The Ocean of Interpretation

I joined the Cinema club my freshman year, took photography my senior year, and, as much as I suck at it, drawing, painting & sculpting have been a “sub-passion” to my writing. Coming from an extensive history of visual and written art experience, it’s obvious there is an ongoing discussion. Which art is better? The visual? Or the word?

Books are an amazing source of knowledge, and the best part is that they don’t have to come from the Zzzz section of the library. But it’s when these wonderful stories of triumph, honor, and love are adapted to the big screen that controversy arises. 

Movies are a gift to us all, as books be, but they are not the same type of art. So, when I hear people complaining that the movie isn’t better than the book (or vice versa) it makes me want to tell them the following:

In any given book the words an author chooses are vital. They are carefully crafted to inspire a certain image in the reader, but alas, the interpretative wind steers our sail in a unique direction. On these journeys we don’t always have company, but we start staking our beliefs like anchors in the ocean bed, and hold everyone accountable for straying from our current. The world this author created becomes ours. It takes shape in our scope of the world. 

Then the one thing most readers want happens. The movie is in production. Then post-production. And finally the release date arrives. We sit in comfy, odd-smelling chairs, prop our feet up (bitch when someone sits in that chair while the rest of row is empty,) and finally, the movie plays. After a few laughs, some awes, and clapping from the hardcore fans, we walk out of the theater with our review spilling out of every orifice. 

NOW HOLD UP! Is what I would say to that friend, that also happens to be me at times. 

The truth of the matter when the book is transformed into a movie, most readers miss the fact that this is an INTERPRETATION. Readers tend to judge the film based on what their view of this world is. They forget this world is not their sole creation and base judgement on how close their world was brought to the screen.

Now, I don’t argue that crucial things being changed, scenes presented out of order, and such are okay, because they are NOT! But the movie can only truly be appreciated if you detach yourself from the book and realize that this movie is a sole work of art.

Our ships are important, I know, but we all have to step on the ‘common’ dry land sometimes.