Sources used in this document:

It is also important to remember the cultural and historical contexts from which the play originated. During its first showing, in the 1890's, the cultural and social climate were obviously quite different. The content and material in the play itself was considered quite risque by many of the Victorian era citizens. Seeing the play and these controversial concepts and actions played out on stage must have been somewhat of a personal and social expression or release, even for the audience. People living double lives and the adult themes associated with many of the main characters' forays were hard to talk about openly at the time of its writing. But the play allowed people an insight into others' lives, and also gave them an outlet for their own thoughts, since the Victorian era was relatively repressive. This is also important to remember when considering the 2002 Parker adaptation. This version had the same themes, but in a modern times contextual way. This helps current audiences relate to the same feelings and emotions that 1890's audiences were able to.

The Parker adaptation takes Wilde's original concept and sheds new light on it. While it retains the same setting, the lines in the Parker version are delivered by modern actors and actresses. In a way, it is entirely impossible to capture the exact same meaning, tone, structure, and themes if the linguistics are changed at all from the play, or as it was originally worded. While the movie is less verbose and condensed than the written work, the central ideas and themes are still retained, and Wilde would have likely approved of this version, since it paints such a clear picture of the characters. These film also removes the stuff, static feeling of the play on stage and places the interactions into new categories that can be better understood by today's audiences. Parker does an excellent job of weaving Wilde's tail. There is little of substance that is removed from the plot, and any audience familiar with the original work should be pleased with Parker's adaptation. Wilde's original intentions, which were to convey the variety of emotional reactions and energies to the audience in live motion, are successfully preserved through the film adaptation.

There are many subtle and not so subtle differences between the Parker adaptation of Wilde's play and the original written work. Parker has cleanly updated the tale and shed new modern-context light on the same themes and ideas. It is important to remember that Wilde's play was once considered an artistic outlet for Victorian era misgivings and anxieties, and the characters in the play are meant to both help entertain and tell a story as well as be a cathartic social outlet for the audience masses. One of England's most successful and best-known works survives intact, albeit somewhat contextually updated in the Parker film adaptation.