What is better the written word, or the visual depiction of the written word? When it comes down to the book vs. film adaptation it really is a fine line between which medium is most suitable for audiences. It all comes down to personal choice, and of course the quality of both materials.
So what are the arguments for a book usually winning over the movie version?
1. In most cases the book was penned before the script. Therefore, the book is the original material, born out of creativity and the ability of the author to communicate a tale to their audience. It is an original piece of work, and due to its popularity becomes the reason a film adaptation is made. Simply a copy is always a copy regardless of form.
2. Books are not defined by hours, minutes, seconds and budgets. Readers have the freedom to start, stop and re-live tales over and over again at their leisure from start to end without wasting electricity or having to rewind sections to catch up. Instead a book gives one the option of picking up a tale and continuing it whenever the reader likes.
3. No other costs are required once a book is purchased unlike the movies. With the film people have to pay for a ticket to see the tale once, have to pay again to see it again, have to wait another 6 months for the DVD release then pay to either hire or buy a copy. With the book you buy it from a store or borrow it from the library for free then read it over and over again without paying another dime.
4. Reading can both be a private and communal activity. Readers can take a book anywhere and become so absorbed with concentration that the world disappears. They can also be read aloud sparking discussions, questions and thoughts between people acting as a rallying point of common interest. Film of course can do this as well but not until after it has finished showing, not an issue for books.
5. There is no right or wrong way to visualise characters, places and situations, when reading. An individual takes the words on the page and forms their own mental visual picture, a situation which can be horrific when a novel is transferred to the cinema if the wrong actor is cast or the wrong set is used.
6. Films become dated compared to novels which are timeless and not reliant on technological and cinematic advancements. This can therefore lead to remakes, judgement and rivalry within the fan base of both the films and the text.
7. When a piece of written fiction is adapted to the screen sometimes the best and most important sections of the narrative are removed, changed or re-worked for film. A narrating character may be indifferent so the movie can run in a linear real-time version or a character is added with the effect that the original narrative is only a ghost of its former self.
8. Type-casting can destroy a book especially when an audience sees not the character but the actor which can be incredibly frustrating and off-putting and alter the individual's imagined versions.
Then there is the flip side, where the film is of benefit to the novel and sometimes it is better. This can occur because
1. Reading is an acquired ability; it is not innate like spoken language as it is only a fairly recently developed skill in the evolution of humans. Nearly 40 million US adults are classified as illiterate which is one reason a movie can be so successful.
2. Some literature is simpler to understand on screen, this especially can be true for period titles and authors such as Austen, whose narratives are richer when played by characters visually instead of read due to the shift in modernised vocabulary.
3. Books can be used as the basis for a fantastic film plot which is completely unique and different from the original meaning and text eg. Apocalypse Now was based on Conrad's novella Heart Of Darkness, bringing a new generation of individuals a new adaptation and relevance to the original narrative.
4. The movie adaptation can be a catalyst for new readers to want to compare the visual to the book, spurring a revival and love of the original text and finding a new audience which was previously unaware.
5. Film adaptations like the written text can spur controversy and debate among the community and push new boundaries and ways of thinking in a modern audience.
6. Movies when directed well can offer a different perspective to the book and provide the audience with new ways to read the book.
7. When a popularised book becomes a film fans are interested in how the director has taken and played with the text to turn it into a feast for the visual and audible senses.
Both genres have their place and most of the time both book and film adaptations are complimentary, but we all have our preference which is the beautiful thing about creativity, it doesn't fit any specific moulds and provides us with options.