-Study of media explores it’s ability to not only create a ‘meaning’ from the images it puts together, but how it helps the audience understand themselves and the world around them.
-Media’s impact on society in terms of of ability to frame, inform and influence: culture, economic and ideological ideals in society
-However, the media “forms” themselves are reference points in the creation of meaning – Ie combining together and referring to one another to construct more subtle readings which work across a range of media products – AN INTERTEXTUAL RELATIONSHIP HAS EVOLVED...
Intertextuality- Influencing Meanings:
-Julia Kristeva (1966 “Word, Dialogue, Novel’ and ‘The Bounded Text”) first used this term “INTERTEXTUALITY” to suggest that texts do not exist in isolation, but instead are naturally influenced by other works –
-Thus any work is a process of REPETITION and TR ANSFORM ATION.
-“any text is the absorption and transformation of another” (Kristeva, 1986, 37).
-Therefore there are TRACES of other works always present in any “new” work.
-It may include overt references in a new piece of work (ie ‘homage’) or more subtle references (eg influenced by a prior director or writer) or it may refer to the conventions of that particular form of media (eg classic novel adaptations referring to one another, or news programmes "CNN-isation" etc) - it can include genre conventions...
Genre and Intertextuality
-This is also true of the genre into which we place a piece of work.
-This is because it necessitates us to understand those ‘genre conventions’ in order to understand the meanings the piece of work holds. E.G horror, Sci fi etc
-Therefore this could include pastiche.
-As genres evolve and “hybridise” - eg Comedy-horror
-So this ‘intertextual’ relationship can be exploited – the ‘reader’ is able to understand not just the narrative, but the CONVENTIONS which it uses to tell that narrative which in themselves contain other references and meanings.
Intertextuality and Reading:
-This creates a far more complex and dynamic relationship between the audience and the media text.
-What does this say about :
-OUR UNDERSTANDING OF NEWS CONTENT ? What intertextual relationships are exploited?
-Equally what about OUR RELATIONSHIP TO TELEVISION ADAPTATIONS? What televisual “benchmarks” exist which inform adaptations and later iterations of novels and texts?
Authenticity and Fact:
-Much of the debate surrounding both fiction adaptation and news content revolves around AUTHENTICITY AND FACT, how RELIABLE are they?
-How ACCURATE is the media product to the original material?
-NEWS – themes such as ethics, representation and legality are at the fore
-FICTION ADAPTATION –can include these same themes, but does fiction adaptation face another more insurmountable challenge. ie it is a story which has never existed in 3D, or even necessarily in the ‘real world’, but rather in the head of the writer and then in those of the reader.
THEMES TO EXPLORE IN ADAPTING/TRANSLATING FICTION AND FACT FOR TV:
-Truth and accuracy } Taste and decency. } Historical accuracy } Factual accuracy
-Realism
TRUTH AND ACCURACY IN FICTION:
-This is a consideration in factual and fictional storytelling :
-When story has its roots in real events, places and people e.g. BBC Four biographical dramas (Biopics) ‘The Long Walk to Finchley’ about Margaret Thatcher or ‘La Vie En Rose’ about Edith Piaf.
-When dealing with contentious or sensitive storylines e.g Eastenders and cot death/baby swap storyline
How do you ensure you are accurate and truthful?
-Typically rely upon –
-Research and use of relevant experts/consultants
-However, is this really effective? Is that all it takes?
HISTORICAL ACCURACY:
-When translating a historic event or person into a story for the big or small screen there is a potential conflict between the needs of storytelling, constraints of time on screen and commercial demands.
-Difficult path to tread between storytelling and RE- PRESENTING real events
-Even Shakespeare used ‘artistic licence’ in his writing – misnaming characters or changing their known attributes e.g Henry IV – contains alterations to attributes, ages and names of characters.
-But consider also – ALL HISTORY IS SUBJECTIVE STORYTELLING
Historical accuracy - A most unusual case
-GARROWS LAW – drama derived from real cases from archives about a pioneering 18th century barrister - William Garrow.
-Produced by Twenty Twenty – production company better known for factual programming.
-Decided to adapt into drama rather than present as a documentary (produced in conjunction with Shed Media Scotland)
-Quote from writer Tony Marchant
-“We want to be historically accurate but dramatically compelling at the same time. The cases we dramatise all come from real events, real trials but we have necessarily used dramatic licence, using Garrow as a lightning rod through which to illuminate such cases”
Garrow’s Law – truth & accuracy
-Employed a consultant on legal and historical matters to ensure accuracy.
-However, dramatic interventions were necessary on many occasions – such as inventing the sentence in the case regarding slavery, but it took inspiration from other cases where Garrow prosecuted someone who was transported and where someone tried to commit insurance fraud.
-They also placed the case in the Old Bailey and made it a criminal rather than a civil case.
-Characters were also merged for simplicity in storytelling.
-Series won prestigious Royal Television Society award for best history programme in 2010 – "The jury were very impressed by the accessible telling of such a good ‘unknown’ dramatic story based on strong historical research".
