By: Esmeralda Gonzalez
By this point it’s pretty obvious to all of us that a book version of a story will most definitely be better than its movie counterpart. When you ask anyone who agrees with this to explain why they think so they will most likely come up with a generic excuse such as “it’s how its originally supposed to be” or “books are just better in general’. Not many people have stopped to think exactly why this statement is true, it’s just more of a known fact because “someone” said it was. Well rest assured that their is actually many reasons why the books we all know and love are the most genuine version of our favorite tales.
For starters the movie oftentimes gets lost in translation. Movie directors have a very different perspective on the story than the actual authors do. Because of this, they might end up making a film that seems drastically different than what the author and readers alike envisioned. This issue can strip the story of familiarity from the audience especially those who have read the books beforehand, leaving them feeling as if they watched simply a shadow of what the story once was.
Secondly unlike books, movies have a limited storytelling time. Adding to the first point, not only will directors have the opportunity to alter the story in some way, they will also be obligated to remove entire parts of the plot to fit into a two hour limit. If you think about it, at this point the movie will probably only be a sort of sample of what the book actually has the potential to convey through unlimited words and details. You’ll be better off just by reading the book, you’ll get a better quality story rather than watching a seemingly rushed summary of the whole thing, not to mention the possibility of horrible acting and directing.
To top it all off, you have the capability of imagining the entire world yourself and find your own special meaning to the story. A books descriptive words have the ability to pull you in and open your imagination to create your own unique version of the authors world. This is a special bonus because not only will you have taken in every detail, plot twist, and conflict the author created you’ll also have your own perspective on the story that no one else has making it personal to you specifically. This only further strengthens the connection between you and the story in a unique way that is different with each novel you pick up. The movie has only one specific visual that everyone sees, potentially loves, and forgets about in a few weeks; nothing special.
Clearly books have and always will have the upper hand when it comes to storytelling. Maybe one or two original outstanting movies come along once in a while but none can beat the hours spent and maybe even tears shed while reading a really good book.
