When Stories Travel: A Review of Transcultural Film Adaptation

Abstract

Transcultural film adaptation has long been an obscure branch of adaptation studies, yet its history is equivalent to the film adaptation, and almost as long as cinema. Since its ongoing and growing adaptation activities are inconsistent with insufficient and limited theoretical research, this study reviews transcultural film adaptation research to bring fresh insights into the adaptation area. Based on adaptation research results, it alludes to related studies, such as cross-cultural communication and international communication, and defines transcultural film adaptation-related terms. It then reviews comparative case study method and fidelity studies to, on the one hand, summarize the research methodology and adaptation strategies and, on the other hand, respond to the two foundational questions surrounding adaptation raised by Leitch: the value of case study and the notion of fidelity. Instead of attacking fidelity or exaggerating the value of creativity, this paper contends that a reconciling relationship exists between fidelity and creativity in transcultural film adaptation, i.e. the creative transformation of culture.