Читать книгу From Page to Screen / Vom Buch zum Film - Группа авторов - Страница 22

In order to explore the impact that factors like the context and genre have had on the film adaptation of Matilda at large and on the characterization of the little girl in particular, the following section will be divided as follows. Firstly, a comparative analysis between the novel and the film will be conducted. In this vein and in the first place, some major changes regarding contextual aspects will be underscored and explained according to the decisions made by the film industry with an eye on generic features and the intended audience. Secondly, several core topics of the novel will be examined so as to determine their relevance and role in the motion picture. “In order of appearance”, the paper will delve into issues like the place of literature and education, adults’ abuses and school mistreatment, and children’s − especially Matilda’s − uprising against the despotic attitudes of their elders.

Finally, similarities and differences in the characterization of Matilda will be pinpointed. It is expected that this step fulfills a twofold purpose: on the one hand, to determine the extent to which context and genre have influenced the final shape of Matilda’s film incarnation. On the other, to explore whether this persona maintains the quirks that made the original Matilda as lovely as she can be hateful depending on the eye of the beholder. In order to explore the latter points on solid grounds, some explanations on the main topics of the book centralized on and triggered by the protagonist will be required.