Serial telewizyjny i powieść: przykład recepcji bohaterów "Quo vadis"

Abstract

This article discusses the results of an analysis of the common reception of heroes from a TV serial based on H. Sienkiewicz’s novel. The point of departure for the analysis is the assumption that a viewer’s perception is based on familiarity with conventions and codes characteristic for the genre of the serial. The main thematic and axiological framework is H. Sienkiewicz’s book. The survey in question was carried out in two stages among 155 students. The respondents written statements provided a basic for a qualitative analysis. After watching the serial there could be observed a change in the stereotypical perception of Neron. From an emperor of the „tyrannical and authocratic” type he became a „mentally ill artist”. The serial allowed viewers to „assimilate” this figure in accordance with the convention of this geure. Petronius was interpreted in a way which corresponded to the intentions of H. Sienkiewicz and 80% of the respondents considered him a model worth imitating. The viewers did not find acceptable the characters of Lydia and Vinitius in the serial. The attempt to make the figures more modern, which the makers of the serial hoped would place them closer to a viewer, did not fulfill the expectations of the viewers. The makers of the film failed to convey meanings equivalent in relation to the novel by means of serial conventions known to the viewer.