The Role of Context in Comprehending Literature and Cinema, Readers’ Need-Assessment: A Comparative Study

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 Assistant Professor, English Department, Faculty of Languages and Literature, Yazd University, Yazd, Iran.

2 Associate Professor, Department of English Language and literature, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, Razi University, Kermanshah, Iran.

Abstract

Literature and cinema, as the outermost layers of reflecting and producing social values, are not disentangled from each other. Comparative literature, as a reading strategy, compares and contrasts different readers’ comprehension of the given works in different contexts. The reader might ask himself a sequence of questions whenever he is exposed to a work, including ‘why has he chosen this particular text?’, ‘what factors have led to his current identity formation?’, ‘How has he managed to access this work?’ and, in sum, ‘how do all these factors affect his reading of the given wok?’ What is of prime importance to this research is not merely the historical and geographical situation of the production of the text; rather, it tries to assess these factors in different socio-cultural contexts with respect to the readers. Unfortunately, in the past few decades, the main attention in comparative literature has been paid to either the texts or the authors, ignoring the much more important stance of the reader. In the new era, different readers’ need-assessment alongside the creation of universalized works can be the only solution for the attraction of readers and the survival of literature and cinema.    

Keywords

Article Title [العربیة]

الأجواء المحیطة ودورها فی فهم الأدب والسینما (دراسة مقارنة فی تقییم أذواق المخاطبین)

Abstract [العربیة]

الأدب والسینما بینمها علاقة وشیجة والمخاطب لهما علی السواء. ومن هنا، القیاس لمدی فهم المخاطبین من الأعمال الأدبیة فی البیئات والمجتمعات الشتّی یجعل الأدب المقارن کفرع من القراءة الأدبیة. ویسائل المخاطب نفسه - عندما یقرأ أیّ عمل أدبی أو یتفرج علی أیّ فلم سینمائی- لماذا اختار هذا العمل الخاص من بین رکوم الکتب والأفلام الموجودة؟ وما هی العوامل الدافعة إلی هذا الاختیار؟ ومثل هذا التساؤل تلیه سلسلة من الأسئلة الفرعیة، عند الإجابة لکل ما سئل عنه. مثلاً: ما هی العوامل المؤثرة فی خلق الأجواء وتشکیل الهویة للمخاطب؟ وکیف حصل المخاطب علی هذا العمل؟ وما مدی تأثیر النتائج الناجمة عن تلـﻚ العوامل فی قراءة المخاطب للنص بین یدیه؟ ومما یحظی بالأهمیة فی هذا البحث، لیس تاریخ کتابة النص وموقعه فقط، بل هو دراسة العوامل فی ما یرتبط بالمخاطبین فی الأجواء الثقافیة والاجتماعیة المتنوعة. وقد عُنی الأدب المقارن – مع الأسف - طوال العقود الأخیرة، بالإبداعات النصیة أو بالمبدعین للأعمال غیر أنّه تناسی الضلع الأهم الثالث وهو المخاطب. إذن، یعتبر تقییم أذواق المخاطبین فی البیئات المختلفة وإبداع الأعمال المنشورة العالمیة، طریقاً وحیداً لإنقاذ الأدب والسینما واستمرار حیاتهما فی جلب المخاطب الذی توفرت له أسباب التسلیة المتعددة فی العصر الحدیث. وفی هذا المسار، یهدف البحث الحاضر إلی بیان أهمیة الأجواء المحیطة بالمخاطب فی فهمه للأعمال الأدبیة والسینمائیة، إضافة إلی ضرورة تقییم أذواق المخاطبین.

Keywords [العربیة]

  • الأجواء المحیطة
  • الأدب والسینما
  • المخاطب
  • دراسة مقارنة
  • العالمیة

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Research in Comparative Literature
Volume 13, Issue 3 - Serial Number 51
September 2023
Pages 53-76

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