The Screenplay Adaption Under The Influence Of Cultural Consumption

The Shawshank Redemption is one of the most popular movies of all time, whose success attributes to both excellent plots of the original novel and the brilliant adaptation of the screenwriter. The achievement of adaptation depends much on the needs of the audiences——the direct consumers of cultural goods. Especially in modern society, the large-scale consumption surrounds us with abundance of goods, which has influenced human value and behavior. Cultural consumption has become a more popular form for consumers. Drawing mainly on Theodor W. Adorno and Pierre Bourdieu's theories on cultural consumption and considering the screenplay and the novel as the objects of study, this dissertation tends to contrast The Shawshank Redemption and Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption, and to probe into the effects of cultural consumption behind the adaptation by analyzing the important role played by principles of cultural consumption in adaptation and the significance for both the masses and the creators of cultural goods.This dissertation mainly falls into five parts. In the first part, this dissertation begins with the brief introduction of the novel Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption and its adapted screenplay The Shawshank Redemption. In the second part, Theodor W. Adorno and Pierre Bourdieu's theories on cultural consumption are employed and explained, including the nature of cultural consumption, cultural capital, cultural goods, and cultural competence. In the third part, it is aimed to contrast and analyze The Shawshank Redemption and Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption through the perspective of cultural consumption, concern the impact on the themes of literary works, discuss the potential principles of cultural consumption manifested in the process of adaptation, and pursuit the reasons for the success of screenplay in the view of cultural consumption. In the fourth part, the significance of cultural consumption in adaptation will be summarized in two aspects, to the masses and the creators. In the fifth part, we conclude that literary works, in modern society, will be more popular and spread more internal literary thoughts among the public, if cultural consumption principles can be consciously taken consideration and effectively used in the creation.This dissertation tries to analyze the adaptation of literary works in comparatively new perspective. The impact of cultural consumption on the adaptation is emphasized in order to supply a richer and wider vision for the researchers in reading the literary works.