The Blind Owl Transformed: Indigenization Strategies in Ruiz's La Chouette Aveugle and Lynch's Lost Highway

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 Department of Dramatic Literature, College of Arts,, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran

2 Department of Drama, College of Arts, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran

Abstract

This study conducts a comparative analysis of the indigenization processes in two cinematic adaptations of Sadegh Hedayat's The Blind Owl: Raúl Ruiz's La Chouette Aveugle and David Lynch's Lost Highway. Despite differing approaches, both directors sought to harmonize the novel with their respective cultural norms, resulting in distinct transformations of the source material. Drawing on adaptation theories —particularly Linda Hutcheon's concept of indigenization— and critical perspectives, this study examines how Ruiz and Lynch embedded their personal experiences, worldviews, and stylistic approaches into their respective adaptations. The findings reveal that each director's geographic and cultural context significantly influenced their adaptation, yielding new works that reflect their individual perspectives. While Ruiz’s adaptation resonates with themes of exile, cultural dissonance, and postcolonial identity, transforming Hedayat’s novel, first translated into English in 1957, into a meditation on displacement, Lynch’s version reinterprets the novel through a psychological and noir-inflected lens, embedding it in a distinctly American and contemporary milieu. By exploring the intersections of culture, adaptation, and creative vision, this study sheds light on the dynamic processes involved in reinterpreting and reimagining literary works for the screen. The study's results underscore that such cross-cultural adaptations are not merely reproductions of literary texts, but creative acts of reinterpretation that generate new meanings within the cultural frameworks of the directors.

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References

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Research in Contemporary World Literature
Volume 30, Issue 2
September 2025
Pages 339-468

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