A book can take a person into a new world, and movies bring to life a story that you would never see otherwise. There is a lot more to each form of media than what meets the eye, and each form brings joy to the fans with each aspect.
These two forms of media come together in one aspect: book-to-movie adaptations. In a perfect world, a book would be brought to screen seamlessly, with the same detail and perfection that was found in the book. Although, this is nearly impossible to become a reality. The main reason for this difficulty is because of the focus of these two different aspects of media. While books focus more on the depth of each character, movies focus more on the landscaping and the visual aspect, carefully crafting each scene from the finest details of every frame to make it as perfect as possible. This is not due to a lack of effort, but contrarily due to the fact that each form of media is better in a different way. Words can describe thoughts better than pictures, and a video can show an environment better than the internal aspect of a character.
“I enjoy the adaptations even if they are technically not accurate. I like seeing my favorite stories brought to life on screen,” says Callie Barbera, a freshman at BWHS. Despite the issues that can be seen in these adaptations they still bring joy to many of the viewers.
The sheer length of a novel provides another challenge to bring to screen, with the script of a movie being generally 7,500 to 20,000 words long while a novel tends to be 80 to 100 thousand words long. For a movie to be as detailed as a book it would need to be roughly five times longer, which wouldn’t hold the interest of the audience attracted by just the movie and not the book.
Despite the complexity of the process to bring a book to screen, there are many cases where the adaptations lack the original depth of the book and end up disappointing many of the fans.
Akshera Mukkamala, a freshman at Riverside High School says, “Despite a history of inaccurate adaptations I continue to watch them in hopes of a better one compared to all the bad ones I’ve already seen.”
Movies create an environment that combines auditory, visual, and story elements in a form that is accessible by a public audience. With numerous streaming services easily available alongside the original showcasing of many of these films in movie theaters, they are a popular form of entertainment that many people enjoy.
While there are many people who enjoy movies, there are equally as many people who enjoy books. Books have a uniqueness to them in the aspect that they allow a reader to engage their imagination and creativity while creating mental images of characters, settings, events, and details that are described in the story. The only thing that limits the story when someone reads is their own mind.
Our school is divided, with some people enjoying books more than movies and others enjoying movies more than books.
“It’s something I enjoy after a long day while winding down, and I can do it with friends, ” Akshaya Gajula, a freshman at BWHS, says about watching movies after a long day out.
Melania Fundaturean, a freshman at BWHS, is split over which she prefers, books or movies, and says that, “I like books because of the descriptions and storylines, it allows me to envision the characters and the scenes in my own perspective.”
Bringing both worlds together are book to movie adaptations. Book to movie adaptations are incredibly successful, but also very complex, and as these two worlds unite, both poles of entertainment are filled with joy and hope. Book lovers hold a new flame of hope with each story brought to screen, and their movie lover counterparts find a new story to dive into with each scene.
