Unleashing Readers

Reflective Opinions About Books vs. Movies, BookTok, and Becoming a Reader

“Are Books Really Better Than Movies?” by Raegen B., 7th grade

It has been a debate for a long time when books started getting adapted into movies, as to whether the books were better or the movies were better.

People say that the books are better than the movies because without the books, the movies wouldn’t have anything to go off of, they have more detail, and have all the original information without anything being cut.

However, some people say that the movies are better because they have visuals for people to see the story unfold.

Opinions from real students

Why are the books better than the movies? (all said from real students)

“They give a lot more emphasis on the characters than the movies do; a lot of movies only show certain characters once or in one scene.” -Leonardo V.

“The movies are based on the books so that makes the books more accurate and because of this, the books cannot be messed up. -Makena A.

“Books take more time developing like the characters and key parts of the story. You understand the story better because of this.” – Valiya T.

“You get to hear more thoughts in the books than the movies.” – Layla N.

“They have more description of the story and characters and how they feel; you can also create the scenarios in your head.” – Marianne P.

“The books are usually have more detail and are the original idea that the movies are based on.” – Veronica O.

“They get to be more detailed and they don’t have a time or page limit on how long the book can be.” – Luiza N.

“There’s more details, more indications that we don’t get in the movies, more content, and there’s more content to enjoy than in the movies.” – Maya D.

Why are the movies better than the books? (all from real students)

“If done right, it lets you think more about the visual of the story. For example, when you watch the movies, you can see what the characters and setting look like. But when you read the books, a lot of times, you only focus on the plot.” -Makena A.

“You can actually hear the characters and their tone of voice, their facial expressions, and the setting of the movie.” – Neyla A.

My opinion

Now, I might have a biased opinion on this topic because I am a bookworm, but I think that the books are better than the movies. First of all, without the books, the movies wouldn’t have a story to film or make. Not to mention that they are constantly changing how the characters look.

A big example of this is in the Hunger Games. Not a lot of people know this, but in the books, Katniss is supposed to have olive skin and grey eyes. However in the movie, she’s white, and has brown eyes.

It’s understandable to not be able to find exact actors that look exactly how the characters are described in the books, but some movies have successfully done this. To stay on topic of the Hunger Games, in the movie, The Ballad of Song Birds and Snakes, Coriolanus Snow is described as having blonde hair and blue eyes, and the actor chosen, had blonde hair and blue eyes. So, it is possible for the producers to hire people who look like how characters are described in the books.

So we know that it is possible for producers and movie directors to get look-alikes.

Another big example of movie producers and directors getting characters wrong is in the Harry Potter movie series. One main thing that they got wrong is Harry’s eyes. In the books, Harry’s eyes are described as being green and “having his mother’s eyes.” But, Daniel Radcliff has blue eyes which isn’t that much of a big deal if you think about it, but it actually is. Like I mentioned before, Harry is constantly being told that “he has his mother’s eyes” in both the films and the books. But, in the Deathly Hollows movie, in Snape’s memories, we see Lily (Harry’s mom) in his memories and there’s even a close up of her eyes and they aren’t even blue to match Daniel’s eyes; the young actress chosen had brown eyes. You would think that they’d try and get an actress with blue eyes to match the already screwed up main characters eyes right? 

But, what do you think? Are the books really better than the movies?

“Problems with BookTok” by Luiza N., 7th grade

BookTok, a large community on the TikTok app where people come together to share their love for books. What started as a fun place for readers to engage with each other, is now a controversial topic of conversation. From its rise in popularity back in 2020, BookTok has developed serious problems. Said problems range from the readers inside the community, to authors, and the writing itself. 

One main issue with the community of BookTok is how it promotes overconsumption. The rich influencers of TikTok like to show off their huge, beautiful collection of books. Now this doesn’t exactly sound like a huge problem at first, but it is. Most of the books shown off in these collections are only for aesthetic purposes. A big number of influencers are not actually reading any of the books they are buying, but instead using them as a way to garner views and influence public opinion. By promoting such collections they not only make commission for themselves, but also encourage buying books in bulk from massive corporations, such as Amazon, who profit from exploiting workers and produce excess waste. The more unrealistic bookshelves are promoted on BookTok, the worse this problem will become. 

