Norma and Norman Bates' relationship anf the advent of death in the TV Show Bates Motel thought adaptation and intersemiotic translation.

Abstract

In the communicative universe, translation is present everywhere: outdoors, movies, and TV shows are also forms of translation (BASSNETT, 2002). Noting that adaptations from one media to another have become more and more popular and considering that adaptation is a form of adjusting stories by transcoding, reinterpreting and recreating (HUTCHEON, 2011), this study presents the relationship between Norma and Norman Bates as well as the analysis of Norma’s death and how it is represented in both contexts (novel Psycho and TV show Bates Motel) and investigates: i) which of scene and character descriptions in the advent of Norma Bates’ death remain and which ones are modified from Psycho to the TV show Bates Motel? why do they differ and with what apparent purpose?; ii) does the adaptation cause any radical change in the reason why Norman killed his mother? More specifically, this investigation attempts to: i) analyze the relationship of mother and son and the advent of Norma’s death in Psycho and in Bates Motel; ii) identify intersemiotic elements in Norma’s and Norman’s construction through the first four seasons of the TV show, comparing it with the novel. Theoretically, this paper presents: i) From Textual to Intersemiotic Translation (BASSNETT, 2002; BRANCO, 2016; GENTZLER, 2009; HUTCHEON, 2011; OUSTINOFF, 2011; PEIRCE, 2005; PLAZA, 2003; SANTAELLA, 2004); ii) Language and Representation (BASSNETT, 2002; OUSTINOFF, 2011; PLAZA, 2003); iii) Adaptation (HUTCHEON, 2011; HUTCHEON; O’FLYNN, 2013); iv) Cinema Narrative (BERNADET, 2006; DIAZ CINTAS; REMAEL, 2007). Methodologically, this research follows the conceptual research typology (WILLIAMS; CHESTERMAN, 2002) and the descriptive and bibliographic methodology, considering the interpretative paradigm and the qualitative typology (MOREIRA; CALEFFE, 2008). The concepts aforementioned help build the corpus analysis and selection, divided in: i) selection of ten (10) scenes excerpts and twenty-one (21) images from season one; selection of eight (08) scenes excerpts and fifteen (15) images from season two; selection of five (05) scenes excerpts and thirty-one (31) images from season three; selection of fifteen (15) scenes excerpts and twenty-two (22) images from season four; ii) selection of fifteen (15) passages from the narrative of Psycho (1959). All scenes excerpts have been selected using Bandicam program and the scenes selected from the first four seasons of Bates Motel have been taken from Netflix. The results show that: i) Norma’s death does have a different presentation, following adaptation theories used as theoretical background (HUTCHEON, 2011; HUTCHEON, O’FLYNN, 2013): In Psycho, Norman mixes strychnine with coffee, which makes Norma suffers in agony, whereas in Bates Motel, Norman killed his mother in an attempt to kill himself as well by lightning the broken furnace, filling the house with carbon monoxide; ii) the adaptation does not cause a radical change in the reason why Norman killed his mother. The reason is the same in both medias: he wants his mother and he cannot stand the possibility of losing her. This study is concluded by a coherent and important point of view that brings together Norma and Norman Bates’ influence upon each other.