I think it’s time to get into that age old debate: books or movies.
Let me paint you a picture… you put on your favorite old sweat pants, feeling the soft worn fabric on your skin. You put on an old t shirt, one that has a band name you can no longer remember from some obscure band from your childhood and head to the kitchen to make your favorite hot drink (Can’t beat a chai tea latte! Or coffee. Always coffee.) You plop down on the couch and put on your favorite movie adaptation. You pull the blanket up to your chin and watch as the screen comes to life, characters begin moving across the screen, colours and items come and go. You love it. You remember the plot well, however some of your favorite parts are missing. With the crisp picture on the screen, the plot unfolds and you forget the missing parts and sit back to enjoy the pictures flashing across screen. After it ends, you think about what a good movie it was and then move on with your day. Sounds great, right? You watched an excellent movie and got some solid relaxing time in… But sometimes you need something more.
I am a huge fan of movies adaptations when done well, they definitely have their place and can be a great way to sit back, relax and enjoy your favorite book without taking weeks to complete it. Sometimes though, movies just don’t cut it. I know that Cassandra Claire’s City of Bones is a teen book, which I read while in High School, however, the movie came out a few years ago and I’m still upset by the adaptation. In this case, the book was on a whole different level than the movie. If anyone has read and watched both of these, you’ll know what I mean. They left out the part where Simon gets turned into a rat, and Jace looks like a small town meth addict and is nowhere near as attractive as the book makes him out to be. The movie shouldn’t have even had the same name as the book as they were completely different in all respects. In this particular example, the books most obviously rule.
I find that books can paint a better picture, they leave everything up to your imagination and your interpretation which I believe is a beautiful thing. Our minds are so powerful that they’re able to take the words written and expertly change them into this beautiful, colourful story in our minds. Books allow us to create something new for ourselves and each time we read the same book, we get to revamp the story! How cool is that!? That being said, movies adaptations can be great. I’m not sure who else thinks this, but the Harry Potter movies were amazing, almost as amazing as the books. I will always have a special place in my heart for Harry Potter in all its forms.
What do you think? Books or movies? I am definitely a movie person however I can appreciate the beauty in movies as well. Both bring something special to the table and you can’t have one without the other!
Every Book and Cranny 