Text vs Video, Books vs Television/Movies.

[BotchMan]

TL;DR Books suck. Physical representations are cool. Reading text in storytelling sucks. On internet forums text is ok because the things people usually have to say are short and to the point.


I'm bringing this up because I have always felt that text in storytelling is an ancient and obsolete form of media. I find books boring and irksome because they make me work by having to imagine things. When I want to be entertained I do not want to have to overly engage myself imagining scenarios for characters and what they look like etc. When a person can watch an event take place it becomes much easier for someone to comprehend such an event. The metaphors, alliterations, and descriptions make me feel only as though the writer is trying to show off that they can in fact write these things in and I only find them as filler. Reading is also much more time consuming than film as reading a description of an event takes a much shorter time than actually viewing it. For example a writer could write a description like, "he touched the mistress slowly and softly as though she were a window ready to crack" vs how long it would actually take to watch a man touch a woman. Books have been written for centuries because it was impossible to have a physical representation of a story beforehand other than a theatrical performance. But now that we as humans have the technology capable to achieve such things, i feel as though films are how storytelling should be taught in our educational systems and how all stories are told from here on forward.

 

[YPMG]

I see your point but disagree. 9/10 times a book to movie/TV adaptation is created it is nowhere near as vivid or detailed as the book itself. I find reading allows you to enter another realm and enables you to paint a precise picture of what is going on. Take for instance George R R Martin and his 1st instalment 'a Game of Thrones'. Sure the TV show depicts what is essentially happening in the book but in no way does it do complete justice to his character development or ambiance building - throughout the book you can feel the desperation of the land, the seething malice that runs through Cerseis veins and the cold rising from the north. The TV show just doesn't paint the picture in as good of detail as the book.

Another positive to reading is the enhancement of your vocabulary and grammar which cannot be improved upon by watching TV. To this day I will state that I receive excellent marks in my Univeristy papers because I read on a regular basis. The way I write, the wording of my sentences and how I describe my statements is all from reading, reading and reading. I can also state that my imagination and brain is always being worked when I read - its fun to see that my depiction of a character is spot on to how they appear in a drawing purely because an author is so good at describing their appearance, their mannerisms and their personality.

Books and reading FTW!

 

[ufcfan4]

some people prefer books for the very reason that it does call upon them to supply the imagery rather than just vegging out to the images presented before them on the screen.

i like both. obviously i find watching movies more entertaining but reading is a very rewarding pursuit in my opinion and definitely keeps you sharp in a way that viewing films and television likely do not.

 

[BotchMan]

i know some people don't like to read, but damn dude.

Lets look at it this way, I personally do not find it entertaining to have to imagine an idea of someone else when I want to entertained I want to be in an almost vegetative state and just soak things in. Video allows for people to easily soak in information. I think too much already but this boring piece of text is making me do more and I am supposed to enjoy that?

 

[llperez22]

i watch movies and tv way more often then i read a book so im not gonna pretend to be a novel elitist. But if you have a good story and you have the time to put into it, I cant name too many books i've read where the movie version was in any way better. Books just take you inside the minds of the characters and explain finer details that movies dont have time to include.

 

[BotchMan]

i watch movies and tv way more often then i read a book so im not gonna pretend to be a novel elitist. But if you have a good story and you have the time to put into it, I cant name too many books i've read where the movie version was in any way better. Books just take you inside the minds of the characters and explain finer details that movies dont have time to include.

The problem with these things is that the director ultimately should be able to find a way to express these ideas and it is possible for them to do so but unfortunately many people are not. If you have ever watched one of the Red Letter Media Plinkett reviews where he reviews the Star Wars prequels he shows how they lack that characterization and description that the original films produced. As a form of media films can convey these things its just that in the real world, directors have a hard time finding ways to show them. A good director can create all the description and characterization however the lack of quality of a director can create a lack of good characters.

 

[MortalWombat]

When I want to be entertained I do not want to have to overly engage myself imagining scenarios for characters and what they look like etc

That's it. Nothing archaic about books. Horses for courses.

 

[ValeTudo95]

TL;DR Books suck.

Stopped reading.

 

[MortalWombat]

Stopped reading.

ahhahaa

 

[surf fu]

I hate reading but I've always excelled at it. Could pronounce and spell big words at a young age. Always was a couple reading level grades above many classmates but hated it.

I prefer watching a cinematic representation. Although I am truly envious of people who can sit down and read books all the time.

Sometimes I'll get a kick. Probably haven't read a book in a little over a year. I believe it was A Clockwork Orange. Pretty challenging just due to all the unfamiliar lingo. After a while you get really used to it though.

 

[Cptn1NSAN0]

Books are much healthier for your brain than television. Obviously in this day and age it's much easier to grab the remote than to crack a book but reading is important and should not be neglected.

 

[Thrawn33]

Fast food entertainment...

 

[Lucifer Alpha]

i feel as though films are how storytelling should be taught in our educational systems and how all stories are told from here on forward.

Yea, that would only cost like billions of dollars.

 

[MortalWombat]

I think scripts are antiquated.

 

[Lucifer Alpha]

I prefer books and tv shows over movies. Movies are just too short for me to care about any of the characters or become invested in the storyline.

 

[BotchMan]

A lot of it comes down to whether a person cares about the little details a lot or just wants to get to the action. It depends on I guess how well someone can be focused onto something without becoming bored with it.

 

[elmo_1968]

Lets look at it this way, I personally do not find it entertaining to have to imagine an idea of someone else when I want to entertained I want to be in an almost vegetative state and just soak things in. Video allows for people to easily soak in information. I think too much already but this boring piece of text is making me do more and I am supposed to enjoy that?

Yes, some of us really do enjoy imagining things. Don't know if you could learn to enjoy it or not.

I read an article in New Yorker some time ago and MRIs reveal that reading uses different parts of the brain than listening to the same thing being read. There is evidence that the medium is important, not just the content.