BOOKS V MOVIES

Do you prefer books or movies? The debate is out there and no conclusion can be found. Let’s explore both sides of the argument and explore the two options while I will attempt to stay unbiased.

Now the plus side to reading a story in a book is that you are giving the back stories and information about the character that you wouldn’t otherwise see in a movie. You are left to your own imagination to picture the world and the characters of the story. I also love how in a book you can really get an understanding of the people and why they do the things they do. Another good thing about books is you can really have a storyline that has a twist at the end. You really might not have seen it coming because the character isn’t going through the entire story with the “shifty eyes”. Good books have a way of changing you. Making you feel something tangible. Giving you, the reader, life revelations. With access to the entire story, you are really able to embrace the people and story. For an example, when I read Game of Thrones, (spoiler alert!) I literally mourned the death of Ned Stark. I was soooo attached to him that for a whole year after I got to the part where he dies in book one I was unable to go on in the series. I eventually ended up reading them up until where he left off . . . can we get the next book soon please George R. R. Martin?

Okay now let’s explore the world of movies/television. The visual world of the media if done properly can be mind-blowing. With all the advancements in technology and filmmaking, a well done movie can literally bring a world to life. Throw in the proper actors and you will begin to believe. Take for instance, Lord of the Rings. There isn’t a such place as the Shire yet, they made the set in New Zealand look so real that you can believe that a place like that can exist! Peter Jackson did such a fantastic job getting Middle Earth to look like how I visualized the book and he stayed relatively close to the actual storyline. Great job! Another good movie is Avatar. While you watched Avatar, it was magic. The blue-ray version of that movie literally transported me away and I believed. I wanted to be blue too. Great movies like books also have a way of moving you emotionally. I still remember the scenes clearly from Schindler’s List. The right movie has the inability to show life on those things we don’t always want to see, but need to in order to understand life.

Now the downsides. In regards to books, the sad reality is that people are no longer reading. I hear some people say that it is a waste of their time and efforts. Now if our founding fathers can fight a war and build a country . . . I think modern people can make an effort to crack open the pages of a book. Think about it like this. This country was founded on the ideals of the Greeks and the Romans who were VERY literate. I always think of the Greek word αρετε, which translates into excellence in battle and rhetoric. Rhetoric was a key part of life. What good is a warrior who is unable to excel in speech? In order to excel in speech, you need to be well read and educated. Values that I believe are being lost in the high speed, impatient world of modern technology. Then in regards to movies that are created from books, they too often skip over the important messages and symbolism that are found in the pages of the various works. Not only do they breeze through the general storyline, they are often “Hollywoodized” so that they are more entertaining and dumbed down for the general public. This reminds me of the general public when they can to see Shakespeare plays in Shakespearean times. They were often referred to as groundlings that lacked intelligence and would drool while watching the plays. What happened is that we are catering to entertain these modern day groundlings and losing the substance. You watch a movie or television show without violence or sexuality recently? Didn’t think so.

So what do you guys think? Books or movies? As much as I prefer the pages of a good book, I do also enjoy watching a good movie. My vote however is for books. I grew up a book worm that would voraciously tear into a book and lose myself in its pages unless I got to the end. I once spent two days glued to the pages of a 1500 page novel because I just couldn’t put the book down. I know that some people think that they can’t find a book they like but I believe that there’s a book for anyone. Comment below and present your arguments for whether you prefer books/movies! Let’s hear them!