Surname 8
Surname 1
Name
Tutor
Course
Date
Alice in Wonderland
Introduction
The film industry has different movies that cite their originality from an individual’s book or other work. Alice in Wonderland is an adaptation of Lewis Carroll’s fairytale written in 1884. Alice is in great trouble by a recurring dream as she mourns the loss of her father when she attends a party. During the garden party in the neighborhood, she is confronted by the Hamish, who is Lord Ascot’s son with a marriage proposal. The societal expectations from where she lives seem to have had pressure on her, and she chooses not to take the marriage proposal. She, therefore, runs after a rabbit in blue waistcoat where she accidentally falls into a hole where she emerges in wonderland or under land as referred to by the film’s director Tim Burton. Alice in the other world encounters different creatures that have varying characteristics as she tries to find a way out of it. Filled with terror and confusion, she meets the white rabbit, who argue whether she was the “right Alice” who would take down Jabberwocky and restore power to the White Queen. The adventures commence, and as the book illustrates, Alice goes through a lot in the new world until the due day when she kills Jabberwocky. The adaptation of this fairytale by different directors to make films has led to the emergence of various versions of the movie that deviates from the original intent of the book. Therefore, Alice in Wonderland is an adaptation filled with postmodernism and relevance to other films produced in the modern art.
Adaptability in the Film
The film is loosely based on the book as well as the sequel, Through the Looking Glass according to Madison Herbert. In the film, the adaptation of an older Alice is a clear deviation from the original book where the actor was young and a 19-year old. The works, in this case, have received critics from different stakeholders who claim that Burton deviated significantly from the original meaning coupled with additions resembling modern films. However, the author of this article, Madison, ascertains that despite deviating from the original work, Tim Burton makes sure that he stays to the content. The director’s mode of delivery is unique and has a vision towards ensuring that the same message is delivered to the audience. Despite the author explaining that the director did not stay true to the original film, he fails to understand Burton’s thinking (Herbert para 3). Burton explains that the Alice in the film is more of the one in Through the Looking Glass sequel rather than from the original works. Tim Burton borrows from other sources of the Alice series and combines the characteristics in order to come up with a new individual. It is a way of escaping the normalcy of the book since it has been adapted in other films. The only way to be unique according to the producer was to create a new character from the available sources.
Adaptability as a method of film production has always had a unique way of maintaining the original message. However, as seen, some producers can change characters, and they seem to deviate from the original true meaning of the story. Changing such can either promote or demote the film. Most people want to watch a film after reading the original works to satisfy their expectations. Deviating from the original meaning like Tim Burton did in this film lowered people’s morale and expectations (Herbert para 5). Burton changes the world of Underland and creates his universe where it is depressing rather than the original where it was darker, childlike nonsense, riddles, and rhymes filled the storyline. Also, despite the Jabberwocky being just mentioned briefly in Through the Looking Glass poems, Burton capitalizes on this character in the film. Jabberwocky has been mentioned many times in the film as compared to the written works. Burton alters the creativity in the original works to come up with a unique film that people never expected to have previously (Herbert para 7). The fact that the book has been adapted previously in many ways is a clear indication as to why he had to take a different approach.
Use of Different Genres and Flashback
Kamilla Elliott states that the movie Alice in Wonderland is a collection of other films, media, and different genres. The adaptation, in this case, has taken another level whereby the film is more influenced by the current affairs in the movie industry. The storyline is like a game with different levels as Alice moves from one point to another before finally killing Jabberwocky. According to Kamilla Elliott, the film adopts specific films as it takes the collection of different acts and puts them together to create something the director names after the original book. The mythical hero plot for instance as seen in the film where an outside individual comes and saves a certain community is a verbatim adaptation of other films. In addition to adapting other films, Alice in Wonderland takes fantasy, war, quest, action adventure, Gothic and pornographic genres. The kind of music played in the film adapts the aspect of other films in the industry. In other words, the film itself was an adaption of different works in the artistic industry.
In the article, Adaptation as Compendium: Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland, Kamilla Elliott asserts that the film is barely a flashback of other movies and genres. The deviation from the original work in this instance is still evident in many instances being a reflection of the thesis. For instance, in the film, Alice thinks that her being in Underland is a dream rather than reality. As she fought Jabberwocky, she thought it was all a dream and had hopes of returning to her senses not knowing that she was in a completely different world (Elliott para 2). The author in this instance brings in more details about the film being more of an adaptation of other works rather than the original ones. For instance, the issue of the music played in the film like the modern ones shows that the director tried to modernize the film not understanding that the original intent of the author ought to be maintained. The adaption of the film has some critic state that the film was more of postmodern mash up and from a family of blockbusters of current vintage.
Masculinity as Employed in the Film
The roles of women as presented in films have changed over time. Alice being the lead character in the film is depicted as following her dreams rather than the trivialities of domestic life. Her dreams during childhood occur in reality during which she had to fight Jabberwocky in a battle to oust her from the throne. Burton’s classic spin on the original film presents different roles of women where they are given male-related duties. For instance, she delivers the throne from Jabberwocky and after defeating her, returns to take on a capitalistic role where she runs her late father’s business. Burton uses Alice as a character that represents women in the society to showcase the unacceptability of the domestic roles that have been vested only in the female gender.
