Analysis of Lion (2016) as an Adapted Biopic of “A Long Way Home”
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Abstract
The present study sets out to analyse a biopic Lion (2016) which is adapted from Saroo Brierley ‘s bestselling book A Long Way Home (2013). The book and the movie depict the incredible life history of Saroo Brierley, a five years old child, and now a young man, who used modern technology “Google Earth” to rediscover himself including childhood life and hometown in India. At the age of five, unfortunate Saroo Brierley got lost in a local train in India which caused him to face many dreadful realities of life in Calcutta before being formally adopted by an Australian couple through an orphanage. The analysis of the study reveals that the movie qualifies for Giannetti’s (2008) concept of faithful adaptation as well as Wagner’s (1975) two modes of adaptation i.e. transposition and commentary. The present study also addresses Stam’s (2000) criticism on strict fidelity to discuss medium specificity approach. The study concludes that biopic, as a representative of its genre and like other genres, has specific conventions and the movie Lion (2016) successfully qualifies for biopic as a genre.
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