TO READ OR TO WATCH, THAT IS THE QUESTION

ABSTRACT

No, it is not about Shakespeare’s Hamlet. In this article we will try to figure out with no less pressing question if it is really possible to substitute reading by watching. Every year the level of technology constantly improves, which allows making a movie or series very fascinating show. Nowadays reading faces with a big challenge because there are so many people who prefer substitute reading fiction by movies which are based on these books. Is it really possible to make a full-fledged acquaintance with fiction by means of movie?

АННОТАЦИЯ

Нет, речь пойдет не о Гамлете Шекспира. В этой статье мы попытаемся разобраться с не менее актуальным вопросом – возможно ли действительно заменить чтение просмотром фильма.  С каждым годом уровень технологий неизменно увеличивается, что позволяет снимать поистине захватывающее кино. В настоящее время, чтение подвергается конкуренции со стороны кинематографа, так как многие люди предпочитают просмотр фильма по мотивам книги, нежели прочтение самой книги. Возможно ли полноценно заменить знакомство с художественной литературой просмотром фильма?

Keywords: reading, interpretation, reading benefits.

Ключевые слова: чтение, интерпретация, преимущества чтения.

Reading is one of the main language skills. We need this ability as printed and written information is everywhere. Undoubtedly, the 21^st century is a century of technology. Every year the quantity and quality of technology increases. As a result it could not help influencing reading. There are many people who try to substitute reading by movies which are based on books. Is it really possible to substitute reading by watching? Have you ever compared a book and a movie which is based on it?  If you have, you have probably noticed the difference between them is obvious. The plot is much more detailed and the characters are more developed in a book. Besides, often there is a big difference between book and script. Plus we cannot ignore the positive advantages which reading can give you and watching cannot.

So it is impossible to substitute a book by the movie based on this book. Let us consider why.

As against books, movies have limited storytelling time. According to Santos, most of feature films which we watch in cinema or on DVDs, including movies which are based on fiction, last 1.5-3 hours [6]. But how much time do you need for reading a book? Of course it depends on quantity of pages. But for example – it could take 30 hours. So, the question is – where are 28.5 - 27 hours? It is hard to imagine that 30 hour information could be interpreted in 1.5-3 hour movie. What if we lose hours of useful information or just pleasure?

To tell the truth it is impossible to make a 30 hour movie. It would be difficult to watch, it would be difficult to shoot. But the point is that usually movie directors focus on making beautiful show with special effects and as a result not only secondary moments are deleted but many important and interesting moments which were in a book are not included too.

In most cases a film script differs from a book. Characters are much deeper and much more developed in a book than in the movie (which was based on this book) as words describe their feelings, thoughts, doubts and so on. So when we watch a film we do not have the opportunity to learn the characters well because we are able only to watch them and their actions.

Not only characters but plot is also more developed in a book. As it was mentioned before, the main reason of it is time limit. As a rule movies cannot afford to demonstrate the whole story which was stated in a book.

Besides, the director’s opinion could differ from book author’s one, for this reason movie script differs from a book. A movie script is an interpretation of a book. Let us consider the definition of the word “interpretation”. For instance, according to Oxford dictionary, interpretation is “explanation what something means” [3]. In other words movie is not a video version of the book. The director of the movie tells the story, but in his own way, in his own words. Moreover, the director can even add something to the script which was not in the book.

Let us consider this situation by more specific example. Have you read the masterpiece of Alexandre Dumas “The Count of Monte Cristo”? And have you watched a movie based on this book? If you have read the book and watched the movie you probably would say that the difference is obvious between the book and the movie and it is impossible to substitute the book by the movie. But if you have not read or watched the main idea is a young man, falsely imprisoned by his jealous "friends," escapes and uses a hidden treasure to exact his revenge [7]. Actually there are a lot a screen versions of “The Count of Monte Cristo” (you can find a list of them in Wikipedia or in Kinopoisk.ru) but I would like to consider the version made by Kevin Reynolds - “The Count of Monte Cristo” with Jim Caviezel, Guy Pearce, Richrard Harris released in 2002 [1]. There are lots of discrepancy between Dumas’ book and Reynolds’ version. Let us do little comparison analysis.  For a start Edmond Dantes (Monte Cristo) and Fernand Mondego had never been best friends in the book. According to Reynolds, Fernand Mondego betrayed Dantes but it was Baron Danglar in the book. The end of the both stories (Dumas’ and Reynolds’) is completely different: according to Dumas Dantes sails away with Haydee as for movie script Dantes kills Mondego, Mercedes is wife of Dantes and Albert de Morcerf ( son of Mercedes and Mondego) appeared as son of Monte Cristo.

