Today I took a walk up to Rochester UCA to take a look at some of the books they have there in the library that may come in handy for my Fiction Adaptation Essay. I took a look at the reading list provided in the unit handbook, but I also found it useful to deviate from that list slightly so that I could explore more television theories and such that I think would be worthy of a mention in my essay.
The first book I came across was "Popular Television Drama Critical Perspectives" by Jonathan Bignall. I found this book exceedingly useful when it came to finding out exactly what makes a quality television programme. "Quality" is a very subjective term, and this book gives a very good definition of this fact- which I may reference and quote in my essay.
The book also identifies the more practical sides of what makes a "quality" television program, including the budget of the production, the actors used in said television program and the skills of the production crew.
I am personally very glad that I chose to investigate this book, as when it came to researching what could make a quality television program, I hadn't fully taken into account the crew and budget side of the programs, and had instead focused mainly on the way the stories within said television program had been told. The facts shown in this book however have given me more subjects to talk about in my essay, and also a new angle in which I may approach some of the subjects I already intended to discuss.
The next book I found was "Television Drama: Theories and Identities" by Sue Thornham. I have heard a lot of my fellow students are finding a lot of useful information in this book, and I was no exception. This books makes an excellent attempt at making purpose of television easy to understand. And what it all seems to basically boil down to is story-telling.
Whether it's news, drama, horror or even children's TV, the aim of every television program is to tell a story, with a beginning, middle and end.
The third and final book I checked out was "Masculinity and Popular Television" by Rebecca Feasey. I came across this book purely by coincidence as I was looking at Television Drama: Theories and Identities. Although it doesn't clearly define what makes a successful adaptation at all, it does raise an interesting point about Masculinity in television programs.
In my essay, I plan on using "The Shining" book by Stephen King, the television series and briefly mention the Shining film too, and this allows me to explain that in the adaptation, Jack Torrence's masculinity is challenged at the start of the book AND film and television series, as he is told he isn't fit for the job he has applied for, but has to swallow his pride, despite wanting to lash out verbally.
Although I doubt I will be delving into this theory too much in my essay, it is still an interesting point to note.
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