oa Was het boek beter dan de film? Verwachtingen, teleurstellingen en interpretatie bij de receptie van The Return of the King / Was the book better than the film? Expectations, disappointments and interpretation in the reception of The Return of the King

Abstract

Film theorists often emphasize that film adaptations and their literary sources should be considered as equals. Nevertheless, they also assume that books generally do dictate the reception process. The two studies presented here examine whether this complies with audience responses to Jackson's The Return of the King comparing reactions of viewers who read Tolkien's books with those who did not. We used the results of a survey conducted in the Netherlands. In addition, we conducted a series of interviews to further explore some of the aspects of the response process. We found that readers are more motivated to go and see the movie. Although the two groups do not differ from each other in their final evaluation of the movie, readers in both studies seem to be more critical viewers than non-readers. Some indications were found that the books influenced readers' interpretation of the movie.

Abstract

Regelmatig betogen filmtheoretici dat wij filmadaptaties en de (literaire) bronteksten toch vooral dienen te benaderen als gelijkwaardige cultuuruitingen; het ‘succes’ van een verfilming zou niet afgemeten mogen worden aan de mate waarin de film trouw is aan de tekst. Niettemin veronderstelt men dat de tekst het receptieproces stuurt. Deze bijdrage presenteert twee studies waarin onderzocht wordt of dit overeenkomt met de reacties van het bioscooppubliek op Jacksons The Return of the King.