Carringer's Chapter 1

Carringer's "Heart of Darkness" discusses Wells's adaptation of the classic novel about a Byronic hero who sets up a diabolical empire in Africa. The subject matter deals with the evils of imperialism and Westernization.  As someone who has attempted to read this book, I know that to make a film adaptation would be an extremely difficult mission. It is an incredibly dense book that deals with controversial themes. Additionally, it would be nearly impossible to recreate the scenery in Africa if one had not traveled there and had a limited budget. Even more difficult would be to convey the humidity, the smells, and the decay. One way Welles tries to stay faithful to Conrad is employing a narrational strategy the would stimulate the protagonist's point of view. He made the camera a character in the story. These are all wonderful ideas but to adapt a novel of much symbolic magnitude requires immense resources. This poses a huge problem. It is no wonder this rendition was described as "devastating." What I found interesting about this article was the re-imaginaing of a book in visual terms. Who's production is it? Conrads or Welles? The issue of authorship becomes an issue of budget then, because maybe Welles would have been more successful if he had unlimited resources. Editing and reducing are how he makes his mark on the film but the financials are equally as important. This taints our idealistic notion of cinema that successful productions are owed to the genius and talent of the people who make them. We must take into account the money side as equally important.