The African as Compared to European and American Film Adaptation: Some African Techniques of Film Adaptation from Novels

Jean Bernard Mbah; Mofor Nkwette Zita Pierrette

doi:doi:10.11648/j.ijla.20231102.12

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The African as Compared to European and American Film Adaptation: Some African Techniques of Film Adaptation from Novels

Jean Bernard Mbah, Mofor Nkwette Zita Pierrette

Published in International Journal of Literature and Arts (Volume 11, Issue 2)

Received: 14 November 2022 Accepted: 7 December 2022 Published: 15 March 2023

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Abstract

Adaptation study is a sub-branch of comparative literature that makes the bond between literature and cinema. Both literature and cinema are two different media and each has its own language to convey meaning. This article studies the African techniques of film adaptation from novels such as Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie to Biyi Bandele’s film in 2013 with the same title. With the advancement of technology, people are gradually shifting from the culture of reading novels to that of watching adapted films, which becomes a problem, as it tends to affect their knowledge of that particular text. Thus, how does the African filmmaker, as compared to other European and American filmmakers, leave from the novel to the film? The hypothesis to this question is that there is a number of pure African techniques that the filmmaker uses in the adaptation of the novel such as editing, sound, modified scenes, excluded scenes and invented scenes. The elements of this study are analysed using the Film Adaptation Theory based on Linda Hutcheon approach and the Film Analysis Method, which is a pure qualitative method. The findings of this study show that, the visual and aural techniques used by the filmmaker are all involved to create a film with a new vision having specific effects on the audience. There is therefore a difference between a novel and a film so; depending solely on the film adaptation to get the meaning embedded in the novel is erroneous.

Published in	International Journal of Literature and Arts (Volume 11, Issue 2)
DOI	10.11648/j.ijla.20231102.12
Page(s)	65-71
Creative Commons	This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright	Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Novel, Film, Camera View, Techniques of Film Adaptation, Culture, Africa, Europe, America, Nollywood

References

[1]	ADEMAKINWA, A. & Adeyemi, O. (2020), “Memory, Biafra and the Question of Nationhood in Biyi Bandele’s Half of a Yellow Sun”. In: International Review of Humanities Studies, vol. 5, No. 2, pp. 650-662.
[2]	ADEDIPE, M., (2018), Creating a New Multicultural Frame: The Cinematographic suppression of Half of a Yellow Sun. P. 6-25.
[3]	ADEOTI, G. (2010), Aesthetics of Adaptation in Contemporary Nigerian Drama. CBAAC Occasional Monograph, No. 20.
[4]	ADICHIE, C. (2006), Half of a Yellow Sun, London: Fourth Estate.
[5]	AFRICAN STUDIES ASSOCIATION, (2015), Biyi Bandele, director. Half of a Yellow Sun. 2013. 111 minutes. English, with French, Igbo, and Hausa. Nigeria/UK. Monterey Media, p. 279.
[6]	BIYI, B. (2013), Half of a Yellow Sun, Thandie New Movie HD.
[7]	BRADSHAW, P. (2014), ‘Half of a yellow sun review – “well-intentioned and heartfelt”’. The Guardian, April 10. https://www.theguardian.com/film/2021/apr/10/half-of-a-yellow-sun-chimamanda-ngozi-adichie-film-review. (April 10, 2021).
[8]	BRINCKMANN, C. N. (2000), “Abstraktion” und „Einfühlung” im frühen deutschen Avantgardefilm”. In: Harro Segeberg (Hrsg.) Die Perfektionierung des Scheins. Das Kino der Weimarer Republik im Kontext der Künste. Mediengeschichte des Films. Bd. 3. München: Wilhelm Fink Verlag. SS. 111-140.
[9]	EMAEYAK, P. (2018), Nolly-Holly: Negotiating identity in film music. In: The International Journal of Media and Culture, PP. 185-201.
[10]	FELPERIN, L. (2013), “Half of a Yellow Sun: London Review”, Hollywood Reporter, https://www.hollywood reporter.com/review/a-yellow-sun-london-review-647828. (May 10, 2021).
[11]	GEORGES, M and CHARLES, M., (1831), Merriam-Webster, Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc, online dictionaries. https://www.merriam-webster.com (June 10, 2022).
[12]	HUTCHEON, L. (2006), A Theory of Adaptation, New York: Routledge.
[13]	JÜRGENS, C. (2000), “Literatur im Zeitalter des Kinos II: Das „Man” ohne Eigenschaften oder: Fluchtlinien literarischer Aufschreibesysteme”. In: Harro Segeberg (Hrsg.), Die Perfektionierung des Scheins. Das Kino der Weimarer Republik im Kontext der Künste. Mediengeschichte des Films. Bd. 3. München: Wilhelm Fink Verlag. SS. 275-296.
[14]	KASTEN, J. (2000), “Literatur im Zeitalter des Kinos I: Zur Theorie und Geschichte des Drehbuchs im Stummfilm”. In: Harro Segeberg (Hrsg.), Die Perfektionierung des Scheins. Das Kino der Weimarer Republik im Kontext der Künste. Mediengeschichte des Films. Bd. 3. München: Wilhelm Fink Verlag. SS. 241-274.
[15]	KENGNE FOKOUA M., (2017), “Interkulturelle Kompetenz als Grundvoraussetzung für angemessene Übersetzung”. In: Beate Sommerfeld/Karolina Kessicka/Malgorzata Korycinska-Wegner/Anna Fimiak-Chwilksa (Hrsg.), Übersetzungskritisches Handeln. Modelle und Fallstudien. Frankfurt am. Main. Peter Lang Verlag. SS. 143-155.
[16]	LANNOM, S. C. (2020) Camera Angles Explained: The Different Types of Camera Shot Angles in Film, June 28, 2020.
[17]	MBAH, J., B. (2016) «L´Europe face à la crise identitaire: l´Europe-patriotisme / europephilie comme moyen de construction de l´identité européenne dans Ich bin dann mal weg, Meine Reise auf dem Jakobsweg de Hans Peter Kerkeling». In: Kerstin Stamm & Patrick Stoffel (Hrsg.): Europa. Eine Fallgeschichte!. Berlin: Christian A. Bachmann Verlag. PP. 167-203.
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[22]	SEGEBERG H. (2000), Die Perfektionierung des Scheins. Das Kino der Weimarer Republik im Kontext der Künste. Mediengeschichte des Films. Bd. 3. München: Wilhelm Fink Verlag.
[23]	SHAHEED, B. (2017), ConceptualIsomerism in Half of a Yellow Sun, The Centre for film and media studies, University of Cape Town.
[24]	SLETHAUG, G. (2014), Adaptation Theory and Criticism: Postmodern Literature and Cinema in the USA, London: Bloomsbury.

