Sunday, January 6, 2013

The movie wasn’t like the book and thats okay


                Every time I watch a movie based on any other medium I will always have a friend complain about how it is completely different from the original. One great example is with the new movie The Hobbit.  People complain about how there is not enough material in the source book to make it into multiple movies and how additional material will make it unfaithful. This is one of many films or television shows that people complain about not being faithful to the original. Others that I can think about at the top of my head are the Resident Evil film series, The Walking Dead T.V. series, and any movie reboots of television series.
                I get annoyed with people who make complaints about the unfaithfulness to the original. These new adaptations of stories are not supposed to be canonical retellings, but new stories in new universes based on these original characters. It is like the multiverse theory but applied to fictional worlds. In these different retellings different things happen because in that universe that is how it went down. So in the Walking Dead T.V. series, the reason that Shane lived longer than he did in the comic was because in this universe he lives this long. In fact, in some hypothetical world it is possible for Rick to have died and Shane become the main character.
                When making a new adaptation of a fictional world a new universe is created. Those universes are entitled to change the story as seen fit. The only thing that is needed to remain constant is the basic feel of the story. So next you want to say “That wasn’t like the book” think about it. Do you really just want a retelling of what you already have experienced or do you want a whole new story based on the one you are already familiar with. 

No comments:

Post a Comment