POPULAR LITERATURE IN CINEMA: Challenges and Triumphs

Literary adaptations occupy a unique space in cinema, serving as a bridge between high culture and popular entertainment. They breathe new life into classic and contemporary literature, making these works accessible to broader audiences while inviting viewers to engage with the original texts. However, the adaptation process is fraught with complexities. Filmmakers must strike a balance between fidelity to the source material and the demands of a visual medium, often reinterpreting narratives to resonate with contemporary audiences. This anthology examines these challenges through detailed case studies, highlighting how filmmakers navigate the delicate interplay between honouring the original work and crafting a compelling cinematic narrative.

A central theme explored in this collection is the concept of fidelity—how closely an adaptation should adhere to its literary source. While some scholars and audiences advocate for strict faithfulness, others argue that adaptations should be judged as independent creative works, valued for their ability to resonate with modern audiences. The papers in this anthology offer nuanced perspectives on this debate, analyzing specific adaptations to illustrate how filmmakers address this tension. For instances:

 Dr. Swagat Patel’s paper, Comics to Cinema: The Adaptation of Marvel Heroes and Villains, explores the transformation of Marvel comic book characters into the blockbuster films of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). Patel highlights the challenges of condensing decades of complex narrative arcs and making characters like Iron Man and Captain America relatable to a global audience, while maintaining the essence of the comics. The MCU’s success, as Patel notes, lies in its ability to balance fidelity with creative reinterpretation, contributing to its status as a global cultural phenomenon.