Remaking Scenes from a Marriage: Social Memory and the Cross-Cultural Representation of the Heteronormative Couple
Authors
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Pedro Lopes
Universidade Católica Portuguesa & Escola Superior de Comunicação Social, Portugal
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9283-6117
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Miguel Rico
Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Portugal
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1622-8865
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Abstract
This article examines the 2021 adaptation Scenes from a Marriage, created by Hagai Levi, as a cross-cultural remake of Ingmar Bergman’s 1973 miniseries Scener ur ett äktenskap. Through a comparative analysis of their pilot episodes, the study examines the screenwriting strategies employed in adapting the narrative across distinct cultural, temporal, and ideological contexts. Beyond thematic and formal changes, the article highlights how shifting representations of intimacy, gender roles, and emotional conflict mirror broader transformations in social memory and cultural identity. Drawing on theories of adaptation and memory (Halbwachs, Hutcheon, Bazin), the remake is approached as both reinterpretation and cultural inscription, where fidelity to the original intersects with innovation in character construction, narrative framing, and emotional articulation. Particular attention is given to dramaturgical mechanisms such as the reversal of gender roles, the representation of abortion, and the meta-cinematic opening that foregrounds the constructed nature of fiction.
Keywords:
Cross-cultural Remake , Heteronormative representation , Social Memory , ScreenwritingReferences
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