Apr 1, 2020
Books, Movies, Opinions
I see people all the time complaining about how the movie was nothing like the book or how terrible the movie represented the book, but why do we have such strong opinions on the subject?
I suppose it is because the book came first and so it gets priority. But what if the movie came before the book? Would people still argue the book is better? Perhaps it is more of a personal preference than one or the other. On my side of the topic, I like the movies better. And I do acknowledge my friends’ responses with “Have you even read the books?” No, no I haven’t. And before you say that I am biased for that or lazy, I reason that I have a mental disorder known as “attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder” or “ADHD.” Which means that I struggle sitting still or in one place. Reading those long books is something I have an extremely hard time doing. And with that, I don’t remember as much of the story otherwise. With movies, I am more able to watch it as my eyes watch every detail and keep me busy. And maybe even that too is my personal preference. I suppose deaf people prefer the book while people looking for a sleepover would choose the movie.
With a book, there is no limit to what story it can tell, but with movies, there are limitations. Even with modern special effects, producers and editors can only create so much similarity. And what happens if following the book exactly how it was written would be the film? There are formulas and methods for films leaving an audience in suspense. If the movie doesn’t get good ratings by following the book, then what good did that do? They didn’t make as much money as they could’ve if they just broke the script and did their take on the plot; it could still start and/or end the same and still be a good movie. I know I couldn’t recreate a book into a movie, so I don’t judge those for using their talents in doing something I cannot do nearly as well.
The reality is this, we all have our own opinions. While you can make facts and points to argue your side of the debate, it doesn’t make your opinion any higher than mine.
The data you use to argue your side of the argument can be very true, but not accurate. Perhaps there is a better way to present this. Suppose you conduct a survey the shows that 80% of people prefer the books over the movies. While the research you conducted may have truly been 80% of people, you only had to ask five people and get four of them to say that books are better. While your data is true, it is not accurate enough to represent and argue for you with any credibility. But it still all comes down to a personal opinion of our choosing.
