This summer, Broadway has brought to life two beloved texts for the first time: Mark Haddon's novel "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime" and Alison Bechdel's tragicomic graphic memoir "Fun Home."
What goes into adapting a text for the stage? How do playwrights manage to reimagine text-based works into something visual, and what are the results? How is a text selected for stage adaptation?
This is such an interesting and relevant topic! This could even be under the "Arts" category if the reader plans to take more of a theatrical perspective rather than a literary one. – Rachel Watson9 years ago
Generally speaking monsters have had an ideological or didactic purpose. Ancient monsters taught us about social ill, medieval monsters were often used to demonstrate religious doctrines and enlightenment monsters taught the public something about the dangers of science. Contemporary monsters, however, seem to be much better looking and a whole lot friendlier (Twilight, Teen Wolf). What has this done to the meaning of monsters? Do they still teach us something? If monsters are going to be friendlier then what "should" we be scared of/ what is taking the place of traditional monster?
Ehh... I don't think you should quite judge the monsters in Twilight and Teen Wolf as their own original "monsters". They already have creative bases in vampires and werewolves/lycanthropes respectively, both respectable and influential monsters. Lycanthropes were popular as far back as Grecian days, so there's not too much in terms of originality there. However, a look at real contemporary monsters and what criteria encapsulates the essence of such a creature would be interesting. What human aspect does the monster reflect? What fear or worry does the monster embody? How are representations in media representative of these claims? Things like that would be interesting. A study into why Edward Cullen sparkles? Not so much. – Austin9 years ago
I second Jeffrey MacCormack's comment. Our modern-day conception of "monster" has transformed from external, physical grotesqueness to a sense of internal othering. I would say this is true in both literature and TV (i.e. Dexter, Breaking Bad). The meaning of what constitutes a monster has become the trope of "the monster within," and I think this is certainly stirring and fascinating. I wonder what the specific angle would be that someone could take on this topic. – Rachel Watson9 years ago
What is the best examples of literature that awakens readers' minds to political consciousness on past and/or present events?
There's plenty of examples for this. It might be a better idea to focus this on a specific political idea, or a current event/issue. – Daniel Hein9 years ago
I think you couls also add a time period or country. I am thinking how the whigs produced some interesting authors but the were a specifically British 18th century party. So this topic could be very broad depending on where and when it is focused on – DClarke9 years ago
Good topic and one of the best ideas to point to is Hunger Games. That's very political in nature and undertones. And if you want to take liberties, you can talk about the Ministry and their treatment of the main character in Harry Potter. – SpectreWriter9 years ago
This could go in so many directions. You could argue that most novels are political in some way (whether this be implicit or explicit). Perhaps narrowing it down to a specific time-frame would be more manageable? – Luke Stephenson9 years ago
This topic could not be serious! Political awareness has been one of the main objectives of literature since the beginning of time. What examples are you asking for? – T. Palomino2 years ago
Children are often said to be our future. But when the world is destroyed, what roles do they play? Is their a trend amongst science fiction in terms of how the children are treated? What is left for them to offer the world if the hopes of rebuilding are fruitless?
This is worth pursuing but may be broadened to include not just Sci-fi but really the post-apocalypse scenario in general. For example, I'm not sure if the Walking Dead is sci-fi but the role of children in that world raises similar issues. – rj2n9 years ago
This is interesting. In "Mad Max: The Road Warrior" (1981), the feral kid ends up become the narrator of the story that in his adult time has become a legend. – T. Palomino2 years ago
A novel that is very close to me has often been misunderstood by the my friends who have also read it. A find it very strange that they are not able to appreciation the ideas the robertson davies brings to light.
Can you explain a bit with some examples – fchery9 years ago
After reading a review of The Classic Horror Stories: Lovecraft ((link) I realized that often this one crucial question is often neglected: How did Lovecraft, whose style and ideology were constantly criticized, outlasted other horror or SF writers, and came to be the master of modern horror?
My idea is that the originality of the world he created, as well as the dark and hopeless worldview appealed to the hidden pessimistic view of people's mind, but normally such traits would put people off(just look at all the anime and other SF where the heroes vanquish the Lovecraftian monsters. Even the admirers seem to be sick of his pessimistic worldview). And his works can be quite difficult to read due to the floods of adjectives and adverbs.
So what does make Lovecraft such enduring writer?
Interesting, this would make a huge article!
I'm no Lovecraft expert, but I'd like to say that it's the fears and issues of his period that remained a constant theme in everyday things (politics, philosophy, writing), and since then, the cultural momentum of the his creations have become unstoppable. This has probably already been said in a smarter way because there are lots of smart people who have written about this (probably), but that was just my 2 cents. – Austin9 years ago
I think that it is his more academic work (his history of horror) that helps his work endure. He cornered the market on weird fiction and really tied it in to the primal feeling of horror that we experience when confronting the unknown. He is one of the first authors to let these other-worldly creatures "win" or at least maintain a position of power throughout human history. His works are both entertaining fiction but also a commentary on human psychology and the way fear has persisted throughout humanity's existence – DClarke9 years ago
2013 marked the 25th anniversary of the publishing of "The Alchemist" by Paulo Coelho. The book is less than 200 pages, and encompasses many very common themes of finding one's destiny, following your heart, and believing in dreams. This short work seems to have only gained popularity over the years. What is it in this small book that draws in so many readers year after year? With the growing interest in yoga, meditation and even divination and gemstones- does this book become even more relevant today?
I heard recently that Idris Elba and Laurence Fishnirne were rumored to star in a film adaptation of The Alchemist. You could talk about If the book can be easily translated from book to film. – Aaron Hatch9 years ago
It seems that many stories are remade in multiple genres, from books to tv to musicals to film. I would love to see a comparison of what goes into making the same story into a film vs. musical vs. tv show, etc. It would also be interesting to touch on the pros/cons of telling the story in each medium, or talk about which medium was more successful criticially/financially. It could be an interesting case study.
Sherlock Holmes immediately comes to mind, only because I love the literature, am a great fan of the BBC TV series, and yet the Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law films and the American TV series leave something to be desired for me when watched with the literature in mind. Of course, the Sherlock Holmes stories are only one example of a piece of literature that has been translated into multiple mediums. There have also been both film and TV renditions of "Jane Eyre," for example. Or the fact that "Wolf Hall" is at least both a stage drama and a TV series. I'm sure there are endless possibilities for this topic! – Rachel Watson9 years ago
It might be interesting to chose a specific story (Sherlock Holmes, or even something like a fairytale, which have been adapted many times in many ways) and compare the various adaptations, see what can be found out about the creative processes in each case, etc. Storytelling varies hugely by medium, as you mentioned, and I think the best way to do this sort of article would be to focus in an analyze closely, rather than writing more broadly and generally. That's just my preference, though. – MissjuliaMiriam9 years ago
This topic could not only be about the same story told across different mediums but over different time periods and by different cultures. Therefore, stories like fairytales (Red Riding Hood told via literature, several films (Red Riding Hood, Hoodwinked, etc. etc.). It would be interesting to define the point about when it stops being "the same story" and if making it with different mediums or slight twists in the tale makes it less of itself. – Matthew Sims9 years ago
You speak of musicals which brings Sound of Music and Phantom of the Opera to mind. The former was based off a real story but the latter was based off a book. Examining both could prove to be very interesting indeed. – SpectreWriter9 years ago
