Reading as a transmediating activity : the screenplay of Checchina’s virtue
Author
Summary, in English
The screenplay written by Italian screenwriter and film director Massimo Franciosa in 1995 and
freely based on the short story Checchina’s virtue (1884) by Italian novelist and journalist Matilde
Serao (1856-1927) is an example of those submedia ”designed especially to be transmediated”,
according to Elleström (2014, 26). The transmediation never occurred however, since the film
never came into being, due to financial problems. The typewritten screenplay lies at the library of
the national film institute in Rome, with its transmedial potential practically unexploited.
Elleström’s remark that “both material and mental aspect must be included when theorizing
about media” (2014, 49) invites me to focus on the mental representation triggered by the
“sensory configuration” of this screenplay. In my contribution I argue that the transmedial
potential of the screenplay is ideally realized through reading and that the cognitive import for
the reader will supposedly not be the same in the case of the screenplay and of the short story, not
even for the parts of these two media products that are very similar or literally identical.
Elleström, Lars, 2014, Media Transformation: the Transfer of Media Characteristics Among Media,
Palgrave Macmillan.
freely based on the short story Checchina’s virtue (1884) by Italian novelist and journalist Matilde
Serao (1856-1927) is an example of those submedia ”designed especially to be transmediated”,
according to Elleström (2014, 26). The transmediation never occurred however, since the film
never came into being, due to financial problems. The typewritten screenplay lies at the library of
the national film institute in Rome, with its transmedial potential practically unexploited.
Elleström’s remark that “both material and mental aspect must be included when theorizing
about media” (2014, 49) invites me to focus on the mental representation triggered by the
“sensory configuration” of this screenplay. In my contribution I argue that the transmedial
potential of the screenplay is ideally realized through reading and that the cognitive import for
the reader will supposedly not be the same in the case of the screenplay and of the short story, not
even for the parts of these two media products that are very similar or literally identical.
Elleström, Lars, 2014, Media Transformation: the Transfer of Media Characteristics Among Media,
Palgrave Macmillan.
Department/s
Publishing year
2016-10-01
Language
English
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Document type
Conference paper: abstract
Topic
- Humanities
- Languages and Literature
Conference name
Transmediations
Conference date
2016-10-13 - 2016-10-15
Conference place
Växjö, Sweden
Status
Published