Report Eng105 -

Novels Vs Novel Based Movies1

Are reading novels a better option than watching novel based movies

Farzana Shahareen 081 153 530

English 105. Section 1Mr. Abdus Selim

December 18, 2010


“Are Reading novels a better option than watching novel based movies”

Introduction

Literature plays a vital role in the society. People love to watch films and read novel as well.

The films and novels provide a lot of information about our literature. The literature gives us

knowledge about our lives. They say about the sorrows and happiness of the general people but we

also get to know the different cultures that exist in the world which helps people to communicate

globally also. But now a day’s people are losing their interest in novels. Now they are more

attracted to the movies because of its popularity. One of the reasons is that people can see the

experiences of the characters like what they are wearing or the way they are talking in the movies

but it also has a limitation which is that the level of intensity each and every character is well

described. In addition they also are more attracted to watching novel based movies because in

general whatever we see in our own eyes we tend to remember that thing quite well. But the movie

also helps to learn language and helps to learn the pronunciation of the characters. Films and video

productions increase student’s experiences much as written texts and they offer similar

opportunities for discussion. Films also provide rich opportunities to explore the similarities and

differences between visual and written language. The students may examine the effects of visual

language cues like composition, colors, light which is not possible in novels. So they get more

attracted to the film. To think about the general people the screenplay writer starts to make the film

on the basis of novel. Screenwriting is probably the best discipline to teach the rules and structure

of storytelling and thus inherently valuable to any writer. Sometimes they change some of the prose

or sometimes they change the whole story. Sometimes they add something or remove some scenes


which were actually present in the novel. Some writers are there to keep the original story and

everything in the film. They do it for the audience who has no habit of reading novels but the

craziness of watching movies.

Advantages of making novel based movies

One of the main advantages of the audio-visual versions of the students that they do not only

just get to hear the right pronunciation of language, but also to practice it in a way. This greatly

aids comprehension, since for example general meaning and moods are often conveyed through

expression, gesture and other visual clues. This audio-visual version like film helps not only for

fluency in speaking but also for recreation.

Visual language like films is too powerfully popular among the young people. It is that type

of medium which never be disappeared. When the novel is used in the movie then this movie is

called novel-based movie. Films have been made from both literary classics and contemporary

novels since from their beginning and still today are present. Now a day’s these novels provides the

film makers with readymade narratives that have often resulted in prestigious, popular motion

pictures. This novel based movie increases the experiences of students much as written texts do.

They also offer similar opportunities for discussion. People can examine the effects of visual

language like composition, color and light, shadow, contrast, camera angles and distance.

Process of changing original texts into scripts

If a person is a script writer he doesn’t start out the adaptation process with a thick wad of

paper. It must be edited into a sleek, hundred page script. The novel may also be difficult to

translate in front of the screen. It is not looking too good at this point. Each screenwriter has his

own methods but one of the masters of adaptations named Roger.L.Simon said that the mechanics


behind the adapting novels into scripts process is simple. He said that he starts script writing by

reading the novel. He explains that if it is a submission for adaptation, it is difficult to get that out of

his head while reading.

While reading a novel, one thing is often apparent to screen writers when they face with

labyrinthine books of epic proportion, then he has to take for instance the adaptation of the Lord of

the Ring trilogy, there are going to have to be some cuts to condense thousands of pages down to

just over one hundred. Simon said that with all the cutting in the world, a handful of novels still

cannot present impossible hurdles.

The master of adaptation prof. Ks discussed the process of adaptation. He said that if

someone makes the screenplay which is based upon a story by some lesser dead figure like

Shakespeare or whoever he wants it does not matter whom the story used to belong to, it is now the

screenplay’s story. He will be judged by how he chooses to tell his tale and no matter how nice the

story was. The writer will get the credit for making it seeing with clarity and purpose or soiling it

beyond repair. He also said that if the screenplay writer wants the original text to get started and to

inspires him, so he is moving into world of scripts/ and if he does not want to add the scene, details

or character to part with, they must go. May be the language, concept, political or social issues of

novels are all well good, but most of them are mere window-dressing. They do not help your

writing. Screenplay is a highly disciplined form of storytelling, one that comes closer to poetry

writing than to many forms of prose. A screenplay writer is free even he has the burden to make a

story better. It must be clearer, move faster and be funnier than the original. Good adaptations can

never include all elements of the source material and so, the art of adaptation becomes one of

distillation. The adaptor knows his or her limitations and can find everything he is confronted with


that is his task and burden. The fact is that even elements are left out, the audience feels as if the

story itself remains intact and in the best case scenarios the story has been improved.

“Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?” made by Philip K.Dick is a science fiction novel

about Rick Deckard, a bounty hunter of androids in San Francisco, California. It is a definitive,

science fiction exploration of the ethical dimensions inherent to the android concept literary device,

in order to understand the persecution of a person based upon artificial distinction such as “Ethnic

Group”.

