The Dilemma of Readers on Movie Adaptations

I’d like it to be a movie, but then I don’t want to.

I believe this is one thought that will slip into some readers’ minds while/after reading a certain book; the “how would this look as a movie” or “this would be awesome as a movie” or “this actor/actress would be awesome for this character” and similar.

Then the dilemma appears, of whether or not they would like it to be adapted into a movie or not. One of the main reasons for this is, of course, because the book is always better than the movie, which is true enough, and another reason is that “it would ruin the book.”

But first, what is it with wanting a movie adaptation anyway? I think the reason for this is while the imagination is groovy and all because you can picture the characters and settings yourself (with the guide of the descriptions the book), sometimes it is still nice to actually see an actual image. We are, after all, “visual beings.”

Also, one thing that happens when books are adapted into films is that it becomes “mainstream” to the point of annoying. Countless people will start quoting it, make memes about it, and other stuff that didn’t happen when the book was only known to the readers.

There is also something that can be taken from film adaptations, and that is: expectations. As with other things in life, this also holds true for books-to-movies. This is especially true when the adaptation doesn’t quite meet what the reader was imagining while reading the book (which is to say, most of the time). This is also why it is kinda difficult to be a reader watching a movie adaptation, because the expectations are already set before the movie even begins (hell, even as far back as when it was still in development) and it’s hard not to have that mentality that you’ve read the book and crap they didn’t include the part where…!

While some (most) adaptations fail to hit the mark, those that do are like a reward for those who read the book.