books or movies essay

Books Vs. Movies: Similarities and Differences Essay

Books vs. movies – introduction, similarities between books and movies, difference between books and movies, works cited.

This paper examines the similarities and differences between books and movies. Although both tell stories and evoke emotions, they also have distinct characteristics. For example, books rely on the reader’s imagination, while movies present a pre-determined visual interpretation. Another difference between books and movies is that books typically offer a more in-depth exploration of characters, while movies may prioritize visual spectacle over character development. Despite these contrasts, both books and movies have the power to entertain, educate, and inspire. This essay compares and contrasts the two products in detail and provides examples from famous works.

Books and movies are two of the most important mediums for communicating ideas to an audience. The two can be used for various purposes, including entertaining and informing. Books make use of written words to communicate with the reader. On the other hand, movies utilize audio-visual technology to communicate with the viewing audience. Books and Movies have several significant similarities and differences.

A major similarity is that both books and movies set out to tell stories that are often fascinating to the audience. Regardless of which medium is being used, efforts are made to create stories that are going to be engaging to the reader or viewer. For both movies and books, the story is a central part, and the authors or directors come up with themes and plotlines that can captivate and entertain the audience (Bordwell and Staiger 262). By using elements such as characters, setting, conflict, and resolution at the end, book authors and movie directors can come up with successful stories.

Another similarity is that both books and movies make great use of characters through whom the story is told. Bordwell and Staiger note that the characters used must be well suited to the story, and they must be clearly distinguished from one another (262). They are given personalities and used to fulfill the key elements of the story being told through the book or the movie. In most cases, it is the characters that make the audience regard a movie or book as superior or inferior.

A significant difference between books and movies is in the manner in which the visual images are created. When reading a book, the reader has to use his/her imagination to create a visual image from the words contained in the book (Mayer 17). For example, in the Harry Potter books, the reader is required to form his/her own image of the various magical creatures. On the other hand, movies present the reader with a ready visual image. In the Harry Potter Movies, the images of creatures such as trolls and goblins are presented to the audience. The imagination of the viewer is not required since the movie makers have already created the image they want the audience to have.

Books and movies differ in the level of detail provided. In books, the author spends a lot of time providing details of characters, events, objects, and places. These lengthy descriptions are necessary to help the reader to create a mental image of the story. With movies, there are no lengthy details used. Movies do not have to engage in detailed descriptions since a complicated image can be shown in a single movie shot. Mayer notes that a movie can, within the span of a few seconds, graphically show a mass of details to the viewer (17).

Books and movies are both adequate means of telling a story. While the two make use of different technologies to communicate with an audience, they have some similarities. These include the use of stories and the reliance on characters to tell the story. However, the two have major differences in terms of the level of imagination required of the audience and the use of details. Overall, books and movies are important communication mediums that play a great role in our society.

Bordwell, David, and Janet Staiger. The Classical Hollywood Cinema: Film Style and Mode of Production to 1960. NY: Routledge, 2003. Print.

Mayer, Robert. Eighteenth-Century Fiction on Screen . Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2002. Print.

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Harry Potter Books and Movies
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Gender Role in Harry Potter Books and Movies
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The Harry Potter Series
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J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter and Its Popularity
Harry Potter Stories and Impact on Pop Culture
Concept of Home in "The Odyssey" and "Harry Potter"
The New Hollywood Cinema Development
The Creation of Narrative Films: History and Factors
The Invention of Cinema at the End of the XIX Century
Filmmaking History of the USA
Silent Era vs. Modern Cinema Era

Books Vs Movies: Which Is Better? The Debate Settled!

Last Updated on August 18, 2023 by Louisa

Books and movies are two of the most popular forms of entertainment, but which is better? This age-old debate of books vs movies has been causing a stir for decades, so I’ve decided it’s time to settle the score once and for all.

While both offer unique ways to experience stories, there are pros and cons for each. When determining which is better, reading books or watching movies, the answer really is determined by a number of factors.

If you ask any reader, they will of course tell you all the reasons why books are better than movies, but if you ask a movie buff, you will receive a strong counter-argument for why movies are better.

