Film adaptations are wildly popular. People love to hear that their favorite book is coming to the big screen. Although most people leave the film feeling disappointed because the film did not live up to their expectations, it’s a wonderful way for studios to produce money. Are they disappointed because the audience creates visions of the characters, settings, and the many other things that help create the story themselves. Or could it be because to create the film the screenwriter must take out the less important details to fit it into a two-hour span. Leading up to the question, should the book and the adaptation be treated as two separate entities?
Personally, I believe that they should. Movies are completely different from books. Movies are all about show not tell. Instead of describing the setting, characters, and everything else the movie shows them to you. It’s almost impossible to fit a thousand-page book into a hundred and twenty-page script. The movie would be almost eight hours long with direct adaptation! A few people forget that Hollywood is about one thing: MONEY! It’s a horrible business decision to create an eight-hour movie. Only diehard fans will go see it. Meaning that the chance of profit will decrease, a lot. No one could convince me to go see an eight-hour movie especially if I must pay to get in.
I’ve read tons of books that became movies. Partly because I took an adaptation class that required it. 99% of the time you’ll hear people say, “the book was better.” However, I’ve encountered a few books that don’t hold a candle to the movie. For example, Body heat and Double Indemnity. The movie, Body Heat, was a simple story about a woman using a man to kill her husband. The typical femme fatale. The movie twisted it to become smarter. Yes, smarter. You had to truly pay attention to catch the twist and turns.
Of course, there have been a few bad adaptations. Such as The Hunger Games and Fifty Shades of Grey. The fans of these movie were highly upset. But here is why they shouldn’t be: IT’S A MOVIE! It’s not the book, you’ve already read that. This is a new art form of the book. Imagine how many different opinions went into this adaptation. I believe we should just appreciate it for what it is, a movie. Personally, I’m a large fan of adaptations. I truly look forward to seeing what the director’s vision is. You should too.
– Taylar Berry
Oakland Arts Review 