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'The Pedestrian': A Comparative Analysis

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The PBS article on film adaptation discusses the challenges of adapting a novel into a film and the different kinds of changes the filmmakers must make. Many stories and novels have been turned into films, but this can be difficult because of the many differences between the two mediums. One challenge the article discusses is that the use of a narrator is a key part in a novel but when adapted to a film it is often removed. Another obstacle filmmakers face is that movies can be more limited than books. As the PBS article states, “for one thing, there are no time constraints on a novel”, they are a collaborative effort, and they need to be able to properly translate words from the novel into a visual image(PBS 1-2). When converting stories …show more content…

In the film version of the story, there was an addition of another person whom Mead walked with and there were other subtle changes that, in turn, made a big impact on the overall story and theme. The extensions to Bradbury's story made it feel more hopeful and optimistic in the end which ended up fitting the story very well and being a nice addition. At least two themes can be pulled from either version of “The Pedestrian”, one of them which can be shared between the two stories. The shared theme between the short story of “The Pedestrian” and the film adaptation is that technology can destroy a society. This theme is made prominent throughout both versions; people watching their “viewing screens” for entertainment instead of going outside or using an air conditioner for fresh air. Technology distracted and took over the people in this society, making them forget about the important things in life. Bollinger’s additions to the story did not skew this theme, but added new ones. Near the end of the film, a theme about the importance of truthfulness and trust is revealed. The helicopter that was questioning Mead and Bob was asking questions that could have potentially gotten Bob taken away as well. Mead was truthful when answering the questions and admitted that he was the one who had the idea to go walking. This action resulted in Mead being taken away to the psychiatric center for regressive tendencies, but his unknowing friend , Bob, was not. The additions that the film had that the short story did not have gave it a better flow and a more open

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