting. I can understand why people get upset when certain things are put in or left out because those are elements to that original work that we grew close to, so when we see or hear of an adaptation, there's always that air of uncertainty.

As scary as it sounds, the possibilites are endless.

Here's Sam Raimi's cult horror classic Evil Dead....THE MUSICAL!



Conan: The Animated Series



Whether we like it or not, there will always be adaptations that will make us cheer, laugh, cry or go "What the Hell!?"