One of the main decisions a screenwriter must face in adapting a work is whether to be true to the setting. Sometimes the setting is intrinsic to the theme or characters being portrayed; in other cases, the theme or characters can find a newer, vibrant life through relocation, or a work from one time and place can simply be reworked to strengthen another story. Thus, Henrik Ibsen’s 1882 Norwegian play Enemy of the People got a new turn in the sun by inspiring director Stephen Spielberg and screenwriter Carl Gottlieb’s rewrite of Ibsen’s play to Jaws (USA, 1975), which was officially an adaptation of Peter Benchley’s novel, Jaws, although Spielberg and Gottlieb described it as “Moby Dick meets Enemy of the People.”1 Joseph Gaï Ramaka’s ...
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