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Why The Books You Read Don’t Look The Same On TV

This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at UNCG chapter.

The adaptation of books into movies has always been a popular thing to do. However, recently it has become more and more popular and with that comes a lot of controversy among readers who are seeing their favorite book or book series on the tv screen. A lot of the comments include the movie or tv show not living up the audience’s expectations. For the avid readers that expect movies and tv shows to live up to their expectations, it is important to keep an open mind and realize that TV a whole different form of art. When you translate languages, things will get lost in translation because some things such don’t translate and the same goes for translating a book into a movie.

Of course there are some things that are inexcusable when it comes to makings a book into a movie. If a movie producer can’t get hair color right, they shouldn’t even attempt to make the movie. With these “inexcusables” as I call them aside, there are some things that are excusable.

A book is very introspective. It reveals the inner thoughts and feelings of the characters. A film is limited to it’s camera. It all depends on what the camera can show you. A lot of readers are disappointed because what they read in the book didn’t appear in the movie. A lot of the times it’s because that part in the book does not translate to film well.

Books are also very interpretive. The way you interpret the book may not be the same way someone else interprets the book. If a scene doesn’t look exactly like the way you imagined it in the book this might be the reason.

There are a whole lot more factors than these but for the sake of space and time we’ll stick with these. I hope this has widened your eyes as to why the books you read don’t look the same on your TV.

 

a writer and editor for the UNCG chapter of Her Campus.