An analysis of "The Skin I Live in" the film adaptation of “Tarantula” by Jonquet, based on Gérard Genette’s theory of hypertextuality

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

• Vahid Rajabi ¹
• Afsane Nazeri ²
• Masoud Naghashzadeh ³

¹ Ph.D. student of Art Research, Department of Research Excellence in Art and Entrepreneurship, Art University of Isfahan. Isfahan.

² Associate Professor, Department of Painting, Faculty of Visual Arts, Art University of Isfahan. Isfahan

³ Associate Professor, Department of Television, Radio and Television Faculty, IRIB University, Tehran

10.22067/rltf.2024.86521.1101

Abstract

Film adaptations are one of the most significant branches of comparative literature studies and are of great importance to the field. The concept of film adaptations, which are so-called transpositions, is a component of Gérard Genette’s theory of hypertextuality, a subset of the broader theory known as transtextuality. Pedro Almodóvar is one of the few filmmakers whose work exhibits a unique affinity for literature. This article analyzes the adaptation process of the film “The Skin I Live in” (2011), directed by Pedro Almodóvar and adapted from the novel “Tarantula” (1984), written by Thierry Jonquet, by addressing the question, ‘How did the adaptation process work in “The Skin I Live in” based on Gérard Genette’s theory of hypertextuality?’ Here, the literary work is studied as the hypotext and the film as the hypertext. This paper employs the descriptive-analytical method. Considering that transposition occurs due to the change of medium, it first defines the terms “adaptation” and “transposition” as well as explaining Gérard Genette’s theory of hypertextuality. It then analyzes the transformation of the text during the process of adapting the novel into the film. The findings show that “The Skin I Live in” is a transposition in the sense of its hypertext due to the various transformations made, with an emphasis on excision, concision, extension, and substitution in this adaptation.

Keywords

• Gérard Genette
• Hypertextuality
• Film adaptations
• Pedro Almodó
• var
• The Skin I Live in
• Tarantula

Main Subjects

• french literature

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