Do Books Deserve to Become Movies or TV Shows?
Remember 2014, when almost every Young Adult novel was being brought to life and onto the big screens at your local movie theatre? What a time! Book-to-movie adaptations have been quite popular for the past few years, however, they don’t seem to be the best way to bring a story to life due to their multiple flaws in the process, and they ultimately end up disappointing many devoted fans. On the other hand, many literary works are being turned into television series, such as Game of Thrones, or more recently, Marvel televisions series such as Wandavision. They all work, however the bigger question is, which adaptation would fit better for books, movies or television?
Book-to-movie adaptations are a more popular choice for authors to bring their books to life and ultimately, a better way to get the story out into the public. I would be lying if I said that I didn’t adapt at least one personality trait from a movie character. Movies based on books allow for a much wider audience to be included in the story without having to read any context about it beforehand. They also paint out the entire setting of the story instead of taking up half of a page's worth of space describing every single detail, making it easier to visualize and proves that book to movie adaptations are versatile for everyone. However, there are many things about movie adaptations that can hinder the actual experience of it. The major flaw is how many vital details are cut from the movie, which can eventually lead to missing the book's essential plot. This can not only alter the accuracy of the film, however, it can also alter the fan’s perception and opinion of the movie. An example of this is in The Maze Runner, where the lead protagonist, Thomas and his love interest, Teresa, did not have their telepathic abilities in the film like they did in the book. Directors also play a huge role in how the movie depicts the books, based on the decisions they make, it may or may not fit with the writer’s vision. This can be seen in the two Percy Jackson movies, where the director had completely changed the book series’ plot, and as a person on Tumblr put it, “added a dash of Greek mythology for the hell of it.”
Another method of bringing books to life is a book-to-television show adoption, which has been on the rise in more recent years. The main advantage of these adaptations is how well they can illustrate the book and it’s plot, as each episode can go more into detail of the plot in the book and be more accurate. This allows for more inclusion of characters, plot twists, and key details in the books that can contribute to its accuracy. Cassandra Clare’s The Mortal Instruments was first adapted into a movie, but after a shocking 13% rating given by Rotten Tomatoes, it was adapted into a television show called Shadowhunters. The show had performed much better and implemented the plot more efficiently than the movie had done. The downside to this, however, is that not all books have the scope to be made into a television series. For instance, the Harry Potter series works better as a film because it’s scope was smaller, meaning that since there were many recurring characters and the plot was simple and straightforward, a movie can easily depict an entire book. Books with bigger scopes, meaning constantly new characters being added to the book’s plot and a complex plot, would benefit from being made into a television series as the plot can be spread out over the span of multiple episodes. Another downfall to creating books into television shows is how the plot may be unnecessarily dragged out to the extent where it may lose viewers. In short, television series may be more feasible for authors looking to bring their books to life, but there are many precautions that must be taken in order to succeed.
All in all, both television shows and film adaptations of books are great ways to reach a story out to a bigger audience, as well as give fans another reason to keep reading an author’s works. Yet, the debate continues. What do you think, do you prefer book-to-movie adaptations, or book-to-tv shows adaptations?
By Fizza Chaudhry.