-Typically rely upon –
-Research and use of relevant experts/consultants
-However, is this really effective? Is that all it takes?
HISTORICAL ACCURACY:
-When translating a historic event or person into a story for the big or small screen there is a potential conflict between the needs of storytelling, constraints of time on screen and commercial demands.
-Difficult path to tread between storytelling and RE- PRESENTING real events
-Even Shakespeare used ‘artistic licence’ in his writing – misnaming characters or changing their known attributes e.g Henry IV – contains alterations to attributes, ages and names of characters.
-But consider also – ALL HISTORY IS SUBJECTIVE STORYTELLING
Historical accuracy - A most unusual case
-GARROWS LAW – drama derived from real cases from archives about a pioneering 18th century barrister - William Garrow.
-Produced by Twenty Twenty – production company better known for factual programming.
-Decided to adapt into drama rather than present as a documentary (produced in conjunction with Shed Media Scotland)
-Quote from writer Tony Marchant
-“We want to be historically accurate but dramatically compelling at the same time. The cases we dramatise all come from real events, real trials but we have necessarily used dramatic licence, using Garrow as a lightning rod through which to illuminate such cases”
Garrow’s Law – truth & accuracy
-Employed a consultant on legal and historical matters to ensure accuracy.
-However, dramatic interventions were necessary on many occasions – such as inventing the sentence in the case regarding slavery, but it took inspiration from other cases where Garrow prosecuted someone who was transported and where someone tried to commit insurance fraud.
-They also placed the case in the Old Bailey and made it a criminal rather than a civil case.
-Characters were also merged for simplicity in storytelling.
-Series won prestigious Royal Television Society award for best history programme in 2010 – "The jury were very impressed by the accessible telling of such a good ‘unknown’ dramatic story based on strong historical research".
NEWS AND ACCURACY/FACT :
-Similarly storytelling in news and constrictions of time (both in terms of pre/production/post and time on screen) mean that information is FILTERED and RE- TOLD – what is the impact of this on TRUTH and TRUST?
-Are traditional broadcasters necessarily the best people to be given this responsibility?
-What are the implications of a world where social media allows all of us to tell the world our TRUTH?
Representing reality and the law:
-Both news journalism and fiction can be subject to legal action for inaccuracies.
-Misrepresentation, slander and libel are potential charges which could result.
-The simple fact is that audiences are potentially educated as much by fictional representations as by factual ones.
-But does the media have an even greater responsibility beyond factual accuracy - how about CHALLENGING widely held notions?
-Is it all about re-telling existing stories and what does that say about fiction adaptation, which necessarily returns time and time again to the same source material – can that CHALLENGE the original (what examples can you find for your own work where an adaptation has actively sought to do something different with a piece of work)
CHECKS, CHEQUES AND BALANCES:
-In a market-driven media economy, where there is always an audience to chase and a financial backer to pay, what are the implications for both RELIABLE, DIVERSE & NEW content in broadcast journalism and fiction adaptation?
-In what feels like a era of ‘niche’ markets, where individualism is king – does a system where global, mass- media still dominates really allow for something NEW let alone reliable and diverse?
Re-cap:
Storytelling may necessitate minor or even major changes to facts, but such changes should be made with caution and due diligence to the law regarding defamation, slander and libel.
Accuracy and authenticity are always challenging, whether in factual broadcast or fiction. Art might be able to mirror life, but somewhere it will always re-create it rather than accurately reflect it.
-Similarly storytelling in news and constrictions of time (both in terms of pre/production/post and time on screen) mean that information is FILTERED and RE- TOLD – what is the impact of this on TRUTH and TRUST?
-Are traditional broadcasters necessarily the best people to be given this responsibility?
-What are the implications of a world where social media allows all of us to tell the world our TRUTH?
Representing reality and the law:
-Both news journalism and fiction can be subject to legal action for inaccuracies.
-Misrepresentation, slander and libel are potential charges which could result.
-The simple fact is that audiences are potentially educated as much by fictional representations as by factual ones.
-But does the media have an even greater responsibility beyond factual accuracy - how about CHALLENGING widely held notions?
-Is it all about re-telling existing stories and what does that say about fiction adaptation, which necessarily returns time and time again to the same source material – can that CHALLENGE the original (what examples can you find for your own work where an adaptation has actively sought to do something different with a piece of work)
CHECKS, CHEQUES AND BALANCES:
-In a market-driven media economy, where there is always an audience to chase and a financial backer to pay, what are the implications for both RELIABLE, DIVERSE & NEW content in broadcast journalism and fiction adaptation?
-In what feels like a era of ‘niche’ markets, where individualism is king – does a system where global, mass- media still dominates really allow for something NEW let alone reliable and diverse?
Re-cap:
Storytelling may necessitate minor or even major changes to facts, but such changes should be made with caution and due diligence to the law regarding defamation, slander and libel.
Accuracy and authenticity are always challenging, whether in factual broadcast or fiction. Art might be able to mirror life, but somewhere it will always re-create it rather than accurately reflect it.
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