ADAPTATION.’s Anomalies

“I’m not sure”. Those final words of this video essay encapsulate perfectly its modus operandi. Because Jason Mittell‘s fine piece for [in]TRANSITION doesn’t step into the filmsplaining trap. On the surface, it tries to decipher a couple of anomalies in Charlie Kaufman’s riddle of a movie. But what Mittell actually (and cunningly) achieves is adding yet another layer of self-referential mystery to the conundrum that is ADAPTATION..

 

In essence, this video essay functions in the same way that movie does: it’s an ouroboros, a snake eating its own tail, an explanation that relies on a nested reasoning that has no beginning and no end. “I’m not sure” is the only possible, and fitting, conclusion. A conclusion that is a testament to the Kaufman’s genius, and a subtle rebuke for overly self-assured video essays.