First, I would like to say that I have made it through the first week of classes of my Sophomore year. So, high five for that! I am quite happy to be back but am not enjoying the piles of homework forming as I speak (or write in this case). Oh well, the price for education (on top of the ever cumulating debt *shudders*). Overall it has been an amazing week. The new classes and professors are what I look forward to every day.
It is one particular professor I would like to address today. I am taking an introduction to Shakespeare course, which you all know by my gushing this summer. All I can say is the professor is AMAZING! I mean simply perfect. Ever time I go to his class it makes me smile little a giddy little girl. A few of my friends and I were discussing how his has the enthusiasm of a golden retriever puppy chasing a tennis ball.
Anyway, the other day we were discussing drama and whether movies are more like plays or novels. Many of the people in the class felt as though movies were more like plays but a more important question was brought up. That is, does seeing the movie prevent you from reading the book? I realized how correct this feeling was for me and it made me a little sad to think that a movie would hold me back from enjoying a novel.
Take Harry Potter, for example, I read the books long before the movies came out, and therefore had a clear picture in my mind of what the characters/world looked like. Going back and reading them again, as I often do, I continue to see the characters how I pictured them the first time around. Sure, some aspects of the movies find their way into my imagination but this is blurred or mixed with my own perceptions as a reader. I do not know if this would be the same had I watched the movies first. I feel as though the movie pictures would be tattooed into my mind forever.
Take the Game of Thrones series. A wonderfully created series that is very similar to the books, or so my friends say I haven't read the books. When I do read them, I don't know how well it is going to go. I feel as though I will skim through the chapters because, let's face it, the secret is out. Movies and TV series are spoilers. They should have caution tape wrapped around them because they ruin a book for me. I have such a difficult time enjoying the reading experience after watching a movie; the spoilers make the story boring, the characters shove my own imagination out of the way, and the world is almost too clean and perfect.
Maybe one day I will get over these feelings but for now I will try my hardest to read first and watch later. I would like to know what you all think. Can you read a book after seeing the movie and how much does the movie color you perception of the book?
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