Let us imagine that a situation. A student learns French literature. His/her home task was to read Duma’s "The Count of Monte Cristo". Instead of reading the student preferred to watch screen version of this book. As it was mentioned in the previous paragraph there are lots of differences between the book and the movie. As a result student fails his/her home task because the plot of screen version does not coincide with the plot of the original story.

As you have noticed by the example of “The Count of Monte Cristo”, it is impossible to substitute reading with watching because you can get wrong information. In consequence of disinformation you can find yourself in awkward situation.

Furthermore, a movie which is based on a book is subjective director’s and script writer’s view. When you read you have to imagine the world described in a book. Watching screen version you deprive yourself of pleasure to create your personal version.

Additionally, as mentioned before, we cannot ignore the positive advantages which reading can give you and watching cannot.

Reading is related unconditionally with health. Doing exercises is one of the main conditions of good health. As the whole body our brain is in need of exercises too. Reading is a mental exercise. As Joseph Addison said: ”Reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body.”  As for proof we can consider Grate’s statement [2]. Grate states that, “reading long sentences without links is a skill which you can get due to books.” As against movies authors of books use long and complex sentences. They are complicated with tropes and stylistic devices. It is quite easy to lose the idea in a long sentence. To understand a long and complex sentence you need to be careful and make some mental efforts. This is excellent mental exercise and obviously we do not do it when we watch movies. Reading makes your brain functioning better.  Grate  also states that, “one study even found that elderly individuals who read regularly are 2.5 times less likely to develop Alzheimer’s than their peers.” Furthermore Grate  mentions reading reduce stress by 68%, if you read in a slow, focused, undistracted way. In addition reading gets you away from digital distractions such as loud sounds and beaming of screen. In other word we convinced ourselves again that reading cannot be substituted with movie, as reading (as opposed to watching) makes us healthier.

Reading makes us not only healthier but also more intellectually developed. First of all according to B. Isaac “it improves your vocabulary” [4]. Actually, this statement could be partly true. We can learn new word by both reading books and watching movies, but there are some advantages when we “read” new word. Let us consider some of them. When we do not understand the meaning of a word we look up it in the dictionary in the end of this book. If we see a word we memorize the spelling of it. It is important to have visual image of the word (printed or written word) in front of eyes to remember it because according to More “90% of information that comes to brain is visual” [5]. Besides as Vakos said “approximately 65% of the population are visual learners” [8].  Watching cannot give us such opportunities because we can only “hear” words. Let us consider some more benefits which reading gives you. As reading makes better your grammar too, it decreases mistakes. Besides language skills it upgrades your memory as well. Because reading requires remembering details, facts, figures, plot lines, themes, characters.  Some books contain arguments for or against the actions. That improves your reasoning skills. By reading more books, you become well informed and more professional not only in your area but also in different ones. So, the training of your intellectual abilities is one more proof that reading cannot be substituted with watching.

This article is not written for dissuasion of watching movies. Undoubtedly, scriptwriters and directors do incredibly complicated work trying to adapt text of the book to write a good script, but a book and a movie are different products and they are good but each in its own way.

One should remember that a movie (based on a book) is an interpretation made by director and would be differ from the source. Consequently, watching a movie, you acquaint yourselves with the director’s point of view, not the original story.

When you substitute reading by watching and you believe that it is the same thing, you can mislead yourself. There could be essential differences in plot, which can delude you. Concerning to characters, the description in a book can absolutely differ from movie image, because it is also an interpretation of the director, the actor, the costume designer etc. Moreover, substituting book by movie we can make wrong conclusions about the author of the book, concerning to his message, his thoughts, his ideas, about himself and the people of his epoch.

There were some ideas mentioned why reading cannot be substituted by watching. Perhaps they have convinced you perhaps not. However, technology is developing every day and it is so tempting to take the path of least resistance. Despite that, we should keep in mind a book and a movie cannot be substituted one by one due to their exclusiveness.

References:

1. Category: Films based on “The Count of Monte Cristo”. (2014). Retrieved from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Films_based_on_The_Count_of_Monte_Cristo
2. Grate R. (2014). Science has great news for people who read actual books. Retrieved from: http://mic.com/
3. Hawkins J. (2003). Oxford Dictionary. Oxford University Press. p. 250
4. Isaac B. (2007). The 26 major advantages to reading more books and why 3 in four people are being shut out of success. Retrieved from: http://www.persistenceunlimited.com/
5. More T. (2014). Why Visual Content Is Crucial to Customer Engagement. Retrieved from: https://www.salesforce.com/blog/2014/09/visual-content-customer-engagement-gp.html
6. Santos R. (2013). 6 Reasons the book is (almost always) better then a movie. Retrieved from: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/
7. The Count of Monte Cristo (2002). Retrieved from: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0245844/
8. Vakos P. (2014). Why the Blank Stare? Strategies for Visual Learners.  Retrieved from: http://www.phschool.com/eteach/social_studies/2003_05/essay.html