Studies in Literature and Language
From Text Dialogue to Horizon Fusion: On the Juxtaposed Reading of Film and Its Source Novel
Abstract
Gadamer’s hermeneutic theory of the fusion of horizons, along with his notion of text, opens the way to a juxtaposed reading of film and its source novel. Novel and its film adaptation are two intersecting but truly independent texts in which dialogues of different horizon subjects are interwoven. The juxtaposed reading goes through the process from respective reading to fusion reading, from deep dialogue to fusion of horizons. With its assistance we explore the close connection between the two texts referring to the source story, turn the implicit expression of human exploration of the relationship between the past and the present into an explicit dialogue, and further reveal the aesthetic taste and social meaning of the constructive texts. It can be seen that the constructive significance from the two texts is not fixed and constrained, but forever in the infinite possibilities of future-oriented generation. The fusion of horizon produces a new horizon that goes beyond the standpoints of the writer and the adapter, beyond the previous biases of the interpreter, reaching a higher and newer level. The juxtaposed reading of film and its source novel is essentially a dynamic process involving the continuous fusion of multiple subject horizons to the continuous generation of new horizons, and its ultimate goal is to reflect the truth, goodness and beauty of the world to the greatest extent.
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DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3968/12550
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