Wannous as an adaptation of the Faust Theme: an investigation of adaptation shifts and interpretive categories

Abstract EN

Literary adaptations have become part and parcel of the film and television drama industry.

adapters, however, introduce modifications in the process of adaptation for creative, economic and / or social reasons.

this is especially true in cross-cultural adaptations where the original text needs to be brought closer to the target audience.

Wannous, an Egyptian television series which is an adaptation of the Faust theme, is a case in point, especially with the adaptation of the spirit of the original plays and the creation of a totally new story.

using the adaptation shifts and interpretive categories, proposed by Perdikaki (2016), to analyze Wannous, this study aims to investigate how the original Faust theme is recontextualized in the Egyptian culture through employing setting, plot structure, narrative technique and characterization shifts and how creative, economic and social triggers account for such shifts so the adapted version would become close to the Egyptian audience and serve the adapter’s ideology.