The Evolution and Cause Analysis of the Core of the novel in the Process of Film and TV Adaptation and its Causes: A Case Study of Lust, Caution

Abstract

Lust, Caution, an Ang Lee film, was adapted from the novel The Spy Ring by Eileen Chang. This paper expounds on how the film successfully captures the original storyline, the object image, the deconstruction of the imaginary national community, and other novel elements, and how it deviates from the novel’s core. Through the analysis of the content of the film adaptation, this article argues that the film does not focus on the disillusionment of love in the novel. Still, it highlights the entanglement between reason and emotion. The reasons for this difference include the differences in the aesthetic standards of creators between the authors and directors of novels, the differences in the perspectives of female and male creators, and the commercial nature of the film itself. From the case of the film adaptation of “Spy Ring”, the audience can see that gender positioning is crucial in the film and television adaptation process of the novels of female writers.