Here the writer said that Philip K. Dick’s inspiration for androids indistinguishable from

humans came from his experience. First, he did not accept that people, who committed atrocities

such as the holocaust, were truly human. He felt that they must be inhuman monsters, who merely

appeared human. Though his provoked paranoia his notion about inhuman people appearing to be

human. He also discussed between this novel and the film. Here the literary characters Baty and

Garland are not in the film. In the film Deckard was divorced. In the novel, the earth is covered

with nuclear fallout but in the film it was not. In the film, Deckard is a retired Blade Runner, but in

the novel he is an active police department bounty hunter. In the novel, the Rosen Association

makes androids but in the film the Tyrell Corporation marked replicates. In the novel all combat is

conducted with “laser tubes”. In the film, there was a woman android named Pris whereas in the

novel she is “Pris Stratton”. He has no surname in the film and the style of her was also different

from the novel in the film. There were also many changes in the movie which was not present in the

novel.

Disadvantages of novel based movies

Anjan(n.d) criticizes the movie of Humayun Ahmed’s “Amar Achhe Jol” which is based on

the novel “Amar Achhe Jol”. Here Anjan said that the movie got mixed response from the audience.


It is from a very simple novel “ Amar Achhe Jol”. In the novel the readers feel connected of their

imagination and the writer also expressed his thoughts clearly. But in the film there was no

connection. If somebody observes the first scene he will be clear. Here the retired police SI Osman

visited a rural area with his family. The other characters are Dilu, Nishat, Jamil, Sabbir, Rehana and

Tuntuni. But in the film the writer added some extra useless characters to increase the length or

time of the film. He also presented the humor sarcastically. The conversation between Dilu and

Jamil is one of the examples. But in the book the conversation was very decent. In the film the

director failed to choose a person for character Dilu. In the novel Dilu was 14-15 years old girl but

in the film Dilu was about 20-21 years old which looked very odd in there. The use of camera was

commendable according to the standard of the Bengali movie. But in many scenes the use of

cameras was not acceptable at all. The music was not also matched with the story of the film. So

here audience was disappointed after watching this film.

Hypothesis

Literature which consists of novels, poems, drama plays an important role in the culture of a

nation. But now a day’s people are not habituated of reading novels. So are becoming distant from

literature.

Often the language and thoughts of the writers, novelists and dramatists are too abstract and

rather difficult for all classes of readers. Sometimes they use such type of vocabularies which are

tough enough to understand for all categories of readers. Now a day’s young people are taking

interest in watching novel based movies, but they prefer the current novels. Also they enjoy the

audio-visual medium. Their effort to make available past literature to the general public script

writer adapts the original texts and produce programs or events like dramas using easy language so


that people able to receive everything what the writer wants to decode. So some people believes that

rather than reading novels, TV viewers find this easy and therefore do not take any interest in

reading original texts.

Research methodology

1. Primary data: As mentioned earlier primary statistics is a vital part of this research paper, a

questionnaire was designed targeting all the general people. The questionnaire, containing

fourteen questions, was distributed following the simple random sampling process, a

probability sampling involving no biases where everyone in the sample size gets an equal

chance of being chosen. For my primary research, I have collected views of TV viewers. To

that end I have designed a questionnaire with different types of questions as to get a range of

useful data which will help me to answer my research questions. I have also taken interview

of screenplay writers for their comments.

2. Secondary data: Beside the primary data collection, some secondary sources are also used

in this paper. Secondary sources were mainly used to present the context of the research and

to relate it to broader issues or areas. Secondary sources involved online periodical that are

found through google and other search engines on the internet as well as large reference

sites and news sites. . (The complete sources are given using the APA format in the

reference section of the research paper).


Open ended questions

There were some questions in the questionnaire which were in the form of an open ended

question. Numerical estimation from such questions cannot be calculated. There were four open

ended questions.

1) Name what novels have you read if there is any?

2) Name what novel based movies did you watch if there is any?

3) Do you prefer watching movies based on novels over reading novels?

A. If yes, then why

B. If no, then why

4) How this novel based movies should be presented in front of the audience?

In the first open ended question, different people said different things because they have

read different novels. They are da vinci code, harry potter, Ram’er shomoti ,amar ache jol,angels

and demons, most of the Sydney Sheldon movies, twilight, Sherlock holmes, lord of the rings. But

the percentage of readers is not that much because people nowadays do not read novels as they do

not have enough time to read it though the most common novels that most of the people read are

twilight , da vinci code and lord of the rings.

In the second open ended question, again there are different answers I have received from

different people because different people have watched different novel based movies. But in this

case the percentage of people is much more than those who read novels. So again it has been proved

that people watch novel based films more over reading novels.


