Discussion 8: I Am Legend (Novel)
I Am Legend, a novel written by Richard Matheson and published in 1954, has been adapted into several films, most notably the 1964 film “The Last Man on Earth,” the 1971 film “The Omega Man,” and the 2007 film “I Am Legend” starring Will Smith. We, of course, will only be looking at the most recent translation, but scroll through YouTube for the other two. You may not be able to find the full movie, but you’ll find trailers at the least. See if you can get a glimpse of how the vampires have been adapted over the years.
Generally speaking, literature has elements that are easily filmable and some elements that are non-filmable, meaning that there would be challenges to translating the materials to film. Vampires, I imagine, are not as filmable. I understand that many of you may have already watched the film. None the less, after reading the book and scrolling through the older films, if you were in charge of this translation to film, what would your vampires look like today? Find specific examples of the vampires in the novel, include quotes and citations when appropriate, and compare the original images of the vampires to the images that you would create today. Would the original vampires and the new society look the same? Why or why not? Would your vampires have distinct skills, abilities, speeds, weaknesses, appearances? Vampires aside, what other parts of this novel do you think might be more challenging to adapt than others? Why? How would you overcome those challenges if you were making the film adaptation? What changes would you consider making?
Remember that all responses should be your own. Be sure to offer specific quotes and in-text citations. Additionally, your initial post should be a minimum of 300 words. Additionally, you are required to respond to two students to earn full credit.
