Although I’m content to let things drop with regards to The Desolation of Smaug, there’s a wider issue not really covered in my critique of the film that would likely be used against me if anyone cared to rebut my post. That issue is adaptational fidelity.

Let’s start by setting up where I began on the issue. I was once the most die-hard of purists. In another life, I would compose these massive posts comparing the Inuyasha anime to the original manga with copious scans and such minute detail that even a single word changed in the script didn’t go unnoted. I was often decried by the more loosey-goosey members of the fandom as a “manga thumper”. (Yes, that was really a thing, and, yes, we were all incredible nerds.)

I say this is where I began because my views have matured over the years. No small contributor was a course on adapting the written word I took in grad school. I came to fully acknowledge the differences among media and appreciate pragmatic adaptation. The spirit of the word is more important than the letter of the word when it comes to true fidelity. Herein lies the problem.

You see, it’s not uncommon for an adaptation to fundamentally misunderstand the source material. For instance, when watching the special features for Return of the King, I was appalled to hear that they were wanting to have a fight scene between Aragorn and a physical manifestation of Sauron. The whole point of LOTR is that it isn’t Aragorn who’s the real hero of the story, even though he almost perfectly fits conventional expectations. It’s Frodo and Sam who are the real heroes. Upending those conventional expectations of the heroic epic was at the very heart of the story. The fact that they almost went that far off the rails makes the disappointing developments of TDoS not all that surprising.

I don’t claim that any of this is easy. The transition between a project that is largely contained and directed by a single person to a massive undertaking involving dozens of people is no easy task. There are a host of considerations at work and competing visions shaping the final product. I can appreciate a measure of pragmatism as necessary and even a good thing, but when the adapters miss the mark, it can be really disheartening. It’s the risk you run when you adapt a work from one medium to another. I recall one writer who commented that if you want a movie deal, you just sign away the rights, cash the check and let the chips fall where they may. I doubt I’ll ever be presented with that opportunity, but I’d be reluctant to just let go like that. I’m too much of a control freak for that and would just as soon forego any adaptations rather than risk my vision being warped. Maybe any interested parties can wait until after I’m dead. ^_^;

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