Abstract
A series of novels about a witcher, written by Andrzej Sapkowski almost thirty years ago, has now become an inspiration for the creation of mass productions of mainstream popular culture—film and multimedia adaptations for use in computer games. It is one of the few examples of global messages of mass culture being based on Polish creativity. The recognition of “The Witcher”, due to the Netflix production, soon contributed to building the national pride of Polish people, and at the same time sparked a discussion in Central and Eastern European countries on the consequences of the multimedia adaptation of Andrzej Sapkowski’s prose. Questions about the dissonance between the Slavic and universal dimensions of “The Witcher” in relation to the original novels and their adaptations are a part of the traditional discourse on the adaptability of literature and its consequences for the reception by the audience. This article tries to capture the specific character of the adaptations of Andrzej Sapkowski’s literature from the point of view of typology, known from the literature of the subject, as well as to answer the question about the consequences of the discrepancy between the original book and its adaptations in the form of a film, a TV series, and computer games. The considerations in the article were based on the literature analysis and the research based on the existing sources.
Highlights
Numerous adaptation theorists and practitioners refer to the words that Stanley Kubrick allegedly spoke during the production of 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)—“If it can be written, or thought, it can be filmed”
Adaptation theories try to answer the question of how this phenomena happens; they try to create a typology of ways of translating the written word into the language of a film or new media, and they try to predict how these forms of adaptation will be perceived by the audience
In 2017, it was announced that Andrzej Sapkowski would be a creative consultant for the producers of the series, but in January 2018, he himself denied that he would have a real part in the production of the series
Summary
Numerous adaptation theorists and practitioners refer to the words that Stanley Kubrick allegedly spoke during the production of 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)—“If it can be written, or thought, it can be filmed”. It is a transformation that interferes with the character of each dimension of the work, according to the findings of the authors who have been quoted here: on the semiotic, technological, and cultural levels and on the “translator’s intervention and interference” (Szczesna et al 2004). It concerns the construction of the work, but most of all the way it exists and is present, as well as the way of accessing it and the possibility for the recipient to interact with it. As part of this transformation, the recipient’s experience is shaped by the interpretation of meanings, but by the overall audio-visual experience
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