A Research On Adaptation Strategy of Death Theme In Malaysia Children's TV Series: Khor Ewe Pins' Novel As Examples2

马华少儿电视剧的死亡主题改编策略—— 以许友彬小说为例1

Abstract

Abstract 

In 2013, Malaysian Chinese-language children's channel Astro XTY aired its first children's TV series, Seven Days. Adapted from a children's novel of the same name by Malaysian writer Khor Ewe Pin (1955-). His novel series is the first children's TV series to be adapted in the 21st century. Since then, Astro XTY has been adapting his children novel TV series, symbolizing the cross-media development of Malaysia children's literature. Throughout Khor Ewe Pins’ children’s novels, the theme of death runs through the series of adaptations. Based on the cross-media characteristics of literature and film as narrative literature, and combined with children's aesthetic psychology, this paper analyzes how TV dramas “inherit” and “expand” the theme of death in Khor Ewe Pins’ novels. This paper finds that the theme of death in Khor Ewe Pins’ novels is restricted by the social context in the process of adaptation, which reflects the taboos of film and television in Malaysian Chinese society. Therefore, this paper focuses on the adaptation strategy of the theme of death and explores the significance and value of the TV series adapted from Khor Ewe Pins’ children’s novels to Chinese children literature. 

Keywords: Malaysian Chinese children’s TV series, Khor Ewe Pin, Malaysian Chinese Literature, theme of death, strategies of adaptation