Nothing quite beats the feeling of opening a book, the book one searched for the entire hour spent at the book store, the book one specifically chose to set the tone for the next few days or weeks. One opens this book and throws the self into a new world, a more intriguing world, a world worth living in; one becomes so attached to this world that they would give anything to be a part of it. Flash forward to a year later, their precious world is becoming a major motion picture, and they are ecstatic, they’ll finally be able to see their beloved universe. After six months of anticipation, one leaves the theater at 2 a.m. after waiting in line for the midnight showing. Their head is hung low with calamity, and the only thought flashing through their mind is, “It was nothing like I had imagined.” Turning books into movies almost never has an admirable outcome, yet Hollywood seems to think it’s an amazing idea no matter how many failures accompany it. Books have a certain charisma movies lack, they have a world all their own that should only be imitated by one who is dedicated to details.
Authors tend to think their books will be glorious movies until they actually see the movie; the authors hate the movie, and lovers of the book do as well. For example, "Mary Poppins" was a tragically beautiful book, but the movie was upbeat and sappy; the movie took an in-depth story about a girl's difficult time growing up with an alcoholic father and made it into a musical with dancing penguins. However, "Mary Poppins" was not the only box office boom that was hated by those who truly matter. Take a look at Alan Moore, he hates his entire collection of book to film adaptions. With that being said, he absolutely abhorred the movie from his book "Value For Vendetta" so much that he actually had his name removed from the film credits, and those who loved the book truly despised the movie as well; they claim that it strays wildly from the novel which is annoying for any detail-loving fan.
Not only are the movies generally hated by both the fans and authors, but occasionally the movies are galaxies away from the actual novel. "Pride and Prejudice" gathered millions of readers seeing as its a literary classic; the novel is over a hundred years old and is still read in schools today. The original making of the movie went fairly well, but now they are putting zombies in it for kids to be more “engaged” in the story. As a literary lover, one would be completely appalled that Hollywood is tainting the perfection that is "Pride and Prejudice." While this would gain the attention of teenagers, the novel does not have zombies, and therefore zombies should not be incorporated in the film. "Pride and Prejudice" is not the only film being torn apart by movie producers. The "Divergent" trilogy, while loved by millions in theatres, is worlds away from the book. The books have an extraordinary viewpoint of a girl trying to fight her way through a totalitarian government to free not only herself, but her people as a whole. The movie focuses on a few key points dealing with overthrowing the government, but the detail it puts into her relationship steals the spotlight from the actual objective of the series. Distracting viewers from the big picture delegates their thinking; they become more invested in whether or not she’ll kiss the boy instead of whether or not she’ll succeed in her mission.
Books have a special attachment to them in that they are a world all the readers own. Reading about Harry Potter’s magical experiences in the Wizarding world has a special place in millions of hearts. The movies were exceptional, yet some readers still find themselves wishing to see the scenes that didn’t quite make it to set. Scenes they read and reread hundreds of times because they could just picture exactly how it looked, and felt, and even smelled. That feeling, the one that makes a reader feel alive, makes the whole movie worthless without that one scene that may seem small and unimportant, but made the reader feel exalted.
With that being said, it may be a little easier to understand why those who love the books hate the movies. It is not about being a hipster who has read the book first: it’s about the feeling so many people miss out on because watching the movie is easier. Movie watchers miss out on all the little moments that make the bigger moments worth while, like how in "Great Expectations," Pip was haunted by a criminal act to aid a felon as a child, and how it makes being called upon by Mrs. Havisham such a surprise. Little moments full of happiness and delight tend to make the books infinitely better than the movies, and the detail of these moments never seem to make it to the big screen.
