02. School of Sciences and Humanities

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Browsing 02. School of Sciences and Humanities by Subject "Active audience"

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    HIGH FIDELITY: TO CHANGE OR NOT TO CHANGE? ANALYSIS OF ADAPTATION STUDIES THROUGH MODERN AUDIENCES AND NARRATIVES
    (Nazarbayev University School of Sciences and Humanities, 2024-04-11) Abibukirova, Nazym
    One of the most debated topics in film production is the act of modernizing existing films or adapting books. Is it necessary to remake popular sources to fit current social changes, such as race representation? Every time a new remake is made, audiences and film critics alike endlessly discuss the ethics of adaptation and the rhetoric of remakes. Over time, the audience standards shift with each generation’s preferences and level of tolerance, which in order brings a necessity to change film production to match these expectations and adapt to the current film experience. In addition, the rise of new online streaming platforms such as Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon Prime opens up a new world of possibilities for filmmakers and a wider audience for cultural democratization. The rise of online platforms parallels the rise of actively engaged audiences, which affects the film industry. So, what makes an adaptation successful? I argue that a good remake should align with contemporary audiences' preferences and modern sociological settings. This capstone project will analyze two adaptations of Nick Hornby’s book High Fidelity first published in 1995: a film directed by Stephen Fears in 2000 and a TV series adaptation produced by online streaming platform Hulu in 2020. Given that both of these adaptations use the book as a base, the project will be focused on the adaptation studies. The audience reception was positive in both cases with respect to the time period they were produced, however, the movie adaptation produced in 2000 can be regarded as problematic in comparison to modern audience’s expectations. On the other hand, a new adaptation does not follow the fidelity criteria of film adaptations, and yet there is a strong desire from audiences for its continuation, indicating its success. Therefore, a close reading of the sources and comparative methods will be used to analyze what changes were necessary to make the remake and adaptation more successful and cater to different audience generations.