In the third open ended question, the answers were very contradictory because different

people have different opinions regarding this question. Some people aid yes because they obviously

like reading novels than watching it and they also said reading increases the knowledge horizon and

also makes the good habit of reading books. Whereas some people said no because they just love to

watch novel based films as they like the visualization effect which attracts them more.

In the fourth open ended question, many people did not know how these novel based films

should be presented in front of audience though they want it to be presented well but could not

express it. Few of them said that the directors should not edit or exclude any important details from

the original text. Therefore some also said that the director should do survey and understand what

the public in general perceive the characters and the incidents in the actual text. Then the director

should use the gathered information and integrate it while making the film.


Multiple choice questions

Yes, if the novels is itself interesting

Yes, though whatever the

novel is

Not much It depends on my mood

I do not read any novels

12

0 0

58

No. of respondents

Figure 1: Do you enjoy reading novels?

My first question is Do you enjoy reading novels? About 48% respondents have answered

that they enjoy reading novels only when the novel itself is interesting which catches their attention

just in no time. And around 20% respondents said that it totally depends on their mood that whether

they enjoy reading novels or not and also about 32% respondents said that they do not read any

novels which means they are not even interested to read a novel in their entire life.


52%

20%

12%

16%

Yes

No

Not often

Often

Figure 2: Do you watch adapted movies?

My next question is Do you watch adapted movies? About 52% people said that they do

watch adapted movies almost regularly as they find it interesting but only a few percentages of

people which are 20% have answered that they do not watch any kind of novel based movies. On

the other hand some percentages of people of around 16% said that they often watch this kind of

movies but simultaneously 12% respondents said that they do watch adapted movies which is very

rare and not so often.


32%

40%

20%8%

Yes, only if my favorite actor is castedYes, I just love to watch any kind of adapted moviesNo, I am really not interested to watch any kind of adapted moviesNot muchOthers

Figure 3: Do you enjoy watching novel based movies?

My fourth question is Do they enjoy watching adapted movies (novel based)? People about

40% of them have answered that they just love to watch any kind of adapted movies as they do not

have selective genre to watch it. So I have just addressed those people as movie lovers. About 32%

respondents said that they only watch or enjoys watching adapted movies when their favorite actors

are casted in that particular movie as they got some requirement. On the other hand, around 8% of

people said that they do watch it but do not enjoy it that much and 20% of the respondents said that

they are really not interested to watch any kind of adapted movies.


0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16 Respondents

Figure 4: What kind of novel based movies did you watch?

In the next question I asked What kind of novel based movies do they watch? Most of the

people which mean the majority of 60% people said that they really do not have selective genres as

it totally depends on their mood that which movie they will watch at a certain time. Around 20%

said that they do not watch any adapted movies and few percentages like around 4 to 8% answered

that they watched romantic novel based movies and movies on great personalities.


It is easy to understand the theme.12%

Simple language12%

Actions and facial ex-pressions of actors which

are easy to follow20%

The script writers make it very in-teresting than the original works.

24%

Other 32%

Figure 5: I enjoy watching audio-visual versions of novels because?

My seventh question is People enjoy watching audio-visual versions of novels because?

Around 28% people said that they enjoy watching audio-visual versions of novels because the script

writers make it very interesting than the original works and 24% people said that they enjoy it for

its simple language and easy understanding of the theme. On the other side, 20% people said that

they enjoy because of the actions and facial expressions of actors which are easy to follow and rest

of them said that do not have any idea actually or does not have any definite reason.


Yes as the language is way simpler to understand

No because I am already really good at vocabularies

Does not make any difference

Others (please specify)

12

5

6

2

Respondents

Figure 6: Do you think watching novel based movies is easier to understand than reading novels?

My eighth question is Do you think watching novel based movies are easier to understand

than reading novels? Around 48% people said yes as the language is way simpler to understand

and 24% said that it really does not make any difference. Therefore around 20% said no as they are

already good at vocabularies and other remaining percentage said that they have not give a thought

about it.


52%48%

Yes as visualization has a greater effect

No it will ruin the education system

Doesn’t make any difference

Others please specify

Figure 7: Watching novel-based movie should be a part of education

My ninth question is Should watching novel based movies be a part of the education system?

The answers that I have received from this question is somewhat contradictory on equal basis which

means 48% said it does not make any difference and 52% said yes as visualization has a greater

effect.


28%

72%

Yes No

Figure 8: Do you prefer watching novel based movie over reading novel?

In my tenth question 72% respondents said that they do not prefer watching novel based

movies over reading novels though they do watch it and 28% respondents said that they do prefer

watching novel based movies over reading novels.


