Abstract

This paper explores the ‘migration’ of a true crime story, from crime scene, to book, to documentary and fiction series under the conference topic ‘Ethics’. It uses the term migration in the fluid sense described by Westerstahl Stenport and Traylor (2015) and Leitch (2022) wherein content “migrates from, to, and between genre, medium and device” (Westerstahl Stenport and Traylor: 75) and considers this process in respect of the ethics of adaptation specifically between documentary and fiction.
If we consider the adaptations of The Staircase as repositories of interconnected and competing information about events, is there any point in discussing their ethics and the presentation of truths, or is the purpose of such adaptations to simply “add new properties to a social artefact” (90). Do they “encourage members of their audience to return, more richly informed” (Leitch:5), or do they cancel each other out?
The texts discussed have a symbiotic relationship in that they all engage with an ‘original’ event that is ill-defined at best. Arguably, the appeal of these texts is that, while the definitive truth remains elusive, each text offers moments, glances, gestures or comments that tease audiences towards a solution. The ethics of these moments, or ‘hint’ markers if you will, are specific to each format and this paper explores their use and affect in practice.