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APA Style

Jean Bernard Mbah, Mofor Nkwette Zita Pierrette. (2023). The African as Compared to European and American Film Adaptation: Some African Techniques of Film Adaptation from Novels. International Journal of Literature and Arts, 11(2), 65-71. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijla.20231102.12

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Jean Bernard Mbah; Mofor Nkwette Zita Pierrette. The African as Compared to European and American Film Adaptation: Some African Techniques of Film Adaptation from Novels. Int. J. Lit. Arts 2023, 11(2), 65-71. doi: 10.11648/j.ijla.20231102.12

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Jean Bernard Mbah, Mofor Nkwette Zita Pierrette. The African as Compared to European and American Film Adaptation: Some African Techniques of Film Adaptation from Novels. Int J Lit Arts. 2023;11(2):65-71. doi: 10.11648/j.ijla.20231102.12

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@article{10.11648/j.ijla.20231102.12,
  author = {Jean Bernard Mbah and Mofor Nkwette Zita Pierrette},
  title = {The African as Compared to European and American Film Adaptation: Some African Techniques of Film Adaptation from Novels},
  journal = {International Journal of Literature and Arts},
  volume = {11},
  number = {2},
  pages = {65-71},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ijla.20231102.12},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijla.20231102.12},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijla.20231102.12},
  abstract = {Adaptation study is a sub-branch of comparative literature that makes the bond between literature and cinema. Both literature and cinema are two different media and each has its own language to convey meaning. This article studies the African techniques of film adaptation from novels such as Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie to Biyi Bandele’s film in 2013 with the same title. With the advancement of technology, people are gradually shifting from the culture of reading novels to that of watching adapted films, which becomes a problem, as it tends to affect their knowledge of that particular text. Thus, how does the African filmmaker, as compared to other European and American filmmakers, leave from the novel to the film? The hypothesis to this question is that there is a number of pure African techniques that the filmmaker uses in the adaptation of the novel such as editing, sound, modified scenes, excluded scenes and invented scenes. The elements of this study are analysed using the Film Adaptation Theory based on Linda Hutcheon approach and the Film Analysis Method, which is a pure qualitative method. The findings of this study show that, the visual and aural techniques used by the filmmaker are all involved to create a film with a new vision having specific effects on the audience. There is therefore a difference between a novel and a film so; depending solely on the film adaptation to get the meaning embedded in the novel is erroneous.},
 year = {2023}
}

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TY  - JOUR
T1  - The African as Compared to European and American Film Adaptation: Some African Techniques of Film Adaptation from Novels
AU  - Jean Bernard Mbah
AU  - Mofor Nkwette Zita Pierrette
Y1  - 2023/03/15
PY  - 2023
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DO  - 10.11648/j.ijla.20231102.12
T2  - International Journal of Literature and Arts
JF  - International Journal of Literature and Arts
JO  - International Journal of Literature and Arts
SP  - 65
EP  - 71
PB  - Science Publishing Group
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UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijla.20231102.12
AB  - Adaptation study is a sub-branch of comparative literature that makes the bond between literature and cinema. Both literature and cinema are two different media and each has its own language to convey meaning. This article studies the African techniques of film adaptation from novels such as Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie to Biyi Bandele’s film in 2013 with the same title. With the advancement of technology, people are gradually shifting from the culture of reading novels to that of watching adapted films, which becomes a problem, as it tends to affect their knowledge of that particular text. Thus, how does the African filmmaker, as compared to other European and American filmmakers, leave from the novel to the film? The hypothesis to this question is that there is a number of pure African techniques that the filmmaker uses in the adaptation of the novel such as editing, sound, modified scenes, excluded scenes and invented scenes. The elements of this study are analysed using the Film Adaptation Theory based on Linda Hutcheon approach and the Film Analysis Method, which is a pure qualitative method. The findings of this study show that, the visual and aural techniques used by the filmmaker are all involved to create a film with a new vision having specific effects on the audience. There is therefore a difference between a novel and a film so; depending solely on the film adaptation to get the meaning embedded in the novel is erroneous.
VL  - 11
IS  - 2
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Author Information