Clearly, the author of this article states that Burton did not feel the connection to the original film and he thought it would be wise if he remade it into something different. Burton attempts to shatter the former Disney female characters where they only engaged in domestic roles. The domestic realm lacked freedom and the woman presented in the film has her curiosity and self-awareness catapult her into breaking social barriers (Brinks para 5). In doing so, she blurs the line between the feminine and the masculine in the society. Like a man, Alice possesses a fearless spirit that enables her to take on any challenge that she encounters which would break her if she feared. Lewis’ view of women continue to be exercised, but Tim Burton brought in a different perspective of women that stirs the society. In essence, despite being off the original artwork, this film brings in a different perspective on women. It is a clear indicator that women can do anything if they rise to the challenges.
Philosophy and the Film
Lilli Behom, the author of ‘Alice in Wonderland’ and the World Around It believes that there is a relationship between Alice’s story and philosophy. First, the original book was written by an individual that had been under different philosophers such as Plato. The latter’s theories influenced Lewis’ writings that included the story of Alice. Alice in Wonderland has a certain level of balance between the two worlds, but things happen slightly different. For instance, Alice body growing and shrinking at threatening rates can be compared to how the human body normally grows and shrinks over an extended period. The Chesire Cat, explains to Alice that what she believed to be reality was extremely different from what reality was. Also, Alice is in the Underland seemed to go against the social contract concept. She expected that having wronged would result in punishments but in the new world, she would have to fight. Compared to the real world (England), she did not understand the variations.
The Refreshment of the Old Story
In Alice in Wonderland (2010) the author notes that Burton’s version was the farthest of all and he was trying to freshen up the 150-year old story. However, Ethan notes that the director still deviated from the original intent of the writer. Being many years old, it was important to change some aspects of the movie to bring something new to the industry. The film according to the author has many people complaining about claiming that they expected something more surreal and eccentric. In this aspect, it is clear that there are too many ideas to be filmed and presented in one film and the director had to shred some of it (Alter para 4). However, despite the critics, the author clearly states that Burton chooses to highlight some of the themes such as marriage whereby Alice runs away from the proposal emanating from the Lord’s son. The themes introduced in this case are extremely refreshing. Also, the director does not neglect some of the issues that happen in the society such as mental instability where he highlights Mad Hatter. He does not choose to laugh him off but recognizes the condition he was in and still accepts him. When Alice meets Absalom, the worm talks to her and at last says, “I’m not going to die, but transform.” At that time, he was lying upside down, and Alice asks for his help before recognizing her as Alice. For her, she understands and works well with the other animals as a leader. The director’s deviations and recreations for the film produce something epic that has the critics arguing.
Conclusion
Alice in Wonderland is a clear depiction of a fairytale that takes a different turn from the original film. The film’s director, Tim Burton, deviated from the original film to create a movie that has the combination of different themes which brings out the final piece. However, as a work of adaptation, the director would have followed the original book by Lewis Carroll which he neglected for the better part. The film has different themes such as masculinity where the lead character, Alice, takes some roles supposedly for men. Also, the inclusion of postmodern acts in the film including songs and other movie component is a clear indicator that the director was working on refreshing the 150-year old fairytale (Behom para 4). Consequently, the film showcases a world of Underland where things are not real. From the moment that Alice fell into the rabbit hole, it remains unclear for her whether she was in a dream or an actual place. She argues with the worm on where she was since to her it seemed like a dream. The combination of the Alice character from different sequels produces the one in the film, in which most people were unsatisfied as they expected something different from what they encountered. The film came to change the perspective of most people where women had only the domestic duties with no freedom. However, it is clear that adaptation as a method of filmmaking changes numerous aspects of a movie and might go against people’s expectations as depicted in the film, Alice in Wonderland.
Works Cited
Alter, Ethan. “Alice in Wonderland (2010).” The Evolution of Wonderland, 2011, pp. 1–1., www.carleton.edu/departments/ENGL/Alice/MediaFilm2010.html.
Behom L., ‘Alice in Wonderland’ and the World Around It. (2018). Geeks Media. [online] Available at: https://geeks.media/alice-in-wonderland-and-the-world-around-it
Brinks A., The Masculinization of the Female Hero in Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland. (2014). Journal of Undergraduate Research and Creative Expression, [online] 1. Available at: http://file:///C:/Users/user/Downloads/110-557-1-PB.pdf
Elliott K., Adaptation as Compendium: Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland. (2014). [online] Available at: http://www.research.lancs.ac.uk/portal/files/84257059/Elliott_Burton_Alice_Review_Preprint.pdf
Herbert, M. Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland (2013). Commons Marymount. [online] Available at: https://commons.marymount.edu/en200fa13/2013/11/21/tim-burtons-alice-in-wonderland/