Staples of Rowling
1. Creating a sense of drama between the three main characters.
2. Never knowing who the good guys are until secrets are revealed later.
3. Withholding secrets until the "ah hah" moment at the end when she reveals it.
Challenges in adapting Harry Potter
1. Length.
2. The screenwriting and remaining true to the source material, but at the same time knowing what to take out.
3. Writing a film when the book series is currently still being written because you never know what secrets will be revealed later.
An interesting set of notes, Reid.
ReplyDeleteI'd add, as both a staple and a challenge, that Rowling structures the Potter novels as boarding school stories (a venerable genre, particularly in Britain). The novels typically follow the outline of the school year, and include, in a ritualistic way, the repetition of certain school rituals (sporting matches, winter holidays, finals, etc.). This pattern is not completely broken until the last book, which abandons Hogwarts for much of its length.
This is a staple because Rowling uses variations on the school rituals to give both familiarity and variety. It's a challenge for adapters, and indeed I think for Rowling herself, because as the series nears its home stretch so much of the action has to take place outside of Hogwarts, even as Harry remains in school. Thus she resorts increasingly to devices (dreams, visions, omens) that bring the chaos of the outside world into Harry's head, so that we never forget that big things are happening outside Hogwards. The stress created by this balancing act is especially evident, I think, in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, which is both a crucial episode in the larger story and yet not a very successful novel. IMO.