Language is difficult to understand

Lack of original ideas

Adapted version is uninteresting

Adapted version is totally different from what the

writer had written.

Others (specify)0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

18

0

16

45

0

Figure 9: Movies of original texts sometimes seem uninteresting because?

My eleventh question is Movies of original texts sometimes seem uninteresting because?

About 64% of people said that movies sometimes seem uninteresting because there is a lack of


original ideas and around 16% said that adapted version is not interesting. Therefore 20% said

adapted version is totally different from what the writer had written.

56%

44%

Strongly AgreeStrongly DisagreeNeutral as I think both has dif-ferent appealing viewsI have not think about it before, so I really do not knowOthers (specify)

Figure 10: Watching adapted version ruins the habit of reading books

My thirteenth question is Does watching adapted version ruins the habit of reading

books? Majority percentage of about 56% people said that they strongly agree with this statement

but around 44% people said that they are neutral as they think both has different appealing views.

Findings


I have surveyed a total of 25 people based on whom my survey has been completed. It was

found from the survey that majority of people do not enjoy reading novels but enjoy watching

adapted movies. The research says 48% people enjoy reading novels required that the novel should

be interesting enough and 32% of people do not enjoy reading novels as they really do not have

enough time to read it. The reason some of the people enjoy watching adapted movies because it is

easy to understand the theme, its actions and facial expressions of the actors which are easy to

follow and the script writers make it very interesting than the original works by adding some more

interesting things. One also said that he enjoys adapted movies to compare with the original novels.

Some also said that they enjoy movies for no reason as it totally depends on their mood or they still

have not given a thought. Half of the respondents think that watching novel-based movies ruins the

habit of reading. About more than half of the responders claim that watching novel-based movie

should be a part of education as visualization has a greater effect because people tend to remember

those quite well which they have seen with their own eyes. Similarly other half said that it really

does not matter. The findings says that most of movies of original texts sometimes seem

uninteresting because adapted version is uninteresting and adapted is totally different from what the

writer had written. The percentages are almost same among the audience. The findings say that

majority of people do not think anything that novel should be turned into movie so that everyone

can know about literature. 40% of audiences think it should be and the rest of the people think that

it should not be. Therefore it can be concluded that my hypothesis proved me wrong in a diplomatic

way because though people are watching novel based movies more than reading novels still they

prefer young generation to rely on novels instead of watching adapted movies.


According Abdus Selim, a master of screenplay says about the process of adapting a novel

into the film or drama in the interview. He said that the screenplay writer has to read the original

text several times, and then he has to be very honest and fair with the original text. Between the

novel and the drama, he says that both have their own level of attraction. But in drama there is

nothing to express the character except dialogue. Dialogues represent the character but in the novel

the character has to be explained. But in the drama everything is shown on stage. So when he adapts

the story or novel he has to create the speech pattern which goes with the character. The primary

objective of his is when he adapts a well-known novel or drama is to see whatever is relevant to a

human life and it is very important. He also said that audience is very important when he has the

task of adapting a major piece of work. So script should be written by using two ways. One way he

has to make this if audience can pick them easily and quickly and the second way is to

communicate to the audience. He thinks that the task of adaptation is obviously not an easy task

because to take out the whole idea what the writer said and put it into frame is not that easy. But if

the scriptwriters practices again and again then the work would be well enough.

Conclusion

Through the findings and other sources we can easily understand that majority of people

don’t like reading books but the adapted movies because some reasons like simple language, facial

expressions of actors etc. but they also agree that it ruins the habit of reading books. They also want

the movies as a part of education so they can enjoy and learn both at the same time. The interviewee

also says that he changes the prose but he keeps the original story in the movie so that it never

deforms. So adapted movie is helpful for the audience and its impact is also useful for them. Again


though they are watching novel based movies over reading novels but still they are also saying that

people should focus more on reading novels to get the better idea of the whole story.

References

Dick.P.K.(1968). Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep.Top shelfreviews.Retrieved 1968, from the

top shelf reviews Web site: topshelfreviews.com/.../DoAndroidsDreamofElectricSheep.html

Dinky.(2010).Book Vs film.Understanding media.Retrieved October 19,2010,from

http://www.chasingthefrog.com/moviebooks.htm

Osborne.T.(2004).the Art of Adaptation.hollywoodlitsales.com.Retrieved August 16 ,2004, from

(http://www.hollywoodlitsales.com/cf/journal/dspJournal.cfm?intID=2766)

Ryan.M(2010).Cameron Penning ‘Avatar ‘Novel.oscarsblog.Retrieved February 17,2010,from

oscars.movies.yahoo.com/.../45-cameron-penning-avatar-novel

http://www.hollywoodlitsales.com/cf/journal/dspJournal.cfm?intID=2766

http://www.chasingthefrog.com/moviebooks.htm


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