By Ann Biedermann

25 July 2024

Film adaptations are notoriously difficult. Readers are a demanding audience, they want the story represented but only in the way they imagined it, for millions of readers individually. Plus there are significant constraints a film has to deal with because of the change in modality; thoughts and feelings are way more difficult to convey in a visual medium than when you can write them out. And there is the issue of length: a film is a lot shorter than a book and even a TV series needs to cut down; reducing characters or plot lines to fit the format. Sometimes, TV shows make changes to the plot on purpose and not because the medium forces them to but because the audience has changed, grown up and learned a thing or two between book and film release.

Netflix “Bridgerton” series provides interesting examples for changes for a matured audience. In the third book, the protagonist Penelope is the wall flower of the story who receives a glow up. The glow up trope is an old one. A female character changes her appearance in a superficial way; losing weight, getting rid of glasses, buying new clothes and learning to use makeup and finally everyone recognises that she is beautiful and deserving of love. In the 2000s, when the books were published, this trope was widespread and often flew under the radar of how problematic, fatphobic and misogynistic the message of this trope was. (But rest assured, as someone who grew up with glasses, I couldn’t simply get rid of and magically have perfect eyesight, I learned what to think about them and me loud and clear). In the 2024 TV adaptation, Penelope doesn’t lose weight but buys new dresses and expects everyone to recognize and love her for who she is. She must soon learn, however, that people’s opinions do not change as quickly as dresses and the beginning of love is self-love. Commentators applauded this modernised commentary on the make-over trope for a 2020s audience.

Sometimes, however, the adaptations miss the mark and it is the script writers needing to learn a lesson the audience has already learned. In the first season, the female protagonist Daphne initiates sexual intercourse with her husband Simon. But when he asks her to stop midway and get off of him, she stays put. Recent discussions on the modality of rape made people aware that rape is not only forced penetration but also entails the conditions of a sexual act (see the discussions on the removal of condoms mid-act), or in this case, forcing someone to continue in the act when the person does not want to – regardless of sex and gender. The audience was disappointed that the show did not comment on this depiction of male rape within the narrative. If the roles were reversed, many surmised, they would not have missed out on a comment. But the show makers learned and reacted; the title card of this specific episode now shows a warning of sexual violence.

Adaptations are not only difficult for the change of medium but they are also always a commentary on the social and historical context of the time of adaptation. Sometimes shows lead the way as to how to feel about certain things, sometimes they are awfully behind.

Side note:  The shown rape scene was already an adapted, the scene in the books was even worse. For more on that see www.vox.com/22194033/bridgerton-netflix-rape-scene-novel