In this guide, I’ve listed the reasons why you would want to choose a book over a movie, or a movie over a book, and in doing so, settle the debate once and for all.

To be clear, in this guide, we are concentrating on books that have been adapted into movies.

Books vs Movies Pros and Cons

If you need a quick summary of whether reading books or watching movies is better, then check out the below table which summarizes the points in this article.

Keep reading for a detailed analysis of reading books vs watching movies.

Pros of reading books over movies

There is more depth to a book, scenes are described in more detail, and have more plot-setting scenes.
A book allows the reader to use their imagination.
Readers follow the plot as it was intended by the author.

Cons of reading books over movies

Books take a long time to read, sometimes several days.
Some books can drag in the middle.
Dialogues can sometimes be unrealistic in books but come to life on the big screen.

Pros of watching movies over reading books

Movies are quicker than books.
You can watch a movie with a friend, but you can’t read a book with someone else.
You don’t have to concentrate on a movie and there is less need for your own imagination.
Acting is an art form.

Cons of watching movies over reading books

Scenes are often adapted or deleted based on what looks better visually.
Viewers are often left asking questions because scenes from the book not being included.
Characters can often be drastically changed.

Why books are better than movies?

If you’re a book enthusiast looking for arguments for books over movies, these are some of the reasons why books are better than movies.

#1. Books nurture the reader’s imagination

is reading books better than watching movies? A man reading a book

When it comes to reading books, readers have an unparalleled level of control in terms of how they visualize the story. When I first read The Hobbit, I pictured a very different-looking Bilbo Baggins to that seen on screen.

Readers can also move through a story at their own pace and use their imagination to create vivid scenes in their mind’s eye. Sometimes even filling in the blanks where there are questions that need answering.

Not only this, but you also get to experience the book in the way the author intended. When directors make a movie adaptation, they have to decide what scenes are the most action-packed and therefore keep the audience engaged.

This often means that some scenes are cut out from the plot that may seem important to the overall storyline.

The biggest example of this is how characters are described in books. Often characters in books look different in movies.

Frankenstein’s monster comes to mind here. In the book, he is described as:

“He is so gentle, yet so wise; his mind is so cultivated; and when he speaks, although his words are culled with the choicest art, yet they flow with rapidity and unparalleled eloquence.” Frankenstein, Victor Hugo, Letter 4

The monster was intended to be gentle. Frankenstein wanted to create a friend, not the brutish monster that we see in the movies.

#2. Books have more depth than movies

But the biggest argument as to why books might be better than movies is that books often have more depth than films due to the additional time they spend on character development and intricate plot points.

When I talk about depth, I am referring to descriptions. The reader gets more insight into how words are said, how characters look, and how scenes are created.

The small details in a book, such as short scenes or little descriptions, are the parts of a book that help readers ask the right questions, start to piece parts of the story together, and even predict what will happen next.

There are usually some key depth features that are missing in movies.

#3. Movie adaptations miss out on key points

If you think about the number of hours you spend reading a book compared to watching a movie, then you get an idea as to how much is missing.

Films tend to lack some of the detail and nuance found in books due to time constraints. This usually leads to unanswered questions after watching the movie.

One of the biggest examples of this is in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

In the movie, there is a scene in which Harry sees a patronus charm of a doe, which leads him to a pond covered in ice where he discovers the sword of Griffindor beneath the surface.

If you watch the movie without reading the book, this scene would be somewhat confusing.

While we do later learn that Severus Snape’s patronus is a doe, and therefore alludes to him placing the sword for Harry to find, the movie never answers the question: how does Snape find Harry?

We also don’t learn how Snape has the sword in the first instance and why it never fell into the ministry’s hands.

While I absolutely loved the movies, I can honestly say I loved it more because I had read the book prior to watching and was able to fill in the blanks.

My partner has never read the books (yes I know, a book blogger is dating someone who has not read Harry Potter. Dumpable offense? Let me know in the comments) and he was constantly badgering me with questions to which I always responded with “in the book, this happens”

#4. Reading has other benefits

There is more to reading books than just following a story. Reading helps to grow your knowledge, expand your creative horizons, and even helps improve your mood.

