Screen Literature: gain or loss?

Screen Literature: gain or loss?

Shaukat, Haya

With the advancement in science and technology everything has taken a different shape. Reading literature that was once considered to be a major source of entertainment and knowledge has now been transformed into screen literature by television, video games and movies. As a result of this critics have started debating the effectiveness of this shift. There are endless examples in this regard and many blockbusters are in fact based on some written books. Not only classics but also contemporary literature is now a part of the new genre called screen literature. Although it cannot be denied that these great stories and characters will live forever not only on paper but also on screen forever. Yet screen literature is not without its disadvantages. The aim of this study which is qualitative in nature is to assess the extent to which the literariness of the original text is affected with particular reference to the novel – Gone with the Wind by Margret Mitchell which was turned into movie in 1939 and appreciated as a blockbuster becoming a legendary classic of the American cinema. It was not only the first movie to bag ten Oscars for the very first time but maintained that record until Ben-Hur (1959).

Conference or Workshop Item
PeerReviewed

2011-05

88