When will we finally live with the belief that a movie will never be as good as the book it was based on?
I had a discussion with a friend today. It was related to the latest movie based on a series of novels. Overall, she didn’t like the movie. I did. For her, it boiled down to the idea that the movie did not contain her favorite aspects of the books.
We became a bit annoyed with each other during our discussion. I suppose each of us was trying to convince the other that, individually, we were right. I liked it, she should too. She didn’t like it, I should dislike it too.
Our conversation ended abruptly, and I was left with the thought that no one should ever enter a movie with the idea of how it should be made; especially a movie that is based on a novel. The reason for this is simple: the imagination is more powerful than film. It will override any vision a director, producer, or film company might present. In a novel, our minds our immersed in the creation of the narrative universe. In film, they are immersed but with certain limitations.
Novels engage the mind the way they set framework for it to imagine, to build the universe of the story, to visualize the characters, to map the geography, to even smell and taste the substances the characters do. Films do not give the mind this freedom. When someone enters the movie theatre the mind is ninety-seven percent engaged by someone else’s imagination: director, producer, costume designer, actors, etc.
Think about the last book you read that a movie was based on. Did you enjoy the book more?
By no means do I downplay the art of cinema. It too transports us and it can engage our minds, but it does so in different, creative ways.
Let’s just agree to walk into the theatre without preconceptions. A movie should be a movie, unattached to its novel. And a novel should be a novel, unattached to its movie. Without preconceptions, our imaginations will be free to base their own opinions on one specific medium. Then when we get together, we might agree instead of argue that the movie is good based on its own merits, just as a book is good by its own merits too.
Copyright © Tyler Gant 2009
Check Out These Related Posts!
- The Joy of The Cinema There is something to be said about watching a movie inside a theatre with a crowd of individuals; that communal camaraderie, that collective consciousness, that feeling of energy when laughter erupts from hundreds at one time. There...
- Something for Free Many economists feel that consumption is based on price; lower the price and increase the consumption. But when consumption brings us to the point of "free" where does that leave the artist?...
- My Day At Work There are two types of personalities in the world: those who want to talk about their day, and those who do not. When these types of personalities are thrown into a relationship, an interesting dichotomy forms. But...
