When the epic war film “Troy” acted by Brad Pitt was shown in 2004, I remember my English literature teacher giving her negative reaction about the movie. She said that why is it that they changed a lot of things from what was originally written in the book. The same thing happened when episodes of Twilight was made a film from the book written by Stephenie Meyer. Almost all those who read the book are saying that the story in the book is better than what was shown in the film.
However, for those are really not that patient in reading a lot, they just watch the movie and do not really care if how is it written in the book. Since the films are highly visual, some prefer to watch rather than to read a very long novel for a long time.
Those who were born before us (including my English teacher before) refutes that books are still the best and young people must learn to read and they must not be lazy just watching movies. They also say that reading novels sharpen your imaginations unlike movies that you don’t have to imagine since you can already see it.
Of course our grandparents are right but what will the young people of today say about this. Well, they may answer and say that movies are better because it is more entertaining, unlike reading a book that will bore you to read for a long time. Moreover, if you’re reading a book, you’re just alone and you don’t have any company to laugh or cry with in case you are being carried by the story of what you’re reading.
Well, there is really no better in novels and movies. They are just two kinds of medium that can tell a story. It’s just either riding a taxi or private car to go to your destination. Either way, the important thing is that you reached the place where you wanted to go. But for you to whether ride in a taxi or in your private car is your own preference depending on your situation.
To understand however why novels are so complete but relatively long and movies incomplete but short and more entertaining, we have to understand the strengths and weaknesses of the two.
Let’s start by talking about novels written in a book. Many may refute and say that books are really better since they are the original “vessels” that contain the story. They are right about that because that is the strength of books. In making a book, you are really not that limited on how many pages you wanted to make. You can tell everything in details since your “vessel” can contain many information. Another strength of novels is that, you can write anything that comes your imagination. That is because you will not have any problem in the production. Whether you wanted the earth to explode or have lovers kissing has no difference in the typing and printing of the book anyway.
With all those good things about the book, it has also some downsides. Details written in a book is complete but you also need a long time to read them. Aside from that, you really need to concentrate and do the reading all alone (it may make you a loner at times). And during those times of reading, you missed the opportunity to socialize with others.
So how about movies? Well, almost everybody out there loves watching movies. Aside from the entertainment value, watching also gives us the opportunity to hang out with our friends. That is because if books are for just one audience, movies can accommodate more viewers to enjoy the show. It is also shorter that one only needs “one seating” to watch the whole story. Because it is also highly visual with sound effects supporting it, one will not be bored in watching.
While movies are entertaining, it has also some limitations. Unlike books that they can contain more details of the story, films can just have the general scenes of the story to tell. Movies are usually two hours in length because it is the usual span of time for watching for us human beings. Sitting down for a very long hours straight watching is of course not practical. So when the film makers made the movie Twilight, they have to omit or change some of the scenes and include only those that are practical for production. We have to understand that in film making, there are lots of considerations. A writer can imagine a fantasy scene that he can write for a book but may not be practical for moving picture. Of course you’re lucky if you have a very good visual artist who can do all those stuff in the post production. You have to consider also however if your time and budget is enough to cover all those needs. Basically, producing a movie is far more expensive than producing a book. So we cannot blame film makers to modify the story (of those novels converted into film) a bit to suit their needs and situations.
Personally I read books but I admit I watch movies more. Well, if you have a lot of times then it’s really good to read novels for us to know the details of the story. We cannot however deny the “more entertaining value” of movies. Movies might give up some details of stories from novels but it’s worth it if the visual presentation is rich and will cause us to have more social time with our families and friends.
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