According to Healthline , reading books can help strengthen your brain, both cognitively and in terms of your mental health.

So you see, there are many reasons why reading is important , not just for something fun to do!

#5. Books allow the reader to think more deeply

Books often have an underlying theme or moral tone that allows the reader to think deeply about certain topics or situations.

The storylines can help you to empathize with certain characters, and reflect on how situations would be handled in our own world.

In classic literature books such as 1984 , for example, there are a lot of areas in which the reader can think about how political influences shape society, but in the movie, you do get a sense of this but it is less developed than in the book.

Why are movies better than books?

If you’re looking for arguments for movies being better than books, here are some reasons why you may prefer a film vs a book.

#1. Movies help bring hard-to-visualize scenes to life

Movies offer a unique cinematic experience that allows viewers to sit back and enjoy a story without having to actively think about it.

This is great for those who don’t have a vivid imagination or struggle to see a clear picture of what an author is describing in their mind.

Movies provide visuals that can often be breathtakingly beautiful or incredibly intense, sometimes more so than written in a book.

One great example of this is in The Hobbit: Battle of the Five Armies.

In the book, Bilbo is hit on the head and knocked out for the whole battle. Only when he awakes does Gandalf fill him in on what happens, but it’s short and to the point.

When you watch the movie, you see all these incredible stunts and action-packed scenes.

Yes, it does feature some gravity-defying performances from Legolas who does not appear in the books, which is something Peter Jackson decided to add to the storyline to make the Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit franchise more connected.

But in the book, you don’t get any of that.

#2. Acting is an art form

Something that readers may not appreciate about movie adaptations is the acting.

Acting is an art form, and by watching movies, audiences can appreciate acting performances as well as special effects such as CGI or stunts that would be much more difficult to experience in a book.

#3. Movies are quicker than books

Reading often requires more time and effort than watching a movie. Reading a book from start to finish usually takes a few days with breaks in between.

If you do sit down to read from start to finish, you can take several hours to get through the entire story.

One reason why you wouldn’t want to do this is that you will instantly forget what happens or you won’t appreciate the detail enough.

Reading should be savored like a fine wine, allowing you to digest information and ponder on the themes, morals, and messages.

If you don’t have time on your side, then movies are your saving grace.

#4. Social interactions are more relatable in movies

Often times when I am reading the dialogue in a book, I feel it’s too staged, or unnatural.

When dialogue is spoken in a movie, it can feel more authentic, as often actors will improvise the script and make it feel more real.

#5. You can watch a film with friends

While you can always go to a book club to talk about a book you love, this is really an activity that hardcore readers enjoy more.

When you go to the cinema, it becomes a larger social outing that can bring together people with all different hobbies and interests.

Should Books Be Made Into Movies?

So while you can now see there are many pros and cons to books and movies, the question remains; should books be made into movies?

Absolutely.

While we can all agree that there is less detail in a movie than in a book, I personally feel that when a book I love has been made well on the big screen, I love the book more.

The best example of this is Lord of the Rings. It doesn’t matter how many times I watch the movies or read the books, I fall in love with the story and characters all over again.

I also find that when I’m not in the mood to read, watching a movie brings back fond memories of the book and helps me get out of a reading slump and inspired to read again.

And it’s not just me that thinks this. According to a study by SuperSummary , 82% of people agree that movie adaptations bring a book to life.

Books vs Movies: The Verdict

Ultimately, which form is better comes down to personal preference as both offer unique experiences that shouldn’t be compared side by side.

While books allow you to use your imagination to its fullest, movies allow the viewer to follow a story without concentrating.

You get more depth to a plot from a book, but you spend less time watching a movie.

Whichever way you choose, whether it’s curling up with a good book or settling into your couch for some movie night fun, there can be no doubt that both will result in an enjoyable escape from reality.

Like this post? Don’t forget to save it on Pinterest!

