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Movies and Books
I was discussing this particular book with a friend of mine the other day and
something occurred to me. There are many times (and recently, there seem to be
a lot) when books are adapted to movies. There are certainly many famous
examples of this in recent years. Films like Jurassic Park, Sense and
Sensibility, Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, The Horse Whisperer and
Lord of the Rings are ones that immediately come to mind. I think that while
these movies certainly fulfill their role to entertain, there is an inherent
sacrifice that comes with making a movie based on a book. I will admit, I enjoy
these movies just as much as the next person. Some of my favorite movies are
based on books. Still, I try to view both book and movie as separate entities
and not two things that are as closely related to each other. A Prayer for Owen
Meany is no exception to this rule as Simon Birch is based upon Irving’s novel.
I cannot comment on Simon Birch as a film or as an adaptation of Owen Meany
because I have not seen it. I will say, however, that I do not really have any
desire to see the movie. I do not have an opinion whether other people want to
watch the movie, nor would I discourage them. My personal desire is to avoid
the movie and my reasoning is based on what I consider to be the most fundamentally
interesting characteristic of books.
Books are, to me, completely different from movies. When I watch a movie, I am being shown one person’s or a small group of people’s interpretation of how the story being told looks, sounds and feels. Books, however, do not always have to do that. Owen Meany is a great example of this and this is one of the reasons that I like it so much. Irving does describe things to the reader, but he leaves things open to reader interpretation. This allows the reader to form their own images in their mind about every aspect of the story such as what people look like, how they sound and what places look like (provided they are not real places). This allows the reader to become more emotionally attached to a story and almost lets the reader become part of the story. This makes the story more personal and much more emotional. I would much rather be able to decide for myself how the story “feels” to me than have it be shown to me. Movies are always going to be more visually and viscerally appealing simply because filmmakers can hit you with so much at one time with the technology available now. Even so, a movie can never contain all the aspects conveyed in a book. Certain events must be removed to cut down on time, characters are removed and sometimes plot lines can be changed to a large degree. Basically, what it comes down to is that I love the characters, plot and emotions of Owen Meany so much that I ca not bear to have someone tell me my interpretations are wrong.
