With all the reboots, remakes, adaptations and resurrections, it was only a matter of time before Lord of the Flies took off. William Golding’s 1954 classic is no stranger to film adaptations, with the 1963 and 1990 versions being more or less faithful to the original.
Yet Lord of the Flies‘s thematic depiction is both simple and complex, especially in an age of bloated budgets, intense fan attention and political messaging.
For every movie or TV show that honors the original, it tends to be praised by fans and critics alike, but there are ten movies or TV shows that have chainsaw-cut the original classic and then completely suppressed it.
On the bright side, the Lord of the Flies stays at home. Commissioned by the BBC with support from Sony, it will be released on BBC iPlayer, BBC One and Stan.
Adaptations are never easy, and it will be interesting to see if the BBC can make something that transcends the films of the 1960s and 1990s.
The theme of “Lord of the Flies” is difficult for children to perform
Whether we like to think so or not, there is darkness in everyone’s heart. When we brush our teeth or shave, we look at ourselves in the mirror and notice an aberration—one that the people closest to us fail to recognize.
For most of us, this dark, decaying obscurity remains bound and impotent, insulated from social norms, personal expectations, empathy, love and an instinctive aversion to the unnatural.
Most of us never have to take that small step from safety and civilization to survival and despair. Hunger, deprivation, and fear can turn even the kindest among us into crazed savages, robbing us of kindness and integrity.
Reason and barbarism, order and chaos – simple concepts, but much more difficult in reality. This is especially true for young boy actors, some of whom have next to zero acting experience.
Golding has also made it clear through many of his fables that he believes that the savage, cruel side of human beings is the default setting and can only be suppressed through willpower or conformity to social norms.
Of course, this is Golding’s point of view, and whether the upcoming show will go as far as that is anyone’s guess.
To a lesser extent, groupthink, war, loss of innocence and the desire for idolatry are all concepts dealt with in Golding’s book. Some of these things can be conveyed simply through visual storytelling, while others will be a challenge for young actors.
showrunner
Mark Mulden will direct Lord of the Flies. He has been nominated for the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) eight times and won three nominations. However, success in the eyes of the Bafta doesn’t always mean approval from fans and critics.
His five most recent projects include The Sympathizer, The Help, The Third: The Fall, The Third Day and The Secret Autumn. Only two of them have an IMDB rating of 7.6, while the remaining three scored 6.8, 6.4 and 5.6 respectively.
With some exceptions, these shows are well-received by average critics and fans on Rotten Tomatoes. Jack Thorne wrote the screenplay for Lord of the Flies and is a critically acclaimed screenwriter in both the UK and the US.
However, if you watch any of the shows based on his scripts, such as His Dark Materials and Shameless, you’ll notice that the characters say a lot, but much of it has very little value.
He actively shares his political views outside of work, and although he previously had a great working relationship with J.K. Rowling, the two recently fell out over their political and personal views.
Fortunately, Jack is known for not explicitly incorporating his political views into his scripts.
It’s almost impossible to not incorporate some degree of personal perspective into your written work. Still, the divisive nature of today’s world simply doesn’t tolerate much, no matter which side fans fall on.
The success of “Yellowjackets” bodes well for “Lord of the Flies”
“Snow Society,” “To Stay Alive” and “Yellow Jackets” are all popular takes on survival themes, but “Lord of the Flies” is ahead of them all.
Of course, “Alive” and “Snow Society” are based on true stories, but there’s no doubt that the Yellow Jackets took the best of “Lord of the Flies” and “Alive” and blended them together to create a very popular Welcome to the series.
Long before a group of cheerleaders crash-landed somewhere in the Alaskan wilderness, a group of adolescent boys fleeing the ravages of war crash-landed on a remote, abandoned island.
In some ways, Yellowjacket is darker than its predecessor, but the savage brutality of Lord of the Flies is no joke.
William Golding’s story doesn’t deserve a PG or PG-13 rating for its emotional subtlety.
Although the Yellowjackets occupy a place in the timeline of creative events, its existence paves the way for a story that is brutal and aggressive in keeping with Golding’s vision.
After all, this is not a happy story. There is no end, everyone sails into the sunset with a smile on their face. Blood, beatings, murder, terror, rage and brutality are commonplace.
In the end, the book lets us use our creativity to imagine the thundering thoughts and feelings, and a terrible sense of irony, of the naval officer who ultimately discovered them.
Only then can their cruel trials and choices find a new conscience.
Four episodes and 256 pages
This is actually perfect. For a fairly short book of only 256 pages, four episodes should be more than enough.
10 or even 6 episodes for a season is too much and it ends up needing a lot of filler to keep it going.
Since Jack Thorne is known for having pointless, lengthy dialogue at times, the 4-episode stretch should keep things lively and the plot moving at a steady pace.
At the same time, it’s not too short, giving the filmmakers time to gloss over the more subtle nuances of the dark nature that might emerge within each character.
Each episode focuses on the point of view of one of the book’s four main characters: Ralph, Jack, Piggy, and Simon.
Hans Zimmer is also on board, working with Kara Talve. If anyone can bring a sense of fear, horror, and violence to a show, it’s Zimmer.
It’s rare that a four-episode series can elicit so much joy and excitement from fans, but this is one of the exceptions to the rule.
The full support of the Golding family
Another major advantage for Lord of the Flies and the BBC is the full support and backing of William Golding’s family.
Of course, that doesn’t always mean a show will be a huge success. But it’s highly doubtful that Golding’s family would let someone like Tommy Wiseau (“Room”) run off to tell the classic tale spun by William Golding.
The fact that they fully support and support this project bodes well for the future and quality of this series. Hopefully Jack Thorne and Mark Mulden can justify their support and make William Golding proud.
Ultimately, this is a story worth telling again and again because it holds true in every way. If there were only three people left on the entire planet, then two people would exclude the third person.
Is this our nature, or is it a choice we make to survive? Let us know in the comments if you’re excited for Lord of the Flies to be back on our screens!
