Multiple: Calvino

In his discussion on multiplicity, Calvino says, “each life is an encyclopedia, a library, an inventory of objects, a series of styles, and everything can be constantly shuffled and reordered in every way possible.”  Weisbecker’s In Search of Captain Zero undeniably holds this to be true.  In the novel, Weisbecker not only goes through experiences in the present, as he travels through Central America, but also through the past, as he reminisces about times with the object of his journey, his friend Christopher.  Many of the stories overlap in a collage-like style.

Multiple: Adaption

A main problem with adapting In Search of Captain Zero will be narrowing down the many subplots and minor characters that pass in and out of the novel.  Since there are basically two subplots acting themselves out throughout the novel, the narrator, Weisbecker, has many experiences in the present as he makes his journey, and also relates many stories from the past.   To express this multiplicity visually, the blox will have to make heavy use of transparency and blending modes.  Obviously, every minor subplot won’t be able to be represented in the blox, so it will be narrowed down to the main storylines of the novel.

Multiple: Cornell

This blox is heavy in its use of collage, as well as incorporating an informal grid as a loose template.   The blox truly represents the “combinatorial of experiences” that make up life, especially Weisbecker’s life in In Search of Captain Zero.   The two silhouetted figure represent Weisbecker and Christopher and their separation by the grid and other images represents their emotion disconnect in reality.  Two sets of eyes denote the conflict of world views held by the two men, which is also reflected by their contrasting background images.

Multiple Blox

Visible: Calvino

Using Dante’s Purgatorio, Calvino describes two types of the imaginative process: one that starts with the written word and arrives at a visual image, and the opposite, in which a visual image acquires form.  Calvino locates his own sensibilities in the second tendency of imagination and also says that his own writing process begins with a visual image, but the written word guides the story and the visual imagination is forced to tag along.   In Weisbecker’s In Search of Captain Zero, the written word guides the story.  As Weisbecker writes, the written word gains visual shape.  Since the novel is based on a true story, many of the events began as visual images, which Weisbecker converted to the written word, and now, the reader is given a clear mental image of the events in the novel.

Visible: Adaption

In order to visualize how Calvino’s visibility is manifested in In Search of Captain Zero, attention must first be given to whose point of view the story is being told from.   Since Weisbecker himself narrates the novel in the first person, the blox’s point-of-view will be his.  A theme of the blox will be the present vs. the past, flashbacks against the present.   In the novel, the disparity between Weisbecker’s past relationship with Christopher and his current (or lack thereof) relationship with him.

Visible: Cornell

In order to visually express the schism between Weisbecker’s past and present, I started with a harsh physical division of the frame.   I drew most of my inspiration for this box from Cornell’s heavy emphasis on the feeling of nostalgia.  In the novel, Weisbecker is extremely nostalgic on his trip through Central America.  He hopes to reconnect with a long lost friend, but instead finds him ravaged by poverty and drug addiction.  In Search of Captain Zero ends with a bitter moment as Weisbecker and Christopher go their separate ways, perhaps forever, as Weisbecker still longs for and reminisces about the past.   The silhouettes in the blox represent the two main characters of the novel.  Their eye lines do not match, symbolizing the disconnect.

Visible Blox

Exact: Calvino

In Search of Captain Zero is based in exactitude, as it is a true story.  Weisbecker’s claims to not embellish or skew the real facts of his encounters in Central America and his past adventures, which are amazing without embellishment.   However, the accumulation of Weisbecker’s true experiences with Christopher give his journey an abstract feeling of danger.  Throughout the novel, Weisbecker reflects on the good times, so much so in fact, that a less-than-happy ending for Weisbecker and the novel is obvious.  This feeling is confirmed when Weisbecker finally reaches Christopher, to find him not well.

Weisbecker’s journey through Central America had special significance to me because of my multiple trips to Central America.  I’ve been to Costa Rica twice now and Mexico once, so many of Weisbecker’s experiences and encounters along his journey are familiar to me.  In fact, I’ve surfed in some of the same places he stayed on his journey.  Because of this, the novel reads like a travel book, transporting me back to the same setting as the characters in the novel.

Exact: Adaption

A mimetic approach to the adaption is necessary, since the novel is based on true events. Changing specific parts of the story should be discouraged because of the novel’s heavy reliance on truth. If the scope of the book was to fit in a full-length film, the biggest challenge would be what parts to cut out.   Many of the stories from Weisbecker’s past with Christopher are necessary for character and plot development.  Since the relationship between the two men is essentially at the heart of the novel, any part of the book that strengthens the connection between the two characters should be preserved.  Consequently, many of Weisbecker’s encounters in the present along his journey may need to be scratched.  However, the adventure is an important part of the novel, so focusing on the past should not be solely relied upon.