Pros vs. Cons
Books or movies, which is better? This question has been an “old-age debate,” a go-to discussion topic, and a classic conversation starter between fanbase members and enjoyers of those forms of entertainment alike since the rise of when novel adaptations began to reach the screens. But, before we get into that a few notables examples of early novel adaptations from animation to in-person acting are Cinderella by George Melies (1899), based on Brother Grimm’s fairy tale and The Wizard of Oz (1939) by Victor Fleming, based on the 1900s children’s book, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by Lyman Frank Baum. Now, going back on topic, the point of this discussion stems from how there are strengths and weaknesses from when a story is told in the form of a book or film. Nevertheless, the popularity of this discussion is also a result of how the topic itself is subjective and non-controversial for the most part.
The Pros of Books
To start off, there’s no denying that books often have the edge when it comes to a storyline. Hence, the given assumption of books automatically being better to begin with. After all, unlike movies that are on a limited one to three hour time-frame, books have the benefit of being able to develop their storyline plot as well as build character development. Through those factors, it allows for the central idea within the books to be executed in a way that is cohesive yet conveys a meaningful message that causes it to be more fulfilling in comparison to movies that may need to condense that storyline. When asking students, which storyline they prefer in a book or movie. A junior named Frank Pham said, “It’s fifty-fifty. Sometimes the movie copies exactly from the source material, down to the quotes from the characters. For example, the Outsiders’ movie adaptation is 1:1. Sometimes, movies like All Quiet on the Western Front steer away from the main storyline to add some more interesting cinematic scenes. In conclusion, I usually prefer the original storyline, but if the movie changes it a little bit and the change is good, then I prefer the movie.”
The Pros of Movies
On the other hand, when it comes to visuals itself, movies are better on that end. That is due to the fact that by being able to utilize visual and auditory elements like cinematography and music, paired with dialogue, acting, production. It creates an atmosphere that allows the reader to be more immersed in the movies. A senior named Lain Nguyen goes on to comment, “Most of the time, the setting and visual appeal of films matches what I imagined in my mind when reading.” Moreover, it allows important scenes and expressions in them from characters to be presented in a way that is more effective to understand or sympathize with, which may be more difficult to do with words.
Overall Preference
In the end, the general opinion of our peers seems to be leaning towards a neutral viewpoint. Thus, from what was drawn from this is how books and movies despite being forms of storytelling should not be compared because of how different they are it’s not fair to make comparisons when each one relay/has different strengths. After all, the appeal of books comes from how it’s an “internal” imaginative process that leaves interpretation up to the readers and allows them to have their own pacing on where to start or end. On the other hand, movies are more visually or in other words an “external” interpretation made for viewers to consume in a shorter amount of time. If anything, it seems to come down to one’s preference and what format they enjoy when it comes to storytelling.
