Interpreting P. Mérimée’s “The Bear”: From Silent Film to Media Performance

Abstract

The aim of the research: to apply theoretical insights from adaptation studies and analyze the perspectives of selected adaptations of works by Lithuanian and foreign authors, focusing on P. Mérimée’s “Lokys,” to reveal intermediate and intercultural dialogues and intersections. P. Mérimée's work, the short story "The Bear," reflects 19th-century Lithuania by combining fiction and reality. The selected adaptations of P. Mérimée's work for analysis cover the period from silent cinema to XXI opera.
The change in the genre of the original work and the influence of silent cinema aesthetics on a literary work are analyzed in the silent film "Bear's Wedding" by directors K. Eggert and V. Gardin, based on a play by A. Lunačarskis. In J. Majewski's film "Bear. The Manuscript by Professor Vitembach" important to identify the vizual cinematic additions, their significance, and the reflection of cultural intersections. The analysis of A. Kudinenko's film "Massacre" focuses on the change of genre, the adaptation of the literary work to popular culture, and the resulting impact on the original text. In the opera "Bear" by B. Kutavičius, J. Jurašas, and A. M. Sluckaitė-Jurašienė (interestingly, director G. Varnas recreated this opera in 2022) the most significant corrections to the original text and the use of opera as a media in interpreting a textual narrative. The stage media performance "Bear" by L. Twarkowski and A. Herbut is analyzed for its interpretation of a multi-layered narrative combining fictional and real stories, as well as the questions of truth/post-truth.



Author Information
Miglė Munderzbakaitė, Vytautas Magnus University, Lithuania

Paper Information
Conference: BAMC2024
Stream: Media Studies

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Posted by James Alexander Gordon