Then my sister came along.
She is a lot younger than us, and wasn't a part of many of those experiences. By the time she was old enough to appreciate the Harry Potter story, the books were finished, and the movies were dominating the Harry Potter world. She grew up more familiar with the movies than the books, and she liked it that way.
One night, we were all in the kitchen, and Madison stated that she didn't see the need to ever read the books, since she had seen the movies. My brothers and I were shocked and dismayed by this. We even went so far as to disown her (only mostly joking). We suddenly understood what it felt like to have black sheep in the family.
Fast forward a year.
It was a beautiful and satisfying moment when my mom called and told me that Madison had been caught reading the books in secret. She read the first one out of desperation (school related), and was hooked. She was finishing the third one by the time we found out.
This was our basic reaction when we confronted her about her closet enjoyment of the books:
Basic, unadulterated gloating. It was one of the highlights of my adult life.We have now un-disowned her, and she is a fully fledged member of the family once more.
As I despaired over my sister's honest thoughts about books vs movies, I thought about what would make my sister think so differently than the rest of my family. I came to the conclusion that much of it has to to with familiarity, exposure, and the blurring line of media. Madison was more exposed to the movies, and they were more familiar to her. And not just Harry Potter, but all movies. Movies and TV shows are coming to dominate the entertainment media world these days. Books are always being made into movies, and one form of media is converted into another. By the time a book is known well enough, its movie already has previews airing. And, instead of reading the book, my sister's generation goes to see the movie. The two forms of media are becoming intertwined to the point that they aren't seen as separate. Once you have seen the movie, the book is unnecessary.
Has anyone else noticed this?
Truer words have never been spoken. The Harry Potter series is an admittedly huge part of my family bonding time. We have all read the series and we have HP marathons quite frequently. Although I love the movies, there is nothing that rivals the magic and innocence that the books bring. For some, movies may just be more convenient and more entertaining. But I think it's disappointing that the film industry is trumping all over the little details we only receive when we read the books.
ReplyDeleteI think you hit the nail on the head. I used to lose myself in books because there was almost a sacredness to being in my own imagination. Now, however, that sacredness is far more difficult to embrace because the movie is out so quickly you don't get much of an opportunity to create these worlds in your own mind. I miss those days of using your own imagination and not Hollywood's.
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