The story read in a book and the same story seen as a film make absolutely different perceptions for people. However, they also have a few similarities.
Both books and films sometimes play an entertaining role. Books as well as films can be divided into classical, promising, revolutionary, expecting or, on the other hand, cheap, poor, unsuccessful, commercial and low-standard ones. They can be of low and high quality. A book and a film can pursue their own objects. As a rule, commercial projects have merely entertaining function and have no cultural value. For instance, so-called “ironical detective story novels” made for housewives and lazybones. There are TV serials based on such novels equal as in quality, as in senselessness.
Books make people discuss, think and explore something new, and films, too. They extend our knowledge about some more things, facts and persons. Good ones also can change our minds, our attitude to things around us. Even the worst examples of books and films display the culture of human beings and the life itself.
It goes without saying, that reading a book takes much more time than watching a film. Nevertheless, films often are cut down, as it is impossible to contain all the sheets of a novel in two hours of a reel.
There are a lot of films today based on some books. So, it depends on a director and film crew how to represent that film: to keep the author’s style, ideas and sequence or not. It means that films are just cultivated form of story embodying the director’s point of view, so we cannot but absorb the flow of information without analyzing it. In contrast, books give us an opportunity to judge its content by ourselves, form our own point of view and use our imagination. For example, scientists say that during the reading of books special parts of our cerebral cortex show an intensive activity, so our brains work harder. That means that reading books is important for our mental health.
Of course, every person have to choose: to read or watch. As for me, I would prefer reading a story in a book to seeing it as a film. Because the feeling of turning paper sheet in your fingertips and expecting the story to be continued is more pleasant than just staring at screen with blank eyes.
I absolutely agree with you motya. it is so boring to watch films! Ira Solovyova