Film philology: The value and significance of adaptation/film studies in literature

Abstract

Adaptation/film studies is displayed a growing interest in literature as more scholars take up articles to produce authentic research. Due to its interdisciplinary and intertextual nature, adaptation/film studies provide scholars of humanities the means to create preliminary works never published before. This article articulates the importance of adaptation/film studies in literature and calls upon philologists to become actively engaged in the field of adaptation/film studies. Initially, the study defends the view that film is a form of art, no different from works of literature. The article also explores adaptation/film studies with the intermediary function of building bridges between literature and cinema by looking into forerunners and analysing the mutual relationship between these two spheres. The study then examines adaptation/film studies in western academia by stating the most influential names and tendencies. Finally, the article draws an outline of adaptation/film studies in Turkish scholarship and delivers a concise overview of the most productive scholars and their works in this area of research. The study concludes by highlighting the importance of adaptation/film in philology and urges scholars of the humanities to become actively involved in generating analyses of films particularly through the critical lens of literary theory. Thus, the article advocates the necessity and widespread application of film philology in literature departments.