About Louisa Smith

Editor/Founder - Epic Book Society

Louisa is the Founder, Editor, and Head Honcho of Epic Book Society. She was born and raised in the United Kingdom and graduated from the University for the Creative Arts with a degree in Journalism. Louisa began her writing career at the age of 7 when her poetry was published in an anthology of poems to celebrate the Queen's Jubilee. Upon graduating university, she spent several years working as a journalist writing about books before transitioning to become a Primary School Teacher. Louisa loves all genres of books, but her favorites are Sci-Fi, Romance, Fantasy, and Young Adult Fiction. Read more Louisa's story here .

55 Writing about the Novel: Film Comparison

You began the process of writing your literary comparison paper in the Introduction to the Novel chapter by choosing an essay, reading it carefully, and writing a personal response. In this chapter, we will move through the remaining steps of writing your paper.

Step 3: Choose a Film for Comparison

The key to a good comparison essay is to choose two subjects that connect in a meaningful way. The purpose of conducting the comparison is not to state the obvious, but rather to illuminate subtle differences or unexpected similarities.

When writing a film comparison paper, the point is to make an argument that will make your audience think about your topic in a new and interesting way. You might explore how the novel and the film present the theme…or how the novel and the film explore the identity of a main character…or…the options are limitless. Here’s a quick video giving you a little overview of what a film vs novel comparison might look like:

To this end, your next goal is to choose a film adaptation of your novel. Some novels may only have one, but some have many that have been created over the last 100 years! Your adaptation could be a feature film, a YouTube short, or an indie film. Choose one that allows you to make an interesting point about the portrayal of the theme of the novel and the film.

Step 4: Research

Once you’ve chosen a second piece, it’s time to enter into the academic conversation to see what others are saying about the authors and the pieces you’ve chosen.

Regardless of the focus of your essay, discovering more about the author of the text you’ve chosen can add to your understanding of the text and add depth to your argument. Author pages are located in the Literature Online ProQuest database. Here, you can find information about an author and his/her work, along with a list of recent articles written about the author. This is a wonderful starting point for your research.

The next step is to attempt to locate articles about the text and the film themselves. For novels, it’s important to narrow down your database choices to the Literature category. For essays, you might have better luck searching the whole ProQuest library with the ProQuest Research Library Article Databases or databases like Flipster that include publications like newspapers and magazines.

Finally, you might look for articles pertinent to an issue discussed in the novel. For example, The Grapes of Wrath is about the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl, but it also contains an environmental theme. Depending on what aspect you want to highlight in your comparison, you might look for articles about the Great Depression or about farming and the environment.

Remember, it is helpful to keep a Research Journal to track your research. Your journal should include, at a minimum, the correct MLA citation of the source, a brief summary of the article, and any quotes that stick out to you. A note about how you think the article adds to your understanding of the topic or might contribute to your project is a good addition, as well.

Step 5: Thesis & Outline

Similar to other academic essays, the film comparison essay starts with a thesis that clearly introduces the two subjects that are to be compared and the reason for doing so.

This video highlights some of the key differences between novels and films:

Begin by deciding on your basis for comparison. The basis of comparison could include items like a similar theme, differences in the focus of the piece, or the way both pieces represent an important issue.

This article gives some helpful advice on choosing a topic.

Once you’ve decided on the basis of comparison, you should focus on the points of comparison between the two pieces. For example, if you are focusing on how the literary elements and the cinematic elements used impact the message, you might make a table of each of these elements. Then, you’d find examples of each element from each piece. Remember, a comparison includes both similarities and differences.

By putting together your basis of comparison and your points of comparison, you’ll have a thesis that both makes an argument and gives readers a map of your essay.

