191. I forgot to mention yesterday that we went to see Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince Tuesday night.
It was a momentous occasion. I think it was the first time all four of us went to the movies together. I’ve been with our son numerous times. Misty and I took him to the theater a few times before our daughter was born. Misty and I took our daughter and some friends to see Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium for her birthday a couple of years ago. I’m pretty sure this was the first time, though, that all of us went together. My mom and sister came along also. We all stood around outside the theater for a few minute after the film to discuss the various details.
I really enjoyed the movie. My son said it was his favorite of the HP movies. I’m still stuck on Prisoner of Azkaban, but I really liked this one. If you haven’t seen it, don’t go expecting the book.
Why we go to a movie based on a book and expect to see our imaginations on the screen?
Some people seem to have a particular problem keeping them apart. Before seeing HP6, I heard from more than one person of details from the novel that were omitted from the movie. Most of them were indignant that things like memories and magical battles would not make the final version of the film. My kids decided it was important to repeat these missing elements any time we talked about seeing the movie. It became very irritating.
Why can we not separate book from movie? They are after all two completely different media. A movie can engage your brain, but it does not usually leave much to the imagination.
Books are all about imagination. The characters, the settings, the action itself. The author lays out all of the elements, some in great detail, but it is still up to the reader to imagine their actual appearance. More often than not, what we imagine outdoes anything Hollywood could ever afford to put on the screen.
I love movies. I rarely go, for one reason or another, but I love film as a story-telling medium. The moving pictures of a beautiful landscape or a moment of unspoken tension stirs emotions that the written word can never find. The sights and sounds of the cinema pull me into the screen and toss me into the drama or levity of the characters’ lives.
Books possess another advantage over movies. No amount of facial expression or body language can give us insight into the minds and motivations of a character. An author can tell us exactly what is running through his antagonists mind at any moment. Books give us depth of emotion that no amount of acting can convey.
My point is this, books and movies are different. Let’s keep them separate. They can tell the same stories, but they cannot, and should not, tell them in exactly the same way. Or even tell the exact same story for that matter.
Each medium has its positives, just as each has its drawbacks. When you read a novel, you give it your own interpretation based on your life experiences and your imagination. We each create our own world in which these common characters play out the author’s narrative. That’s exactly what the filmmakers are doing. Only, they get to show their interpretation to the world. And make many millions of dollars while doing so.
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