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Notes From an Amateur Writer #47

This Blog series is an exercise in creative writing. Sometimes expressed in short story form, sometimes as a journal, or just my thoughts written down. It is a nursery of sorts for the stories that are on their way, or yet to be written.

This is post 15 in @dragosroua's January 30 day writing challenge.

Books vs Movies: Who Wore it Better?

I first became interested in the art of storytelling through the medium of film. I was never an avid reader as a young child – and I do regret this – and perhaps due to me being a predominantly visual learner movies were the gateway I used to enter this world. And it wasn't until I started to read Philip K Dick's work that I finally found an author that appealed to me enough for me to make a concerted effort to overcome my reading difficulties.

The novel of his that I chose to read first was Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? I chose this book because of my interest in the film Bladerunner. I love this film. From the very first time I saw it I was captivated. As I watched those 'outsiders' in their desperate attempts to meet their creator and become human, or more human-like, I felt a sense of intrigue that I had not felt from any film prior to that. Mind you I was only 10 years old when that film was released, so that shows you where my psyche was at at such a young age. I was watching human-like creations trying to understand who they really were. What their value was. Why they even existed. I didn't know the term at the time, but I was watching an unfolding tale of the human condition playing out through the visual medium. And I was hooked.

It was probably another ten years before I picked up a copy of Philip K Dick's novel. I found it at my local library, and as I read the blurb I must have recalled the connection between that book I held in my hands and Bladerunner. I was curious to know how it compared to the film. To see how a movie looks when it takes the form of words.

That was my first foray into the murky and contentious world of book adaptations. A topic that has produced a lot of discussion, and a lot of debate, and generated many strong opinions. I personally don't have a strong general opinion, preferring to take each case on it's merits. Although I can see that if one were keeping score, it does appear that books make by far the better version of the story.

With the case of Bladerunner vs Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? I was struck by the realisation that a complete comparison was not an easy task. They are not quite the same story. Yet the film is based on PKD's story. That much is true, so a comparison can be made, as difficult as it may be. And to me they both work, they are both brilliant portrayals of the story, and bring varying parts of it to life through the strengths of their particular medium.

The book goes into far more detail – as books do – about topics glossed over, or even left out altogether from the film. A major character in the book has taken on a different, but equally important role in the movie. The electric animals, of which the books title alludes to are missing from the film, with just the brief mention of the owl that Rachel has with her at the corporation's headquarters. And so too is Mercerism. Yet the core theme is still there. The story is still effectively the same. Yet I have an inability to choose between them.

I have the same dilemma with Fight Club. The film is brilliant. I am in no doubt about that. But the book offers a read, and a literary style so unique that I had to concede that yet again I could not split them. They both work, for reasons that relate to the medium they have used, and the way in which they utilised it.

But normally things are not so cloudy. Normally I can make a clear decision. If I had to take sides then I would steer more towards the books being the better version of the story. I know that translating a whole book to film means making drastic changes, editing out large chunks, and this does have an impact. If done well then that change shouldn't matter. But often it is doesn't work well.

So what do you think?

Do you have a firm opinion on this matter?

Do you prefer one over the other?

I would love to hear about some examples so feel free to share what you have noticed, and how you formed your opinion.

Images from unsplash.com and used with permission.

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