Keywords
Adaptation; Film; Literature Studies; Memory; Transformation
Abstract
In recent years, audiences and movie critics have expressed concern that Hollywood’s growing reliance on remakes, sequels, franchises, and similar adaptations has led to a broader worry that originality is fading from modern cinema and that the industry is instead focused on using adaptations to maximize profits. Although adaptation is often seen as a commercially driven framework for reproducing existing intellectual property in a new media format, this thesis argues that it should be recognized as an autonomous cultural category with its own artistic, historical, and social significance and merit. By analyzing adaptation scholarship and reviewing its complex historical development, this qualitative thesis shows how ideas of adaptation have shifted alongside changes in the film industry and audience expectations, culminating in a new theoretical framework centered on the memory of concepts, genres, and familiar images. It then applies this theoretical framework to current case studies, such as Disney’s relationship with adaptation through its remakes, the influence and controversial integration of artificial intelligence in media creation, and globalization’s potential impact on the use of adaptation for positive expression in film culture globally. Together with these case studies and historical analysis, this thesis illustrates that adaptation is a process of cultural remembrance, reinterpretation, and media renewal. By viewing adaptation as a concept of remembrance among texts, audiences, and industry practices, this thesis emphasizes its position in shaping cultural memory and creative expression, where it should remain as a vital, evolving artistic form that surpasses economic motives and confronts traditional notions of what can be seen as original within the audience’s memory.
Thesis Completion Year
2026
Thesis Completion Semester
Summer
Thesis Chair
Kane, Louise
College
College of Arts and Humanities
Department
English
Thesis Discipline
English Studies
Language
English
Access Status
Open Access
Length of Campus Access
None
Campus Location
UCF Online
STARS Citation
Seaton, Connor F., "To Print a Remake: An Analysis of Hollywood Remakes and Their Cultural Value" (2026). Honors Undergraduate Theses. 659.
https://stars.library.ucf.edu/hut2024/659
Included in
Applied Ethics Commons, Artificial Intelligence and Robotics Commons, Cultural History Commons, Digital Humanities Commons, Film Production Commons, Modern Literature Commons, Other Arts and Humanities Commons, Other English Language and Literature Commons, Other Film and Media Studies Commons, Other History Commons, Television Commons, Theory and Algorithms Commons, Visual Studies Commons
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