Books vs. Movies: Adaptations Take Hollywood by Storm

Author and film expert William Costanzo reported that about one third of all movies, especially those for teenagers, are adapted from novels (Reading with Movies). These movies try, but do not always succeed at capturing the essence of a novel, although both book and movie versions of storytelling have their upsides and downsides.

“I feel passive when I’m watching a movie; whereas, I am engaged when reading. At the same time, I can watch a movie in two hours, while a book can take me twelve hours,” said North librarian Eve Diel.

For teenagers with busy schedules, reading for 12 hours seems too time-consuming, but part of the story gets lost in translation from print to the big screen.

“[Hollywood] cuts out the essential building blocks that help transition to different scenes,” said sophomore Emily Baughman.

Sometimes, the changes from books are small, such as a different colored cat or a contrasting hair color than specified by the author. Other times, changes can have a major effect on the outcome of the story. Diel noticed that in an Agatha Christie movie, the murderer was switched to suit the story.

The argument can be made that movies change to be more intriguing to a target audience, rather than their novel counterparts. Some people prefer movies because of this.

“If I have no motivation to read, I just won’t read. Movies are more catchy,” said freshman Vincent Xu.

In movies, emotions can be seen clearly as they appear on actors’ faces. Books rely on a sense of imagination and require readers to have their own interpretations of plot scenes and characters’ thoughts and feelings, though some say the individual interpretations are what make reading fun. Often movie adaptations must balance staying true to the book and making plot understable and easy to convey through slight changes. Obviously, some movies do better than others at trying to stay with the print.

“The Hunger Games did a good job because it did not cut out too much plot,” said Baughman.

Adaptations are repeatedly criticized by avid readers for adding or subtracting characters and plot. The Percy Jackson series, Divergent series, The Maze Runner series, Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, The Fault in Our Stars, Paper Towns, and Mockingjay Part 1 are among the movies that have altered the story before hitting the theatres.

One plus of these films is that they have drawn interest to teen novels and encouraged more reading among students.

“[Movies] bring knowledge of books to a wider audience,” said Diel.

Before I Fall, The Zookeeper’s Wife, The Shack, and The Sense of an Ending, are all movies coming out this month that are adapted from books. All of these books can be found at North’s library or at Thornhill.

by Madeline Fischer, staff writer