Adaption Semiotic Data Elaboration Divergent Book vs Movie

 

Adaptation: Divergent (Movie) vs Divergent (Book)

Divergent (2014 Film)

Genre: Divergent is a 2014 American dystopian science fiction action film directed by Neil Burger, based on the 2011 novel of the same name by Veronica Roth. 

Wikimedia Foundation. (2023, August 28). Divergent (film). Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Divergent_(film)

The film is the first installment in The Divergent Series and was produced by Douglas Wick, Lucy Fisher, and Pouya Shahbazian, with a screenplay by Evan Daugherty and Vanessa Taylor. The story takes place in a dystopian and post-apocalyptic Chicago where people are divided into distinct factions based on human virtues. Beatrice Prior is warned that she is Divergent and thus will never fit into any one of the factions. She soon learns that a sinister plot is brewing in the seemingly perfect society.

Plot: Divergent - Movie Synopsis, summary, plot & film details. FilmJabber.com. (2014). https://www.filmjabber.com/movie-synopsis/divergent.html

Divergent is a thrilling adventure set in a future world where people are divided into distinct factions based on their personalities, Tris Prior (Woodley) is warned she is Divergent and will never fit into any one group. When she discovers a conspiracy to destroy all Divergents, she must find out what makes being Divergent so dangerous before it's too late.

Ideology:  https://uca.edu/cahss/files/2020/07/Amanda-Wilson-So-You-Say-You-Want-a-Revolution.pdf

The main moral of Divergent is to embrace your personal gifts and not to hide who you are. Tris is an exceptional person who has the potential to positively influence her society, but she is forced to hide what makes her special because other people feel threatened by her.

Divergent (Novel)

Genre: Young Adult Fiction, Science Fiction, Dystopian Fiction, and Romance

Divergent, the debut novel of American novelist Veronica Roth, was published by HarperCollins Children's Books in 2011. The novel is the first in the Divergent series, a trilogy of young adult dystopian novels (plus a book of short stories) set in a post-apocalyptic version of Chicago (Internet Speculative Fiction Database, 2023). 

Concept: 

Divergent is a dark and thrilling young adult sci-fi series from best-selling author Veronica Roth. It's set in a post-apocalyptic Chicago that has separated its population into five Factions, each defined by a given set of values, personality traits, and social affiliations (Martin, 2022).

Ideology: https://www.vox.com/2015/3/21/8269595/divergent-series-summary-review

The moral force of the books lies in the constant reminder that you should always, under all circumstances, make decisions for yourself, rather than letting society dictate these decisions to you.

Main Differences 

• In the book, the Prior’s do not talk to Jeanine at the Choosing Ceremony, and we don’t meet her until much later on. This change in the film is good as it allows us to meet Jeanine earlier, and she gives a great speech to Tris about choosing the right faction. - This plays a major change because in the movie Jeanine is the main factor of why Tris chose to be divergent, Jeanine says "I want you to choose who you truly are and where you truly belong" which in the movie it was a big suspense builder when it was her time to choose because as she was standing there she still did not know what she wanted to do.
• In the book, Tris’ aptitude test takes place in a school cafeteria, not in a mirror-walled room. In the film, she tells herself to choose between a knife or slab of meat, whereas it is an unknown voice who tells her to choose between a knife or a block of cheese in the book. - This also is a major difference because the mirrored wall room is why in her test she saw a ton of mirrors, because when she first walked in she looked in the mirror. The Abnegation forbade mirrors believing they promoted self-centeredness which is also why they only had one mirror in their home and could not stare at it for too long.
• When the initiates arrive at Dauntless, Tris burns her clothes in the film but, in the book, she holds on to them. - When new transfers come in, they are forced to burn their clothes to show that they are leaving their past behind, it is a start to a new beginning.
• Visiting Day doesn’t happen in the film. In the book, this is where Tris’ mom asks her to go see Caleb but, instead, her mom has to sneak in to see Tris. 
• In the book, Christina takes the glory of capturing the flag for herself, believing that Tris has already had enough praise off of their leaders. In the film, they reach for the flag together, having no conflict arisen. - This shows in the film how close that they have gotten and how they left their problems behind them and matured as characters.
• During Capture The Flag, the teams use paintballs instead of darts in the book. - I believe that they did this to create more of an action packed scene, but not only that, but as a dauntless member it just makes since to use darts instead of paintballs. It is a part of who they are.
• In Four’s fears landscape, the woman he shoots is not seen in the book, whereas he has to shoot Tris in the film. - I believe that they did this to show how much he actually loves tris and how much he cares about her. They also did this to build suspense to see if he would really shoot her.
• In the book, Four shuts down the system that is controlling the Dauntless, but Tris makes Jeanine shut it down whilst under a serum in the film. - At the end of the first book, when Four is under the simulation and Tris fights him, Jeanine is NOT there. It's just Tris and Four in the room. I'm guessing that because they needed a dramatic fight for the movie, the director/producer/whoever decided to add Jeanine into the mix and then show Tris' humanity by having her not kill Jeanine.