Analysis of your source material
Adaptation is something commonly used when creating media as "all texts invoke and rework other texts in a rich and ever-evolving cultural mosaic." (Sanders, 2016:17) This suggests that all media forms impact each other and are influenced and inspired by each other. This leads me to believe that a film can be adapted into anything, from anything. This meant that from the start I knew that there were going to be little limitations when it came to adapting a poem into a short film, as it is not just relaying the story in a visual format, it is "an act of revision in itself." (Sanders, 2016:18)
At the very start of the unit, we were given a selection of poems to read and choose one to adapt into a short film, and reinterpret the text.(Sanders, 2016:19) After carefully reading and making notes on each poem, the one that stood out to me the most was poet Howard Simon's "I Choose the Mountain." The main element of the poem that jumped out to me was the extremely strong theming and sense of determination throughout it. When researching Howard Simon I was disappointed to find little information about the poet, as well as the culture or historical background of the piece. The fact that there is no information online about the poet or the society in which it was written is something that I almost find mystifying. It leaves the reader to completely decide their own interpretation of it, without the knowledge of the true meaning of it implemented by Howard Simon swaying their view. This attracted me to the poem even more as I was able to read the poem and adapt it from my own understanding of it which excited me.
I started by initially reading the poem through multiple times in a silent room to try and focus on how the poem makes me feel, an adaptation should be focussed on the motives behind it even if they are varied (Hutcheon, 2012:15). To start with I felt a strong theme of choice, and that life is full of different choices and challenges that we face in life through the repetition of the phrase "I choose the mountain" throughout the poem. At this point I knew that I definitely wanted to focus on having choices throughout my adaptation. After the initial reading of the poem, I read it again and this time started to feel inspired by it. In the final stanza the phrase "I will never stop climbing" reflects the sense of determination that the poem carries. This overpowering message of not giving up and having strength of will was a theme that I knew I would want to show in my film, as I would like my audience to feel inspired after watching it just as I did after reading the poem.
Howard Simon has written in first person and the repetition of "I" makes me believe that the challenge is something that has to be faced alone. This led me to making the decision that I would like one character in my adaptation to focus fully on them and their own challenges and successes. The next stage that I took was to highlight sections of the poem and note down details of the poem that stand out to me that I could derive messages from, this is because adaptation is process as well as a product and there must be justified meaning behind every decision made. (Hutcheon, 2012:16)
The first stanza of the poem discusses "free dwelling" and my interpretation of this is that the narrator is being offered a life of peace and safety, which led me to think about being at home, the place where most people feel safe and at peace, hence I knew that I would juxtapose being at home with another location, whether that be aa physical or mental one. The alliteration of the line "The massive mountain makes its move" at the start of the second stanza conveys the power of the mountain; it is formidable. The personification of the mountain accentuates that it is challenging the narrator and warning them. I knew here that in my adaption the mountain needed to represent something that is very hard to overcome, and at this point I knew that I wanted the challenge to be a mental one as they are sometimes a mightier dispute than a physical one. I also felt that this would give me a lot of creative freedom with being able to show a persons internal struggles that they face, and the juxtaposition between their safe place at home, compared to what's going on inside their head. This in turn links perfectly to the poem as the "free dwelling" could be perceived as the characters home where they could choose to stay at the start of the adaption, compared to the "massive mountain" which portrays the mental challenge that the character faces.
The paradox of the term "Beckoning to ascend" in the second stanza shows the narrators success and that the climb has began, the gradual battle has started. As the phrase "I choose the mountain" is repeated multiple times during the poem, especially towards the end, it embodies that even though they has chose the difficult path, it will be worth it in the end. This will be filtered into my adaption as even though facing the metaphor of the "mountain" directly seems impossible, it is possible in the end and it is worth it. I would like my viewer to see this and feel inspired that they can face their own personal struggles. As I was analysing the poem I was thinking of internal challenges that most people would face, which led me to look at insecurities and the anxiety that they can then cause. I felt that this fitted well with the poem as somebody can choose to let their insecurities win and let their anxieties surrounding their appearance take over their life, or they can choose to face them head on and tackle them one by one. Furthermore not only does it reflect choices and challenges, but it also creates an inspirational tone as a character starts to overcome their biggest struggles; which I hope would feel motivational for an audience.
The lines that jump off the page most to me are in the penultimate stanza, and state that "because only by climbing, can I rise above the plain." These symbolic lines illustrate that by taking risks, you can become the best version of yourself, and finally portray rising above the ordinary and reaching for success. The use of present tense shows that the climb is still ongoing and that it is not easy, which is a message that my film will include. I would like my feel to feel raw and real, and show the damage and effects that insecurities can have on someones brain in order to provoke emotion (Sanders, 2016: 81), hence I have researched them extensively in order to give an accurate representation to an audience.
Finally the second and fourth line of each stanza of the poem rhyme, and this adds a sense of rhythm to the piece. This rhythm is something that I would like to be carried through my film by using metric and rhythmic montage for multiple scenes. I hope this this the will give a pace to the piece, just as their is in the poem .
In summary I am really inspired by "I choose the Mountain." I was captivated by Howard Simon's writing and was excited to adapt it into a short film. The themes that I would like to portray most thoroughly are having a strong strength of will, having decisions to face everyday; whether they are big or small, being determined, being brave and finally being inspiring. Hopefully I will be able to reflect all of these themes through my stylistic choices and can leave the audience feel captivated, just as I did after reading the poem.
List of Illustrations:
Fig. 1 Emmerson, S. (2021) Initial poem Analysis. [Scan] In possession of: the author: Kent.
Fig. 2 Czermak, C. (2018) Mountain Image. [Photograph] In possession of: the author: Manchester.
Bibliography:
Sanders, J. (2016) Adaptation and Appropriation. [online] At: https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/ucreative-ebooks/reader.action?docID=308508 (Accessed on 3.1.2021)
Hutcheon, L. (2012) A Theory of Adaptation. [online] At: https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/ucreative-ebooks/reader.action?docID=1016075 (Accessed on 3.1.2021)
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