Wednesday, October 16, 2019
This is completely random but.....
Ok so this has nothing to do with Medea or Oedipus or podcasts or really anything we have done in English so far this year but...... I really wanted to talk about it and get y'all's opinions. So recently I've been watching a lot of movies based on books, yet I haven't read the books. After watching a a few of the movies I started to want to read the actual books and to read the sequels of them as well. Most people say the books are better but I feel like that might not be the only case. What do you all think? Do you usually read a book then watch a movie? Or do you usually watch a movie then read the book? Or do you only do one or the other? And which do you most often like more? (Again sorry this is really off topic, but I was curious!)
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7 comments:
Whenever I watch a movie based on a novel I usually watch the movie only and never read the books. This happens because I'm usually to lazy to get around to reading the book. But if I read a book that happens to have a movie based off of it, I often tend to want to see the movie. I am interested to see if it makes changes to the novel or if it leaves any parts of it out. If a movie I see is completely than the novel it is based off of, I become more interested in reading the book.
I feel like the books tend to be better because you can use your imagination and make everything the way that you want it. For example, to review for our test today I decided to watch a movie adaptation of Medea. It was absolutely terrible. The "movie" I imagined as I was reading it was much better than what I watched. I feel like in writing you are allowed to do much more than in films.
While I agree that the book is usually better than the movie, I disagree on the reason why. I feel that most books are superior to the movie due to the limitations of movies as a medium. Let me explain. Using Steven King's IT as an example, the movie versions of the book leave out many of the details that make the book great. They leave out any mention of the Multiverse and completely change the method by which Pennywise is defeated. This results in a less satisfying cinematic experience as much of the substance of the book is sacrificed to make the story fit within the roughly two hour window you have to tell your story. Overall, the book is usually better, for there is more room for the author to grow characters and establish relationships. Relationships and character building are sacrificed in order to fit in the window resulting in random relationships and character traits that seemingly arise from thin air rather than being natural consequences of the result of the story.
In many cases, movies are used as substitutes for reading books. Generally speaking, books come out before movies and not the other way around. It is very rare for a movie to be released and a book adaptation to follow it. Why is this? In my opinion, movie producers and directors are sometimes “lazy” and wait to get ideas from newly produced books. When this happens, the book dies off and the movie gets all the talk and debate. Why aren’t authors offended or upset by this? My only explanation for this is that they get paid enough by producers to create a movie based on their book.
In addition to this, there is something to be said about understanding visual aids rather than words on a page. Many students are able to remember events, names, and actions that occur in movies rather than books. Audio books have tried to make up for some of the issues with focus and understanding while reading, however movies provide both audio and visual elements. Many people find movies far more attractive than books for the sake of time. Many argue that why spend more time reading if you can get the same knowledge out of a movie.
The answer is simple, you cannot. Books enhance your vocabulary, reading comprehension, and reading speed. However, when authors use difficult vocabulary, many are turned off because they don't want to spend time looking up the meaning of the word.
Due to this, movies are the future of “reading”. In my opinion, the percentage of readers will only further decline. In our time, we look for the easy way out and movies are the solution to this problem.
Very interesting post Malorie! I think this question depends on a person's imagination (like Andreas brought up) but also their concentration. Most of the time it's fun and exciting but, it can be hard to just sit there, read, and turn those words on a page into a mini film in your head. This is why movies are so popular nowadays, it's less work and people that find it hard to comprehend or don't have the patience get to enjoy the story, but also someone else's interpretation of the story. This is also why people tend to love the book more, it's their own interpretation!!
I feel that the books most likely have much more content in them, and in most cases are probably better if you enjoy reading books. I haven't read any books with movies made on them recently (as in the past like 5 years), but I'd imagine the books are more content-packed. This also has to do with the author of a book delivering a message, and movies aren't always as centered around an overarching theme, and usually tend to be more action and entertainment driven. But books would be entertaining to somebody who frequently reads books so I guess its subjective. very cool!
I agree with the comments stated above. Movies based upon books, although they have a similar storyline/topic, usually present the narrative in a much different way, and for that reason, I believe that the experience obtained by reading books is far greater than watching their counterpart movies. This is because when reading a book, you pay close attention to detail in order to formulate imagery in your head, thus allowing yourself to perceive the action with your own interpretation. However, when watching a movie, you are instead being fed an opinion, as you are watching the director’s interpretation of the book rather than your own. That is why many times movies based upon books may seem like a let down, because your expectations of the plot based upon what you thought while reading the book may differ greatly from the story presented to you.
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