In the book and movie community, there has always been a big debate about whether the book or the movie adaptations are better. The debate has always existed and continues to cause arguments throughout people and the community.
However recently it has become more prevalent with the recent release of the newest Hunger Games movie. The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes which was adapted from the 2020 book by Suzanne Collins as a prequel to the Hunger Games franchise. This release sparked the flames for the question, is the book or the movie better?
Obviously, I do not have a certain answer as it is everyone’s personal opinion but generally, they are both good for their own reasons. For example, the books give the readers the ability to imagine their own world with their own personal spin to it, they are also able to see characters and envision them and their intentions with their own twist or interpretation. Almost as if they are able to direct their own movies in their head. However, with some storylines, the constant envisioning and personal elements can make the story confusing and hard to follow, making the message or morals of the story hard to receive or understand.
Contrastingly in movies, everything is presented as the director or author intended it to be viewed, leaving less of the story to one's own imagination while still leaving the morals and message to everyone's own interpretation. Additionally, movies can add music and intentional pauses or breaks to build tension or change the mood which is something books cannot do. In this way, movies are able to produce a better atmosphere and create suspension much easier and sometimes much more clearly than books can.
Personally, as a reader and movie watcher, I love them both as they are both so different yet great in their own way. Books give me the ability to know the characters better, to know their inner thoughts and monologues, what they want and how they want it. Whilst movies provide me with the tools to see the bigger image more clearly while still being able to learn and get to know the characters I love. So, the real question is what do you think is better, the book or the movie?
