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Circling Back: True to the Original or Truly Original?
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Rewriting the Script: Unexpected Twists in Taiwan Literature and Screen Media
Circling Back: True to the Original or Truly Original?
Circling Back:
——True to the Original or Truly Original?
From the adaptation of literary originals, to the production of film and television works, and onward to the expansion of the IP industry, Taiwan’s cultural and creative sectors have in recent years displayed rich creative energy, forming a complete and multifaceted industrial chain.
From Originals to Adaptations
Literary works have long served as a vital source for film and television productions both domestically and internationally. Literary adaptations often offer audiences profound cultural experiences. Marula Liu’s essay Seven Days in Heaven, published in 2006, was adapted into a film of the same name in 2010. Through cinematic representation, viewers can experience more directly the emotions and narrative tension of the original work. Similarly, Giddens Ko’s novel You Are the Apple of My Eye was adapted into a film that received widespread acclaim. These examples show that adapting literary works not only enriches audiovisual content but also breathes new life into the original texts.
From Adaptations to Film and Television
In the film and television industry, literary adaptations demand careful consideration of both the scope of the adaptation and the needs of the industry itself and the market. Yang Fu-min, screenwriter of Back to the Good Times, once shared that working as a television series writer introduced him to the concept of episodic storytelling, prompting him to reorganize his own writing structure. The success of these adaptations reflects the innovation and diversity present in Taiwan’s audiovisual industry.
From Film and Television to the IP Industry
Successful audiovisual works often drive the growth of related IP industries. For instance, Red Candle Games’ 2017 video game Detention was subsequently adapted into a novel, a film, and a television series, becoming a recent success story in IP development. Beyond audiovisual adaptations, derivative products such as immersive exhibitions have expanded the IP value chain, demonstrating Taiwan’s multi-faceted development and innovative potential in the IP industry.
We create content, content drives the times, and the times shape us. Different eras have produced literary and audiovisual works that correspond to their unique historical and social contexts. Not only literature, but film and television too respond to the era and society as technology evolves.
The end of one film may mark the beginning of another realm of imagination. These audiovidual works, which have accompanied us through laughter, tears, and growth, have captured literature in the present moment, becoming an eternal landscape. Return to the world of the text! Let the words come alive again across generations, inspiring new memories as we rediscover them.
All it takes is opening the book, allowing the story to summon your imagination.
Adviser / Ministry of Culture
Organizer / National Museum of Taiwan Literature
Co-organizer / Taiwan Film and Audiovisual Institute
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