The Young Post Feature
As I attempted to sit through the 1993 film Jurassic Park for the fifth time, I ended up deciding at some point that I just couldn’t get into it, switching it out once again for a different movie. Despite being directed by the great Steven Spielberg and showered in praise by a number of critics, I could not get myself to get into the world or watch it in its entirety. Perhaps it just wasn’t for me.
That is until I found a second-hand copy of the 1990 novel that it was based on, which was written by Michael Crichton (1942-2008). Suddenly, I found myself interested in its world, characters, and the whole concept of bringing dinosaurs back from extinction and its subsequent consequences, with the book ending up as one of the best that I’ve ever read. And it was here that I realised the different strengths and advantages a book can have over movies, regardless of whether or not they are an adaptation of a book, and why they are just better.
One great advantage that a book has over a movie is that it does not have a limited run-time, which enables its readers to get everything in detail and perhaps even a better structured story. Readers can take their time with a book and really absorb what its writer crafted over several pages and passages.
In terms of movie adaptations of novels, films may not always have the luxury of adapting everything that makes a book great onto the big screen. We may not get the same level of depth, while the characters and stories we got to know intimately over a few pages or a span of a few books in a series are reduced and cramped based on a movie’s run-time. Books simply have time on their side, which allows one to read at one’s own pace in greater detail.
A book can also have its readers use a very powerful tool: their imagination. Readers are not limited to what is just presented to them on screen as they become their own directors, cinematographers and even actors, among others. They themselves get to decide how a story will look as the words they read play out in their heads.
Limitless imagination also allows for moments on books that are either unadaptable or difficult to put on a big screen, to simply play out in our heads the way that they should, or perhaps even the way that the author intended it to be. Our imagination can therefore help elevate a story in a way that, in my opinion, a movie just can’t.
Immersion is another aspect that beats movies. Although movies can definitely envelop one in great sound design, visuals and special effects, and a great story, being able to read something and simultaneously picture it in one’s head can create a much more immersive experience. For me, it is certainly much easier to get lost and lose track of time with a great book when compared to just watching a movie. This is especially helped by the aforementioned point, one’s imagination, as readers take a more active role in seeing how a story plays out, placing themselves into the story as it unfolds.
Movies are a great form of entertainment and they certainly have their own merits. Despite this, there are things that just make books a lot better, namely through being able to read a story in full detail with depth at one’s own pace, the active use of one’s imagination, and a greater sense of immersion. Books have strengths that make up for some of the limitations that I find in movies and as a result, they can allow one to experience something greater.
