"These Foolish Things" - From Book to Film: an intersemiotic translation or a complete reworking?

Abstract

Due to the intricacies of the undertaking, the translation of a book into a feature-length book is generally paired with a shift in the representation of nations, demographic groups and cultures. In this paper, the novel These Foolish Things (2004) by author and experienced screenplay writer Deborah Moggach is compared to its unexpectedly succesful film adaptation The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (2011) in terms of character development and setting, specifically their respective imagological implications. The corpus will consist of both works, as well as a short personal interview with the author of the book herself. As the film has drastically fewer characters than the novel, the first part of the comparative analysis will focus on the main characters that appear in both works. In line with the noticeable changes to the feel of the setting in both works, the second part of the comparative analysis will be an investigation of the representation of India in the adaptation compared to the original. Aside from the character and setting analysis, the chapter also features an interview with the author of the book, in which she relates her experience with the adaptation of her novel into a feature length film (which did not include the script she had written for the purpose, despite her ample experience as a screenwriter for both television and films), as well as her own views on page-to-screen adaptation. Throughout the analysis, specific attention will be paid to the uncovering of any stereotypical, (neo-)colonialist or orientalist views on India in the adaptation. Finally, an attempt will be made to derive a reason behind the film’s alterations, as well as to predict the implications this type of intersemiotic translation has for future translated works geared twoards the relatively new market of elderly viewers.