A good thesis should be:

Statement of Fact: “The novel and the film of Pride and Prejudice are similar in many ways.”
Arguable: “The film version of Pride and Prejudice changes key moments in the text that alter the portrayal of the theme.”
Personal Opinion: “‘The novel is definitely better than the movie.”
Provable by the Texts: “Both the novel and the film focus on the importance of identity.”
Obvious: “The movie provides a modern take on the novel.”
Surprising: “Though the movie stays true to the original themes of the novel, the modern version may lead viewers to believe that the characters in the book held different values than are portrayed in the novel.”
General: “Both the novel and the film highlight the plight of women.”
Specific: “The novel and the film highlight the plight of women by focusing on specific experiences of the protagonist. “

The organizational structure you choose depends on the nature of the topic, your purpose, and your audience. You may organize compare-and-contrast essays in one of the following two ways:

Block: Organize topics according to the subjects themselves, discussing the novel and then the film.
Woven: Organize according to individual points, discussing both the novel and the film point by point.

Exercises: Create a Thesis and Outline

You’ll want to start by identifying the theme of both pieces and deciding how you want to tie them together. Then, you’ll want to think through the points of similarity and difference in the two pieces.

In two columns, write down the points that are similar and those that are different. Make sure to jot down quotes from the two pieces that illustrate these ideas.

Following the tips in this section, create a thesis and outline for your novel/film comparison paper.

Here’s a sample thesis and outline:

Step 6: Drafting Tips

Once you have a solid thesis and outline, it’s time to start drafting your essay. As in any academic essay, you’ll begin with an introduction. The introduction should include a hook that connects your readers to your topic. Then, you should introduce the topic. In this case, you will want to include the authors and title of the novel and the director and title of the film. Finally, your introduction should include your thesis. Remember, your thesis should be the last sentence of your introduction.

In a film comparison essay, you may want to follow your introduction with background on both pieces. Assume that your readers have at least heard of either the novel or the film, but that they might not have read the novel or watched the film–or both–…or maybe it’s been awhile. For example, if you were writing about Pride and Prejudice , you might include a brief introduction to Austen and her novel and an introduction to the version of the film you’ve chosen. The background section should be no more than two short paragraphs.

In the body of the paper, you’ll want to focus on supporting your argument. Regardless of the organizational scheme you choose, you’ll want to begin each paragraph with a topic sentence. This should be followed by the use of quotes from your two texts in support of your point. Remember to use the quote formula–always introduce and explain each quote and the relationship to your point! It’s very important that you address both literary pieces equally, balancing your argument. Finally, each paragraph should end with a wrap up sentence that tells readers the significance of the paragraph.

Here are some transition words that are helpful in tying points together:

Finally, your paper will end with a conclusion that brings home your argument and helps readers to understand the importance/significance of your essay.

In this video, an instructor explains step by step how to write an essay comparing two films. Though you will be writing about a novel and a film, rather than two films, the same information applies.

Here’s another instructor explaining how to write a comparison essay about two poems. Note the similarities between the two videos.

Here’s a sample paper:

Attributions:

Content created by Dr. Karen Palmer. Licensed under CC BY NC SA .
Content adapted from “Comparison and Contrast” from the book Successful Writing licensed CC BY NC SA .

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Books vs. movies: the age-old debate.

The Mountain Between Us , It , Murder on the Orient Express , Wonder , My Cousin Rachel . These films released in 2017 have one thing in common, and you may have guessed it already: They were all books that were later adapted into movies.

Similar to its affinity for sequels and remakes , it seems to me like Hollywood is increasingly looking to books for inspiration for the next blockbuster hits. From a business standpoint, it makes total sense because producers can draw on the popularity of a certain book and use that to their advantage when it comes to marketing the film’s release.

As an avid reader, I am always excited at the news that a book is being adapted as a feature film. My mind is occupied by thoughts of who the actors/actresses are going to be (and if I approve), if the film will stay true to the book, and most importantly, if the movie will be just as good as the book. The thought of finally being able to visualize what has only previously been limited to my imagination is always an exciting prospect.

However, I am usually underwhelmed after watching a certain film based on a book, and if you asked me a year ago which one I would prefer: the movie or the book, I would have immediately chosen the book.

Hands down. No doubt. However, within the past year, I have come to appreciate movie adaptations of books more because I have realized that comparing books to their counterpart movies isn’t fair; at the end of the day, the two mediums of storytelling have different advantages and different qualifications for what makes them good. Like Stephen King once said, comparing one to the other is like comparing apples to oranges. They are both great sources of entertainment, but they aren’t comparable. For those still reluctant to accept this theory, I’ll be delving more into this age-old question: “What’s better: books or movies?” I’ll make a case for each argument and let you make the final call.

