I have always been of the opinion that one should be very careful in watching movie adaptation of novels. Unless the movies are of the highest quality they tend to lessen the whole impact of the novel.
When we read a novel we form a mental picture of the story and setting. This creation of the mental picture feeds off all the stories,novels,poems,anecdotes etc we have previously read.
The extent of this creation is only limited by our imagination. When we watch a movie adaptation of the same story our imagination tends to get severely constricted by the imagination of the director. I mean no longer are you able to think on your own. The director shows you how it is.
For example, recently, I read the book 'The Woman in White', a novel set in the 1850s England. Its a masterpiece of Gothic Literature. Two scenes in particular are memorable. One of them, I later found out, is one of the most famous scenes in Victorian Literature. After finishing the book I thought of just checking out if there are any movie adaptations and found one done by BBC. It begins by the famous scene I have mentioned above. I had to stop immediately. It was nothing like I imagined it in my mind. Not wanting to spoil that mental image I did not continue further.
This image in the mind is something I feel should be protected at all means. Don't let movies spoil them for you.
When we read a novel we form a mental picture of the story and setting. This creation of the mental picture feeds off all the stories,novels,poems,anecdotes etc we have previously read.
The extent of this creation is only limited by our imagination. When we watch a movie adaptation of the same story our imagination tends to get severely constricted by the imagination of the director. I mean no longer are you able to think on your own. The director shows you how it is.
For example, recently, I read the book 'The Woman in White', a novel set in the 1850s England. Its a masterpiece of Gothic Literature. Two scenes in particular are memorable. One of them, I later found out, is one of the most famous scenes in Victorian Literature. After finishing the book I thought of just checking out if there are any movie adaptations and found one done by BBC. It begins by the famous scene I have mentioned above. I had to stop immediately. It was nothing like I imagined it in my mind. Not wanting to spoil that mental image I did not continue further.
This image in the mind is something I feel should be protected at all means. Don't let movies spoil them for you.
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