Transformation: A brief Analysis of Thomas King's Medicine River and its Adapted Film

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May 4, 2005

Medicine River, Thomas King's novel turned film, is a fantastic observation of how memory changes identity. King also explores historical discrimination through his non-fiction and fiction. King's novel Medicine River is all about Will's search for his individual identity. King creates Will's identity by using the five senses to explore the main protagonist's memory. Memories of taste, aroma, texture, sight, and orature are masterfully placed throughout the novel. The novel is more than just a piece of literature. The work is an observation into how identity is constantly being shaped.

The general story line is the same throughout both the novel and film. However, the novel explores the depth of the subject matter in greater detail. If we concentrate on the individual characters in Medicine River, we can see Will's identity take shape. Visual memory cues are the most abundant forms of sensory input for Will. Therefore, it is no surprise to learn that the novel was adapted into film. King's novel delves into the meaning behind photographs and memories. It is the way King writes that makes some of these memories very hard to adapt into film. Therefore, we can now begin to see why the film adaptation of Medicine River is different from the novel.

For those of you who have been fortunate enough to read the novel, you might be surprised at how the film adaptation is different from the novel. First we must understand a little about the adaptation process, and then we can address how the film and novel handle Will's identity. When writing a film, the first ten minutes are critical to the movie's success. By the time the first ten minutes go by, even the most patient audience members will decide whether the film is worth their time. Due to this important fact, a script made for television has a defined structure to follow. The script is broken down into Acts of equal length, and equal importance. At the end of each Act, comes a plot point, or in other words, this is when the major events happen in a movie. Time must also be allowed for commercials.

A novel can take various structures, and obviously does not contain commercials. In a novel, the major plot points can be arranged or reversed in order. With the exception of the epic movie, a character has more time to develop in a novel. Moreover, due to a lack of visual stimuli, a reader can focus more on a character's complexities. Of course, the artistic influences of the director and producer affect how a film is made.

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The copyright of the article Transformation: A brief Analysis of Thomas King's Medicine River and its Adapted Film in Canadian Literature is owned by Darren Anderson. Permission to republish Transformation: A brief Analysis of Thomas King's Medicine River and its Adapted Film in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.