The popular belief is that books are often a hundred times better than their movie counterparts; if you need any further proof, just take a look at the following Washington Post visual.

Books are great because they allow the reader to be a part of the story; we are the observers that have insight into the character’s thoughts and feelings, and all the nuances that create three-dimensional characters. With books, there’s just more. More detail, more focus on character development, and more depth to the meaning of the artwork. It’s also the more time-consuming form of the two, and after finishing a novel, after a couple of hours of being immersed into a different world and mind space, it seems like you have suddenly been thrust back into reality.

On the other hand, the great thing about movies is their ability to show, and the overall experience of watching one. While reading a book, I often have a movie reel playing in my head. I can map out the setting, I can see the characters’ expressions, and I can empathize with their emotions.

However, watching the same story unfold on the big screen is a different experience. While reading spurs your imagination, a movie helps you visualize all the elements of the books that were previously confined to your imagination. It immerses you into the story in a different way than a book.

For example, instead of reading about the magical world of Harry Potter, while watching the movie, I can actually see what J.K. Rowling means by “He was almost twice as tall as a normal man and at least five times as wide. He looked simply too big to be allowed, and so wild – long tangles of bushy black hair and beard hid most of his face, he had hands the size of dustbin lids and his feet in their leather boots were like baby dolphins.” To put it simply, movies make it easier for us to just lean back and enjoy the show.

An added benefit of movies is the music and visual designs that enhance the experience of watching a film. Imagine, for example, that you are watching an emotional scene. It’s the climax of the story, and in the background plays a gentle orchestra, that eventually swells into a big crescendo as the story reaches its resolution. In that moment, you feel exactly what the characters feel, and your heart races along with the melody of the music. So although (in some cases) the audience might not have a play by play of the characters’ thoughts and emotions, movies have another way of conveying the emotion and tone of a certain scene.

If you feel like further exploring this age-old debate personally, come down to Media Services to check out movies even the worst critic would have to admit are just as good as the books. Don’t know where to start? Try Pride and Prejudice, Psycho, Jaws, The Godfather, etc.

Until next time! RE

Robiati Endashaw is a sophomore studying public policy analysis in KSB with a minor in Economics. In her spare time, she enjoys reading non-fiction and watching crime documentaries.

Oh gee thanks so much . I also feel quite the same way too when it comes to books as in they are so much enjoyable because they allow us as the reader to explore the depths of my imagination and every thing happening Is felt dearly. 😊

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Essays About Movies: 7 Examples and 5 Writing Prompts

Check out our guide with essays about movies for budding videographers and artistic students. Learn from our helpful list of examples and prompts.

Watching movies is a part of almost everyone’s life. They entertain us, teach us lessons, and even help us socialize by giving us topics to talk about with others. As long as movies have been produced, everyone has patronized them. Essays about movies are a great way to learn all about the meaning behind the picture.

Cinema is an art form in itself. The lighting, camera work, and acting in the most widely acclaimed movies are worthy of praise. Furthermore, a movie can be used to send a message, often discussing issues in contemporary society. Movies are entertaining, but more importantly, they are works of art. If you’re interested in this topic, check out our round-up of screenwriters on Instagram .

5 Helpful Essay Examples

1. the positive effects of movies on human behaviour by ajay rathod, 2. horror movies by emanuel briggs, 3. casablanca – the greatest hollywood movie ever (author unknown).

4. Dune Review: An Old Story Reshaped For The New 2021 Audience by Oren Cohen

5. Blockbuster movies create booms for tourism — and headaches for locals by Shubhangi Goel

6. Moonage Daydream: “Who Is He? What Is He?” by Jonathan Romney
7. La Bamba: American Dreaming, Chicano Style by Yolanda Machado

1. My Favorite Movie

2. movies genres, 3. special effects in movies, 4. what do you look for in a movie, 5. the evolution of movies.

