Adapting the Classics and Rewriting the Discourse

Adaptations Never Stop

This is undeniably true. Adaptations are a fact of life. As times change so do the perspectives and outlooks of society. As these change, people will look to update past writings with these ideas in mind. Adaptations serve to renew old stories with current moods and ideas. It is evident that adaptations have infinite possibilities. Similarly, as moods and outlooks repeat throughout time, so might the themes and ideas portrayed in adaptations. Adaptations reflect the people around when they are made. Therefore, adaptations are open to as much change as the people who make them.

Disney is definitely a classic example of adaptation. Throughout our lifespan we watch, hear, see and even feel adaptations without even realizing it. Before I took this course I never realized how often adaptation occurs. As the years go by, more and more adaptations are going to happen and honestly I can not wait till they do! I love to see how other people interpret things, must be the reason why I am minoring in Psychology and majoring in Human Development and Family Studies. Maybe I am just speaking for myself but Disney adaptation of Beauty and the Beast is going to forever be a piece of my childhood that I am grateful for. 

To me, the most interesting form of adaptation is the adaptation of song. One particular song can stay alive and relevant for decades through covers, remakes, samples, and remixes. A lot of the time, people are not even aware that their favorite song isn’t even an original but instead a song repurposed with an artist’s original spin, or that a song borrows very small details from another. For example, at first listen, people familiar with the Beatles could listen to Frank Ocean’s “White Ferrari” and be unaware that it pays homage to their song “Here, There, and Everywhere,” because just as when a story is rewritten or transformed into film, every element of the story isn’t necessarily carried over-sometimes it’s just the style or the theme or the roots of the plot-and the fact that it’s an adaptation is therefore just not as obvious. 

This is a very interesting idea that was not touched on in class. I would argue that the adaptation of music is one of the largest and most widespread practices today. It is done in all genres and circles. Covers are very popular with bands looking to start out, as well as established artists. Many hip hop artists practice ‘sampling’ which is taking a part of another song and including in their own. Many other artists use older songs as inspiration for new ones, which may not sound the same but can carry the same ideas. Some artists even draw inspiration from other artists without realizing it. There have been several court cases for plagiarism where the defendant has said that they did not intentionally use elements of the prosecutor’s music and may have simply used them without realizing it. What makes this form of adaptation so interesting is the relationship we have with music. Music is not something that we often analyze and parse, but something we experience and feel. Music is something so primal that its evolution and reference to other music feels natural and is easily looked over.

Absolutely love this post because my essay now is on adapting unique forms of mediums, such as, songs and poems. Even though we did discuss the adaptation of short stories to film, we never dabbled into other forms. Needless to say, I’m glad that someone finally addressed the adaptation of songs. I was reading a fascinating article on songs that have been adapted into films. However, I can’t really say that it was a credible source because it seemed like it was a website that anyone could publish on. It’s always good to appreciate the classics because without it, we wouldn’t have what we have now. 

To me, the most interesting form of adaptation is the adaptation of song. One particular song can stay alive and relevant for decades through covers, remakes, samples, and remixes. A lot of the time, people are not even aware that their favorite song isn’t even an original but instead a song repurposed with an artist’s original spin, or that a song borrows very small details from another. For example, at first listen, people familiar with the Beatles could listen to Frank Ocean’s “White Ferrari” and be unaware that it pays homage to their song “Here, There, and Everywhere,” because just as when a story is rewritten or transformed into film, every element of the story isn’t necessarily carried over-sometimes it’s just the style or the theme or the roots of the plot-and the fact that it’s an adaptation is therefore just not as obvious. 

This is a very interesting idea that was not touched on in class. I would argue that the adaptation of music is one of the largest and most widespread practices today. It is done in all genres and circles. Covers are very popular with bands looking to start out, as well as established artists. Many hip hop artists practice ‘sampling’ which is taking a part of another song and including in their own. Many other artists use older songs as inspiration for new ones, which may not sound the same but can carry the same ideas. Some artists even draw inspiration from other artists without realizing it. There have been several court cases for plagiarism where the defendant has said that they did not intentionally use elements of the prosecutor’s music and may have simply used them without realizing it. What makes this form of adaptation so interesting is the relationship we have with music. Music is not something that we often analyze and parse, but something we experience and feel. Music is something so primal that its evolution and reference to other music feels natural and is easily looked over.

I think that both of your statements are very true and very accurate as well. What is interesting about music, that we did not cover much in class, is that you are adapting within the same medium. So somebody could hear a song and really like the beat or a phrase that they hear, and now when they adapt it, they either take this beat or phrase and turn it into another song of their own. But what we mainly focused on in class is the idea of adapting to different mediums. For the most part, we took a text, whether it was a fairytale, a novel or  short story, and tried to analyze the film that was adapted from it, which is a different medium. Rarely, if at all, did we take a text and look at another text that was adapted from it. I think this would be a very interesting idea and topic to touch upon and talk about, the idea of adapting from within the same medium. 

Sherlock

The director of Sherlock does a very good job bringing the classic story into modern times. This just shows the strength adaptation has. The story of Sherlock Homes is an old one and many of the acts shown in Sherlock, such as homosexuality and women’s rights, were not seen as acceptable when it was written. However, through adaptation these ideas can be applied to the old characters and motifs of the original. The show has updated the story for modern day viewers and has done a great job doing that. In doing so, it has kept many aspects of the original story the same, such as Sherlock’s often abrasive attitude and lack of interest in social matters. Sherlock is a great example of how adaptation can be used to convey modern ideas through a classic story.

To me, the most interesting form of adaptation is the adaptation of song. One particular song can stay alive and relevant for decades through covers, remakes, samples, and remixes. A lot of the time, people are not even aware that their favorite song isn’t even an original but instead a song repurposed with an artist’s original spin, or that a song borrows very small details from another. For example, at first listen, people familiar with the Beatles could listen to Frank Ocean’s “White Ferrari” and be unaware that it pays homage to their song “Here, There, and Everywhere,” because just as when a story is rewritten or transformed into film, every element of the story isn’t necessarily carried over-sometimes it’s just the style or the theme or the roots of the plot-and the fact that it’s an adaptation is therefore just not as obvious. 

This is a very interesting idea that was not touched on in class. I would argue that the adaptation of music is one of the largest and most widespread practices today. It is done in all genres and circles. Covers are very popular with bands looking to start out, as well as established artists. Many hip hop artists practice ‘sampling’ which is taking a part of another song and including in their own. Many other artists use older songs as inspiration for new ones, which may not sound the same but can carry the same ideas. Some artists even draw inspiration from other artists without realizing it. There have been several court cases for plagiarism where the defendant has said that they did not intentionally use elements of the prosecutor’s music and may have simply used them without realizing it. What makes this form of adaptation so interesting is the relationship we have with music. Music is not something that we often analyze and parse, but something we experience and feel. Music is something so primal that its evolution and reference to other music feels natural and is easily looked over.