ENG200.001 -- Introduction to Literary Study

Prof. Eileen Joy

Spring 2005

EXERCISE #8 (10 points)

Figure 1. Donald and Charlie Kaufmann (twin bothers, or: nemesis and author?)

Adaptation - Superbit

Nicolas Cage is Charlie Kaufman, a confused L.A. screenwriter overwhelmed by feelings of inadequacy, sexual frustration, self-loathing--and by the screenwriting ambitions of his freeloading twin brother Donald (also Nicolas Cage). While struggling to adapt The Orchid Thief, by Susan Orlean (Meryl Streep), Kaufman's life spins from pathetic to bizarre. The lives of Kaufman, Orlean and John Laroche (Chris Cooper), the orchid poacher and the subject of Orlean's book, become strangely intertwined as each one's search for passion collides with the others'. What makes this story even more bizarre is that "Charlie Kaufman" is both the main character of the film, as well as the real author, Charlie Kaufman, who wrote this film, and also wrote the screenplays for Being John Malkovich and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (in fact, there's a funny scene in Adaptation where "Charlie Kaufman" visits the set of Being John Malkovich, and the actors from that movie make a cameo appearance here). In addition, Susan Orleans is a real person/writer (she freelances for The New Yorker and other magazines) who really wrote a book called The Orchid Thief about a real orchid thief, John Laroche. The similarity to reality, however, ends there. This is one wild, thrill ride of a movie. [Okay, that's my opinion, but still . . . .]

What you see above is a brief summary of the "surface story line" of the Charlie Kaufman's film Adaptation. But if Adaptation is also an ALLEGORY about what it means to be a writer, and following that, what all stories are all about, how would you describe, in more detail, the "deeper, second" meaning of the film?

I STRONGLY urge everyone to rent this movie and watch it AT LEAST one more time, in addition to the time we will watch it in class together (Tuesday/Thursday, April 5th and 7th).

2 pages (TYPED and double-spaced) will suffice.