Prose and Mixed Media - Trifles and A Jury of her Peers

Introduction

Comparing a film and its preceding prose is tricky business. This is because of the fact that when a plot is moved from prose to the screen, countless factors come in. Bringing a plot to life for the camera brings in factors that are associated directly to movie making (Burrell and Cerf; Glaspell and Brien). However, in this regard, it merits highlighting that there are also factors that are not related to the discipline of film making; yet have a major impact on the conversion of the plot to the movie reel. Essentially, some prose writings do not transfer well to the silver screen, while some are better for it (Burrell and Cerf; Glaspell; Showalter). This discussion will attempt to highlight the differences between the film version of Susan Glaspell's one-act play Trifles: A Jury of her Peers. The thesis statement of the discussion is that the film version of Susan Glaspell's Trifles was significantly altered from the plot of the play; in order to accommodate the factor of commercial viability.

Discussion

The original one-act play for Trifles came forth in 1916, while the movie was released in 1980. Hence there is a reason to expect a difference between the film and the play (Glaspell; Showalter). It was observed that there are a number of differences between the film and the play. The essential difference appeared to lie in character development. The play did not give as much character development to the male characters as the movie (Burrell and Cerf; Glaspell). It can be perceived that this fact was not a mistake; but an intentional approach towards the filmization of the play. The play could afford to remain loyal to the essence of the plot by ensuring that the spotlight remained on the central female characters. However, the film could not afford to do so (Glaspell and Brien; Showalter). It was noticed that the male characters got just as much screen time as the female characters; perhaps because of the fact that the movie makers considered it imperative to show an equation between the relavance of the male and female characters. The commercial success of a movie is a critical factor for movie makers. It would not be unfair to state that the relevance of commercial succes is a factor that is above all others in movie making (Burrell and Cerf; Glaspell; ...