Why it is Ok to Make Few Changes in Original Book Story for Adaptations

Sometimes when you see a movie, after reading the book you tend to notice few changes in the plot or removal of scenes and dialogues. Have you ever wondered why? Some of the reasons are positive and some are negative. Let’s read why it is ok to make few changes in original book story for adaptations.

The Medium

A book is a written medium; we have to read a book to know the plot. On the other hand, a movie is a visual medium; we do not have to read a movie we just have to visualize it. When we read a book we have the freedom to imagine the scenes, locations, outfits, and expressions but when we watch a movie, it is the complete item. It is someone else’s imagination that we view in a movie and since it is already in front of us, there is no question of imagination. A filmmaker always has to visualize the adaptation in a way that is relatable and hence, they have to make a few changes.

The Duration

Theoretically, writers do not have an allotted time within which they have to write a book or allotted words within which they have to finish the novel. But, every movie has a given duration within which a filmmaker has to complete the movie.

The Effects

Books have the power to make you think. You can only think of rain or thunder if it is in the plot. Movies can make you feel because you can hear the sound of the rain or the thunder. To fit in effects, music along dialogues and finish the film in a certain allotted time, it is ok for directors to make a few changes in the original book story.

The Audience

When authors write stories, they do know which genre they are writing but they do not have a target section of the audience. The targeted audience can easily surpass the expected demography. But with movies, the filmmakers are well-aware of their targeted audience, the fandom of the characters. The fact that it is an adaptation can limit the market on its own. The adaptation has to be relatable to every reader and you have to understand which the prioritized role of the book is. To get a satisfactory market and review from the readers they have to omit the scenes or dialogues that did not make a good impression among the readers.

The Approach

Several factors have to be fulfilled to get success through adaptation. In movies, it often happens that the viewers get to see the climax at the very beginning and how it occurred becomes the central theme of the movie. It has to be approached in a way that does not look exaggerated in any way.

The arrogant or morally gray characters like Mr. Darcy from Pride and Prejudice and Heathcliff from Wuthering Heights is hard to deal with because it involves a lot of expectations and since it is a classic, it indulges a large audience. Although these characters are arrogant or morally gray, they did succeed to be the audience’s favorite. The portrayal of these characters in the movies has to be up to the mark and hence a few changes are necessary.

Making a few changes is also vital because there is a category of the audience who are more of a critic than an audience; they tend to speculate the differences between the movie and the book. And, if there is none it will be considered as dull or just ‘what was even the point of it?’

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