From <i>Parenthood</i> to <i>Tutto può succedere</i>: Ready-Made Elements and Cultural Translation

Authors

  • Stefania Antonioni Università di Urbino
  • Chiara Checcaglini Università di Udine

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.18146/view.241

Keywords:

cultural translation, remake, adaptation, serial narratives, Parenthood, Tutto Può Succedere

Abstract

In our article we propose an analysis of the Italian TV series Tutto può succedere, a remake of the American TV series Parenthood (NBC 2010-2015). The Italian remake precisely reproduces some Parenthood’s ready-made elements: the two series share the main plot, many storylines and characters’ personalities, dealing with the ups and downs of a large family, formed of four siblings, their parents and their children. We will focus on the differences and similarities of the two shows from several perspectives, such as formal and content divergences, and their cultural, social and production implications. On the one hand, the Italian remake loses the distinguishing style and the faster pace of the original series to adjust to Rai’s more basic aesthetics; on the other hand, Rai chooses to focus on specific plots and characters that match its own purposes. Indeed, we can assume that youngest characters are the means by which Raiuno tries to connect with younger viewers, and the same function is assumed by the role played by music in the series and by the on-screen presence of young Italian musicians.

Author Biographies

Stefania Antonioni, Università di Urbino

Stefania Antonioni is associate professor at the Department of Communication, Humanities and International Studies of the University of Urbino Carlo Bo, where she teaches Cinema and Photography, Advertising Theories and Strategies of Promotional Communication. Her main research interests are moving image studies, visual studies, branded entertainment and promotional strategies. Among her publications Imagining. Serialità, narrazioni cinematografiche e fotografia nella pubblicità contemporanea (2016) and with M. Farci Post-millennial spectatorship and horror films: the case of It (2018).

Chiara Checcaglini, Università di Udine

Chiara Checcaglini completed her Ph.D. in Sociology and Communication Studies at the University of Urbino Carlo Bo. Her current research interests include media education, transmedia storytelling, film criticism, contemporary serial narratives, their critical reception and their forms of distribution. She wrote essays and presented papers on these topics and she authored the book <i>Breaking Bad. La chimica del male: storia, temi, stile</i> (Mimesis 2014). She is teaching assistant of Cinema and Photography at the University of Urbino and she has taught Media Literacy and Transmedia Storytelling at the University of Udine. She contributes to Il Cinema Ritrovato Film Festival and she is editor and contributor of several webzines dedicated to film and television criticism.

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Published

2020-08-31

Issue

Vol. 9 No. 17 (2020): Canned TV Going Global

Section

Explorations

License

Copyright (c) 2020 The Author(s)

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