Books vs. Movies: Two Different Ways to Tell a Story
Hello!
Movies and Books are pretty different, but also very similar. They both tell a story, entertain us, and are some great ways to pass the time. There are other ways of telling stories too. Art, poetry, dance, music… All of these tell stories, but how do they tell a story differently? Today, I’m mainly going to be focusing on movies and books.
After discussing this with my friends and family, we came up with some interesting conclusions:
Books are able to be most any length. Movies have a limit of two or three hours, but books can be as long or as short as they want. I’m very happy to read a book that takes me days or weeks to finish, because it’s easy to put down and take a break from reading. Movies, on the other hand, aren’t as easy to pause, continue with your day, and then start watching it again. (Although TV series with episodes work well for doing this)
When reading a book, you picture everything a little differently than other readers. Movies have the advantage of visuals. Every character and setting looks the same to every person who watches it. I don’t know if this is just me, but reading action scenes can get a little confusing. When watching a movie, it’s easier to see what is happening.
One topic that was brought up was the fact that movies are able to evoke emotions faster than books. In a movie, you are able to become emotionally invested in the characters in just an hour or two. For books, it may take longer.
Most people I know enjoy either reading or watching movies, or even both! There are people who don’t enjoy reading, but most people enjoy watching movies or TV shows.
And now onto the topic of TV shows… I actually really like TV shows. Like I said before, it’s easy to watch an episode and then take a break. That’s probably the main reason why I like TV shows so much. Since TV shows don’t have as much of a time limit as full length movies do, the pacing is a lot more similar to how it is in books. TV shows are able to have the visuals and audio that movies have, but the pacing that books have. I consider them the happy medium.
One thing I noticed was the differences with subplots in books and movies. After finishing Stranger Things, and then trying to sum it up to one of my cousins, I realized just how complicated it is. There are lots of characters and subplots.
When I’m reading a books with lots of subplots, sometimes I’m not as excited for one subplot as I am for the other. While watching Stranger Things, whenever it would switch to a different plot, I didn’t think twice about it. I didn’t think to myself, I want to know what happens to the other characters. Not this one. This might just be Stranger Things, but I feel like it’s something worth noting.
What do you think? Do you prefer movies or books? (or maybe both!) Until next time!
-Hannah
8 comments
It’s really hard to choose between books and movies, but I can say that I’m not a huge fan of TV shows — can’t stand the suspense!
Oh yes! The cliffhangers on TV shows are horrible!
Ooh, I loved this! I like both movies and books, and I’m not sure I could choose which I like more. 😅 I don’t watch a lot of TV shows because it’s hard for me to find something I like, but I definitely agree with you about how they’re a good medium between books and movies. I also love Stranger Things! Who’s your favorite character?
Thank you! Hmm… I really liked Steve’s arc, and by the third season, he’s really funny. It’s a tie between Steve and Dustin XD
SAME! Steve and Dustin are my favorites!!!
They are hilarious together!
Jordan Peterson had an interesting take on this. His explanation is something like this.
Movies are typically 90-120 minutes long because Hollywood thought that the average attention span was that long. They didn’t think people wanted super deep and subtle plots or extended character development.
Those complex plots and slow character developments are hallmarks of classics, such as “Le Miserables”, or “Crime and Punishment”. However, those don’t translate into easily digestible two hour movies.
However, with the advent of streaming services like Netflix (and long form podcasts) people are realizing that the average person has a much deeper and longer attention span than previously thought. (Partly due to learning styles… say if, your learning style was visual or auditory, you were out of luck up until recently because the only long form stories came in written form, unless you could pay a poet to recite Homer!)
So now, long form TV shows like “Stranger Things”, or “Breaking Bad” can take their time to develop characters over 50-60 episodes (5 seasons) or you can sit and listen to a 4 hour Hardcore History podcast and not even realize it’s been 4 hours!
This is a great thing for story telling because the hurdle for audio and visual learners has been overcome by technology. (Not all people are genetically pre-disposed to high reading comprehension.)
Interesting stuff… yet a good story, whether it is a book, long form TV show, a 2 hour movie, or a 6 hour podcast is going to reflect the complexity of life and then it will find success.
Nice thoughts. I enjoy watching our shows and listening to podcasts together!
These were some super interesting points! It’s especially interesting to see how telling stories, mostly with movies, tv shows, and podcasts, is evolving.