Another big problem in the BookTok community is its romanticization of the “idea” of reading, instead of reading itself. A couple months ago it “came out” that many BookTokers were skipping over main paragraphs of the book, mostly only reading the dialogue. While some do this to reach an unobtainable goal of books read throughout the year, some simply do not actually enjoy the act of reading. They are inspired by influencers on TikTok to have a certain aesthetic, to appear intellectual. A problem I, personally, have with this is that they are not even reading what could be considered “good literature”. Instead of reading well thought out books, meant to genuinely entertain, inform, or even persuade the reader, they are reading (really skimming) one-dimensional books with poor writing, story pacing, and plot, often made by money-hungry corporations and authors, contributing to the next problem I found with the BookTok community. 

Recently, authors on tiktok have started to write basically the exact same stories. This is not about the many plagiarism controversies of BookTok, but about the repeated tropes and world building found in its popular books. Authors have taken notice of how much BookTokers like certain tropes. For example, the trope “enemies to lovers”, a tag with 2.7 million posts, and many more views, on TikTok. Due to the insane popularity of enemies to lovers, the trope has started to be inserted into many books, some authors/companies even going as far as to mark their books enemies to lovers when they are not. This becomes an issue when books start blending together. Readers are not encouraged to explore new topics, but instead read the same thing over and over. There is a negative impact on both readers who are not discovering other tropes and stories they might like, but also authors who dare to to be creative, writing something they are genuinely passionate about. Of course, authors on BookTok are not the only ones to be blamed for this issue, but also readers. The more these books are read and shown off, the more these books will continue to be published and rewritten. BookTok should strive to be a community filled with innovation and creativity, not the regurgitation of the same stories. 

Although BookTok may have some good qualities, it is important to acknowledge the issues within the community, be it overconsumption, romanticism, or even plagiarism. If these issues can be talked about and known, I believe BookTok can return to what it once was. Providing readers with an environment to discuss, recommend, and share literature. 

Sources:

• https://www.blueticksocial.com/blog/the-rise-of-booktok-how-tiktok-transformed-publishing-and-digital-marketing
• https://www.michigandaily.com/arts/books/my-problem-with-book-influencers/
• https://shcsnews.org/3468/arts-and-entertainment/why-feminine-literature-shouldnt-be-romanticized
• https://www.greenamerica.org/blog/10-reasons-not-shop-amazon

“The Struggles of Reading Books for Non-Readers” by Luiza N., 7th grade

Reading books can seem like a fun and easy task for most people, but for some, it can be a challenge. First, the struggle of books can be due to there being a lack of encouragement at home and at school, it may also be attributed to them being constantly forced to read which can deprive them of enjoyment. Furthermore, reading can also be associated with school work or an obligation which is one of the main reasons that people dislike reading.

According to the National Institutes of Health, they have found that encouragement at home is associated with children’s motivation to read. In addition, studies done by Readingrockets.org, have proved that when reading material is made relevant or encouraged to students, they are far more likely to become “Engaged & competent readers”. Thus, encouragement plays an important role in students’ motivation to read. Similarly, pleasure and entertainment is one of the various motives for reading books. However, Pewresearch.org suggests that reading enjoyment has dropped and reached the “Lowest level since the 1980’s” in American children. This lack of interest and pleasure for reading can be attributed to academic pressures and social media which is why less people are reading books. Nevertheless, Social media in general can also be a big struggle for Non-Readers to overcome due to kids and teenagers being “Glued to their screens” every day which results in them preferring to play video games or watch videos instead of choosing healthier or more productive activities such as reading.

As a previous “Non-Reader,” myself, here are some ways people can incorporate reading frequently in their daily agenda: 

• Spend 10-15 minutes reading and add a couple minutes each day. 
• Explore different genres and don’t be loyal to just one genre.
• Read a mixture of short and long books
• Don’t stick with a book that you strongly dislike and find a new book that you like.
• When given the opportunity to choose between your phone or read a book, dedicate some time to reading a book.
• Lastly, take breaks whenever you feel like you’re getting bored or tired.

Finally, changing bad habits or your opinion or emotions on something is a gradual process. So take your time and be patient when reading books.  Always remember that “A book is a gift that you can open again and again”-Garrison Keillor.

Thank you so much to my student voices today and their look at these popular book point of views!