Film Adaptation: Across the Universe (FINAL)

Emily Otey

July 7, 2010

ENGL 102

Dan Anderson

Across the Universe of Artistic Mediums

 According to the actor network theory, one of the microcosmic cycles within our world can be described as a circular motion between ideas, people, and things.  This flow does not have a definite beginning or end, so the order of these elements is subjectively determined.  The theory can be applied to a multitude of topics, one of the most common being the transposition within the arts.  For example, a single written theme in a script can be translated into a visual work, like a painting, or into a performing art, like a film.  Musical works can also be assembled to embody this same theme.  The artist, of whatever form, cannot control which interpretation a person will encounter first.  It is likely that this person will consider this first work to be the original even if he knows this is not the case.  In turn, the conclusion he makes about the other interpretations could be different from a person who first experienced the theme in an alternate form.  A highly debated aspect of this dilemma is the adaptation of literature to film and vice versa.  The chatter surrounding this issue often relies on the question “which was better?” but can one form truly be superior to another, or do the reactions evoked by each become complimentary parts of a greater story? 

 All films must take written form before they can be made using other mediums.  The techniques applied to each medium are so vastly different, as a number of senses can be affected by one form independently of the other.  For instance, a film can reach not only a person’s sight, but also his hearing.  Written song lyrics do not have the same effect as lyrics that are sung to a melody.  If a person first reads the lyrics and then does not like the melody when he hears it, it can change his view of the song.  This can make the translation of a ballad to a song or a musical film especially challenging.  American movie director Julie Taymor attempted to take the stories told by one of the most famous bands of all time, The Beatles, and not only illustrate them, but also give them a new sound in her 2007 film Across the Universe.  The reputable selection of songs resonated with the public for decades before her modern-day spin was released, but overall, the reviews seem to agree that the new versions did not alter their initial intentions.  All of the characters’ names stayed true to Beatles songs.  The protagonists of one of the story lines, Jude, Lucy, and Max, are named after some of their greatest hits: “Hey, Jude,” “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds,” and “Maxwell’s Silver Hammer.”  Taymor is forced to imagine additional details of the lives the song’s characters.  While some may disagree with her rendition, music is, after all, purposely left up to the listener to interpret for his own satisfaction and since it is an art form, a film can be viewed in this manner as well.

The sixties held some of the most important years in United States history and The Beatles became a part of that.  Their songs can be seen as historical documents, as they effectively communicate the sentiments elicited by much turbulent conflict and drastic social revolution.  Amidst the hardships, drugs became a popular means of escape for America’s youth, as well as The Beatles.  The rise of drug use was one of the main cultural and political issues of the decade, and many songs were written under the influence of various drugs.  In Across the Universe, fantastical special effects are used throughout to allude to drug use, and this becomes most evident beginning with Jude, Lucy, and Max’s “trip” to a night club.  Colored lights radiate within the dark room, as a man on stage sings the song “I Am the Walrus,” which was allegedly written by John Lennon on a series of acid trips.  As the people dance at the nightclub, the room they are in gradually transforms into a flying bus, which is shown through unfocused waves of the camera and major color distortion of the screen.  The same song continues, but the scenery around the bus and the overall jaunt symbolize one of the Beatles’ songs previously mentioned, “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds.”  The title of this song itself is thought to be a drug reference, as it is an acronym for LSD.  The movie depicts this song quite literally in the sense that the character Lucy is actually in the sky on a bus and small pieces of something, presumably diamonds, rain into the bus.  The camera zooms out to show the “tangerine trees and marmalade skies” and “cellophane flowers of yellow and green” described in the lyrics of “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds” and the color distortion serves as the effect for “kaleidoscope eyes” for the viewer (Lyrics by Song).  The song, along with the influence of drugs is brought to life by the composition of this scene without the lyrics even being sung.  It was an entirely new way for a person to experience “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds” but it still took on the essence of the lyrics.  A clip of this seen can be seen below:

The political struggles that occurred in the sixties are addressed in the film, although they are somewhat modified to fit in with the plot and to keep the interest of the audience.  The Beatles included political implications in songs such as “Helter Skelter” and “Back in the U.S.S.R” but in the film their song “Strawberry Fields Forever” was also used to convey a political message.  The late sixties marked the beginning of the Vietnam War, and this war was the first to be televised so graphically to the public.  The media showed the true horrors of war, instead of solely the sugarcoated version.  In the film, Jude is working on a piece of art using strawberries when Lucy brings in a TV showing raw footage of the U.S. soldiers abroad.  The screenshot leads the viewer into the television as Jude sings “Strawberry Fields Forever” and the strawberries from his artwork, dripping with red paint, likely a symbol for blood shed, become bombs over the soldiers.  The line that reads “living is easy with eyes closed” is no longer a possible way of life for Americans as the media’s footage has engrained their minds forever with pictures of the “strawberry fields”  (Lyrics by Song).  The song provides insight into the public’s reality shock by the seemingly endless terror of the war and their powerlessness surrounding the issue.  However, in real life, this song is thought to be about an orphanage John Lennon spoke of that became some sort of a reality check or refuge from reality for him as a child (Pettinger).

Images from the Film:

Historical Images from the 1960s:

The written lyrics and the original contexts of the Beatles songs were evident in Across the Universe, although the movie did not use the songs solely in their initial forms.  The adaptation of both historical documentation and musical expression appeared in the film as one entity, versus the several constituents they arose to be in the sixties. When questioning which form of interpretation was better, it is useful to use the metaphor of a novel.  One must ask his self, “Did I enjoy the certain pages and chapters of the novel, or the story after all of the loose ends were tied?”