“Films encourage us to take action. Our favourite characters, superheroes, teach us life lessons. They give us ideas and inspiration to do everything for the better instead of just sitting around, waiting for things to go their way. Films about famous personalities are the perfect way to affect social behaviour positively. Films are a source of knowledge. They can help learn what’s in the trend, find out more about ancient times, or fill out some knowledge gaps.”

In this movie essay, Rathod gives readers three ways watching movies can positively affect us. Movie writers, producers, and directors use their platform to teach viewers life skills, the importance of education, and the contrast between good and evil. Watching movies can also help us improve critical thinking, according to Briggs. Not only do movies entertain us, but they also have many educational benefits. You might also be interested in these essays about consumerism .

“Many people involving children and adults can effect with their sleeping disturbance and anxiety. Myths, non-realistic, fairy tales could respond differently with being in the real world. Horror movies bring a lot of excitement and entertainment among you and your family. Horror movies can cause physical behavior changes in a person by watching the films. The results of watching horror movies shows that is has really effect people whether you’re an adult, teens, and most likely happens during your childhood.”

In his essay, Briggs acknowledges why people enjoy horror movies so much but warns of their adverse effects on viewers. Most commonly, they cause viewers nightmares, which may cause anxiety and sleep disorders. He focuses on the films’ effects on children, whose more sensitive, less developed brains may respond with worse symptoms, including major trauma. The films can affect all people negatively, but children are the most affected.

“This was the message of Casablanca in late 1942. It was the ideal opportunity for America to utilize its muscles and enter the battle. America was to end up the hesitant gatekeeper of the entire world. The characters of Casablanca, similar to the youthful Americans of the 1960s who stick headed the challenge development, are ‘genuine Americans’ lost in a hostile region, battling to open up another reality.”

In this essay, the author discusses the 1942 film Casablanca , which is said to be the greatest movie ever made, and explains why it has gotten this reputation. To an extent, the film’s storyline, acting, and even relatability (it was set during World War II) allowed it to shine from its release until the present. It invokes feelings of bravery, passion, and nostalgia, which is why many love the movie. You can also check out these books about adaption .

4. Dune Review: An Old Story Reshaped For The New 2021 Audience by Oren Cohen

“Lady Jessica is a powerful woman in the original book, yet her interactions with Paul diminish her as he thinks of her as slow of thought. Something we don’t like to see in 2021 — and for a good reason. Every book is a product of its time, and every great storyteller knows how to adapt an old story to a new audience. I believe Villeneuve received a lot of hate from diehard Dune fans for making these changes, but I fully support him.”

Like the previous essay, Cohen reviews a film, in this case, Denis Villeneuve’s Dune , released in 2021. He praises the film, writing about its accurate portrayal of the epic’s vast, dramatic scale, music, and, interestingly, its ability to portray the characters in a way more palatable to contemporary audiences while staying somewhat faithful to the author’s original vision. Cohen enjoyed the movie thoroughly, saying that the movie did the book justice.

“Those travelers added around 630 million New Zealand dollars ($437 million) to the country’s economy in 2019 alone, the tourism authority told CNBC. A survey by the tourism board, however, showed that almost one in five Kiwis are worried that the country attracts too many tourists. Overcrowding at tourist spots, lack of infrastructure, road congestion and environmental damage are creating tension between locals and visitors, according to a 2019 report by Tourism New Zealand.”

The locations where successful movies are filmed often become tourist destinations for fans of those movies. Goel writes about how “film tourism” affects the residents of popular filming locations. The environment is sometimes damaged, and the locals are caught off guard. Though this is not always the case, film tourism is detrimental to the residents and ecosystem of these locations. You can also check out these essays about The Great Gatsby .

6. Moonage Daydream: “Who Is He? What Is He?” by Jonathan Romney

“Right from the start, Brett Morgen’s Moonage Daydream (2022) catches us off guard. It begins with an epigraph musing on Friedrich Nietzsche’s proclamation that “God is dead,” then takes us into deep space and onto the surface of the moon. It then unleashes an image storm of rockets, robots, and star-gazers, and rapid-fire fragments of early silent cinema, 1920s science fiction, fifties cartoons, and sixties and seventies newsreel footage, before lingering on a close-up of glittery varnish on fingernails.”

