What's the benefit of reading a book when you can watch a movie based on the book instead?

Question

I'm an avid reader, but a friend of mine always argues with me that reading is a waste of time because many books have been made into movies. I think that reading has its own perks that a movie can't offer - like you use your imagination while you read to envision the characters, scenery, etc, and it's more interesting that way. What other benefits can you think of in regards to reading instead of watching a movie?

Answer 1

The limitations of the movie format restrict you to the physical, visual portions of the story, and you miss all the internal dialogue and emotional interplay that just can't be shown in the brief time span. I have many favorite books that could never translate into a movie because there's too much happening that's unseen. And the time restrictions leave out much of the story.
As an example, one of the parts of "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" that struck me hard and shows J.K. Rowling's talent is the scene at Gringot's bank, when Harry is shown the large amounts of gold his parents had put aside for him. In the movie (which is very well done), all you see is his eyes getting big at the sight of so much money when he's been living as if in poverty. But in the book, you get to be there when he is struck by a wave of anger and resentment, that all this has been sitting here while he was forced to wear hand-me-downs and broken glasses, and be treated like a second-class citizen. Then there is a moment of meanness and spiteful glee when he imagines rubbing his relatives' faces in his new wealth, followed by the weary, old-before-his-time realization that if they knew it was there, they'd get it somehow, and it's best to leave it there safe. These are real human emotions and reactions, and as they happen in mere moments, they can't make the transition to film. Hope that helps your debate! :)

Answer 2

Your mind is challenged more. You get more educated by reading and like you said having to use your imagination. Education prepares you for the real world. Also most movies don't tell the whole story, because if they did they would have to be atleast four hours long. The book ususally has a lot more details in it that you miss when you watch the film.
Even though the book is usually better than the movie, I am all for books being made into movies, even when the plot has been changed a bit. I never would have read some of the classics if I hadn't seen the great films first.

Answer 3

Very few movies can get inside a character's head so that the reader knows what the character is thinking or feeling or what motivates them. I like to read and watch movies and a book is more of an academic exercise which engages the reader much more than a movie which most people consider entertainment. The only movie which I consider better than the book was "Jaws" . The book contained some superfluous story lines that were stripped from the movie which made it a tighter, more enjoyable production.

Answer 4

Reading is nothing like watching a movie because 9 out of 10 times the people making the movie change everything from the book often for the worse. So even if you watch a movie supposedly based on a book, that's no indication or verification that it is the same--same plot, same characters, same theme--unless you've read the book and can compare.

Second I would say watching a movie is like watching one person's response/reaction to a book. It's personal. It's how they envision the characters. How they envision the setting. It may be completely unrecognizable from the book. It could in fact be a nightmare for an author to see his or her book 'ruined' in the process of making a movie. Sometimes they just don't get what makes a book great.

Third, there are a lot of enjoyable qualities of a book that cannot be interpreted on film. Books that feature internal thought processes or character development or dialogue. Things like that often get shredded in favor of action sequences--in some cases completely made up action sequences that have no relevance to the book.

Fourth, it's more emotionally satisfying, more personal to read a book. It's an experience in and of itself. You form a relationship, a friendship that you just can't get on the big screen.

Answer 5

It depends on the book, but books are much better than a movie, especially when film a great book to make a terrible movie. I go to movies because I enjoy them, but sadly, once I see a movie, I never see it again. Best of movies is that they are short and to read book is a long, long time.

Yet, there are books which I love and can't wait to turn the pages and hate when it comes to the end. The last two great novels I read where "Silence of the Lambs" and I was happy that the movie was wonderful. The other book "The Alienist" by Cab Carr when I could not stop reading it and was angry that it had finished.

Hope they will make a movie on "The Alienist" and hope it will be as lucky as what they did for "Silence of the Lambs."

Answer 6

some people do think that, but I am not one of them. I love reading books. If you don't read the book, you miss a lot of stuff and sometimes you don't even understand it. And when you watch the movie, that is how you see the characters when you read the book and if you just read the book u get to imagine what they look like and then you can watch the movie and laugh at how they dont look like that at all! lol....because some movies totally mess up the book!

Answer 7

As Leslie Burke said in Bridge to Terabithia: "Keep your mind wide open." It may sound cheesey, but it's true. There are thousands of possibilities if you use your imagination. Tell your friend that she is wrong.
Let me guess, she is one of those lazy people who watch the movie instead of reading th book and consider themselves experts at the book. Well, they're not. For example, read a book and have your friend watch the movie. Ask her tons of questions that the answers aren't in the movie. She will see that it is best to read the book too. Movies are great if they are made from books, but people get lazy and say that the movie was great and don't even bother to read the book. Then they say that they know everything about it, but they don't. For instance, I read Bridge to Terabithia last week for the first time because the movie was coming out. So, I read it and on Friday I found out that all of us had to read it in language arts. I wasn't too happy because I just read it. Well, guess what? Many people know already about the tragedy at the end because they either saw the movie, or a friend who saw it told them. Now that just ruins the movie and the book. I wish people read more these days.

Also,

Movies cannot show the characters in first person view very well.

Movies cannot show thoughts.

Sometimes movies have to get good reviews so they add in something funny. For instance, in Bridge to Terabithia (the movie), Jess has to wear his sister's old sneakers which are girly. Now, that doesn't happen in the book. Also, he loses his dad's keys in Terabithia and has to find them. That does not happen in the book either. They merely do this to make the movie more appealing and make it seem like they face more bumps in the road.


Here are some differences between books and movies:

1. In the movie, Hoot, Beatrice looks pretty. But in the book she is not.

2. In Bridge To Terabithia the movie, Leslie has longer hair than she is supposed to. In the book she has shorter hair than most boy's.

3. In Harry potter and the Goblet of Fire, we find that at the beginning there is some old guy that gets killed. In the book, that part is explained more throughly.

4. In the Goblet of Fire the movie, hagrid seems to love a giant headmistress. In the book, she gets mad at him for insulting her and they break up.

5. In The Prisoner of Azkaban the movie, they do not explain why the shrieking shack was built. In the book, they do.

Answer 8

Best Selection Watch Movies Online

Answer 9

the books are always better than the movie, when they turn a book into a movie they usually leave out the best parts or make it seem stupid, I read the book Mr. Murder by Dean Koontz and loved it, then Lifetime made a movie about it and totally ruined it. Books don't have to censor anything either so it makes the context so much better.

Answer 10

Nothing on the silver screen can compare with the images our own imaginations conjure when reading a good book. We are better able to relate to characters because our minds tend to construct them according to our own experiences with others.

Additionally, quite often books contain so much inner dialogue that simply cannot be conveyed in a film.

Have you ever watched a cartoon after reading the comic it was based on and thought, "They do NOT sound like that!". Imagination is a wonderful thing.