Books vs the Movie Adaptations: Why You Should Actually Watch the Movies First

OKAY YOU'RE JUST GOING TO HAVE TO HEAR ME OUT ON THIS-*gets killed immediately*

    I know that if you ask anyone about whether you should read the book first or watch the movie first, 9.9 times out of ten the person will tell you to obviously read the book first, you uncultured swine. However there are good reasons as to why you should actually watch the movies first.

    When you read the book first, you ruin your whole movie experience, even if it's well made. This is because you notice things as small as a character not having the same hair color as mentioned in the book. These little details make you feel like the movie producers were very lazy when making the adaptation. Another thing that movies do is sometimes alter the plot of the story because the books may include a lot of internal thoughts and descriptions, which are very difficult to show visually. This then leads to movies having to add scenes and plot elements that were not in the original book (same for taking away scenes from the book that are very description heavy), in order to make an actual feature length film. Another reason to watch the movies first is that you can use the info that you got from the movie, and then also discover the lore and the extra things by reading the books. If you do it the other way, you always feel as though something is missing and are never really content.

    However, there are some drawbacks to watching the movie first. One is how once you've seen the actors playing the characters, they're the faces you think of then reading the book, which limits your imagination. Another reason is that after watching the movie, you may lose interest in reading the books, since you already know the basic plot. Although these are valid reasons, it all depends on personal preference and how attached you are to the book. If you just finished a really good book that you love, then I suggest you wait a while to watch the movie so you aren't as hurt when you see that it isn't an exact copy. However if you are busy, or aren't very attached to reading the book, then watching the movie first would be the better option. 

    For example, both my brother and I read The Wild Robot by Peter Brown, however I read it years ago, and my brother just finished it. We soon went to see the movie, to which we had completely different reactions. I absolutely loved the movie, and although the plot wasn't exactly like in the book, I enjoyed the alternate plot they had as well as the animation style. My brother on the other hand did not enjoy it at all and felt as though it was an insult to the original work. I did feel sorry for him because the only thing he saw were all the "mistakes" and the parts that didn't match up, which prevented him from appreciating the film.

    In the end, although I think it is better to watch the movie first, it all depends on personal preference and how much you care about preserving the original work. 

-Lucia Menegon-Garcia