Jean Bernard Mbah

Department of Applied Foreign Languages, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, University of Dschang, Dschang, Cameroon
Mofor Nkwette Zita Pierrette

Department of Applied Foreign Languages, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, University of Dschang, Dschang, Cameroon

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APA Style

Jean Bernard Mbah, Mofor Nkwette Zita Pierrette. (2023). The African as Compared to European and American Film Adaptation: Some African Techniques of Film Adaptation from Novels. International Journal of Literature and Arts, 11(2), 65-71. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijla.20231102.12

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ACS Style

Jean Bernard Mbah; Mofor Nkwette Zita Pierrette. The African as Compared to European and American Film Adaptation: Some African Techniques of Film Adaptation from Novels. Int. J. Lit. Arts 2023, 11(2), 65-71. doi: 10.11648/j.ijla.20231102.12

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AMA Style

Jean Bernard Mbah, Mofor Nkwette Zita Pierrette. The African as Compared to European and American Film Adaptation: Some African Techniques of Film Adaptation from Novels. Int J Lit Arts. 2023;11(2):65-71. doi: 10.11648/j.ijla.20231102.12

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@article{10.11648/j.ijla.20231102.12,
  author = {Jean Bernard Mbah and Mofor Nkwette Zita Pierrette},
  title = {The African as Compared to European and American Film Adaptation: Some African Techniques of Film Adaptation from Novels},
  journal = {International Journal of Literature and Arts},
  volume = {11},
  number = {2},
  pages = {65-71},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ijla.20231102.12},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijla.20231102.12},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijla.20231102.12},
  abstract = {Adaptation study is a sub-branch of comparative literature that makes the bond between literature and cinema. Both literature and cinema are two different media and each has its own language to convey meaning. This article studies the African techniques of film adaptation from novels such as Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie to Biyi Bandele’s film in 2013 with the same title. With the advancement of technology, people are gradually shifting from the culture of reading novels to that of watching adapted films, which becomes a problem, as it tends to affect their knowledge of that particular text. Thus, how does the African filmmaker, as compared to other European and American filmmakers, leave from the novel to the film? The hypothesis to this question is that there is a number of pure African techniques that the filmmaker uses in the adaptation of the novel such as editing, sound, modified scenes, excluded scenes and invented scenes. The elements of this study are analysed using the Film Adaptation Theory based on Linda Hutcheon approach and the Film Analysis Method, which is a pure qualitative method. The findings of this study show that, the visual and aural techniques used by the filmmaker are all involved to create a film with a new vision having specific effects on the audience. There is therefore a difference between a novel and a film so; depending solely on the film adaptation to get the meaning embedded in the novel is erroneous.},
 year = {2023}
}

Copy | Download

TY  - JOUR
T1  - The African as Compared to European and American Film Adaptation: Some African Techniques of Film Adaptation from Novels
AU  - Jean Bernard Mbah
AU  - Mofor Nkwette Zita Pierrette
Y1  - 2023/03/15
PY  - 2023
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijla.20231102.12
DO  - 10.11648/j.ijla.20231102.12
T2  - International Journal of Literature and Arts
JF  - International Journal of Literature and Arts
JO  - International Journal of Literature and Arts
SP  - 65
EP  - 71
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2331-057X
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijla.20231102.12
AB  - Adaptation study is a sub-branch of comparative literature that makes the bond between literature and cinema. Both literature and cinema are two different media and each has its own language to convey meaning. This article studies the African techniques of film adaptation from novels such as Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie to Biyi Bandele’s film in 2013 with the same title. With the advancement of technology, people are gradually shifting from the culture of reading novels to that of watching adapted films, which becomes a problem, as it tends to affect their knowledge of that particular text. Thus, how does the African filmmaker, as compared to other European and American filmmakers, leave from the novel to the film? The hypothesis to this question is that there is a number of pure African techniques that the filmmaker uses in the adaptation of the novel such as editing, sound, modified scenes, excluded scenes and invented scenes. The elements of this study are analysed using the Film Adaptation Theory based on Linda Hutcheon approach and the Film Analysis Method, which is a pure qualitative method. The findings of this study show that, the visual and aural techniques used by the filmmaker are all involved to create a film with a new vision having specific effects on the audience. There is therefore a difference between a novel and a film so; depending solely on the film adaptation to get the meaning embedded in the novel is erroneous.
VL  - 11
IS  - 2
ER  -

Copy | Download