Moonage Daydream is a feature film containing never-before-seen footage of David Bowie. In this essay, Romney delves into the process behind creating the movie and how the footage was captured. It also looks at the director’s approach to creating a structured and cohesive film, which took over two years to plan. This essay looks at how Bowie’s essence was captured and preserved in this movie while displaying the intricacies of his mind.

7. La Bamba: American Dreaming, Chicano Style by Yolanda Machado

“A traumatic memory, awash in hazy neutral tones, arising as a nightmare. Santo & Johnny’s mournful “Sleep Walk” playing. A sudden death, foreshadowing the passing of a star far too young. The opening sequence of Luis Valdez’s La Bamba (1987) feels like it could be from another film—what follows is largely a celebration of life and music.”

La Bamba is a well-known movie about a teenage Mexican migrant who became a rock ‘n’ roll star. His rise to fame is filled with difficult social dynamics, and the star tragically dies in a plane crash at a young age. In this essay, Machado looks at how the tragic death of the star is presented to the viewer, foreshadowing the passing of the young star before flashing back to the beginning of the star’s career. Machado analyses the storyline and directing style, commenting on the detailed depiction of the young star’s life. It’s an in-depth essay that covers everything from plot to writing style to direction.

5 Prompts for Essays About Movies

Simple and straightforward, write about your favorite movie. Explain its premise, characters, and plot, and elaborate on some of the driving messages and themes behind the film. You should also explain why you enjoy the movie so much: what impact does it have on you? Finally, answer this question in your own words for an engaging piece of writing.

From horror to romance, movies can fall into many categories. Choose one of the main genres in cinema and discuss the characteristics of movies under that category. Explain prevalent themes, symbols, and motifs, and give examples of movies belonging to your chosen genre. For example, horror movies often have underlying themes such as mental health issues, trauma, and relationships falling apart.

Without a doubt, special effects in movies have improved drastically. Both practical and computer-generated effects produce outstanding, detailed effects to depict situations most would consider unfathomable, such as the vast space battles of the Star Wars movies. Write about the development of special effects over the years, citing evidence to support your writing. Be sure to detail key highlights in the history of special effects.

Movies are always made to be appreciated by viewers, but whether or not they enjoy them varies, depending on their preferences. In your essay, write about what you look for in a “good” movie in terms of plot, characters, dialogue, or anything else. You need not go too in-depth but explain your answers adequately. In your opinion, you can use your favorite movie as an example by writing about the key characteristics that make it a great movie.

Essays About Movies: The evolution of movies

From the silent black-and-white movies of the early 1900s to the vivid, high-definition movies of today, times have changed concerning movies. Write about how the film industry has improved over time. If this topic seems too broad, feel free to focus on one aspect, such as cinematography, themes, or acting.

For help with your essays, check out our round-up of the best essay checkers .

If you’re looking for more ideas, check out our essays about music topic guide !

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Comparing The Pros And Cons Of Books And Movies

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Books vs. Movies: Comparison of Features

We all have a friend who yells during a movie that this moment was shown differently in the book. At the same time, another friend says that he or she is bored with reading and would rather wait for the movie adaptation. Both of these friends can be right, since much of a book or film’s success depends on the talent of its writer, screenwriter, director, and actors. Hence, comparing books and movies is a challenging task as both have their advantages.

The main thing in common between books and films is that they convey a story and evoke emotion. A plot can be fiction, fantasy, or a real story from someone’s life. However, it is extremely rare that a story is completely truthful. This statement does not mean that all authors and screenwriters lie, but embellishment or exaggeration is an integral part of books and films. The author can slightly change the sequence of events or the order of words in the phrase, add or omit minor details to make the story more engaging. The director casts an actor with a different color of eyes or hair than a real character or uses a more picturesque setting for the stage. These features are intended to bring readers or viewers more pleasure and evoke stronger emotions, and they are common to movies and books.

At the same time, a book differs from a movie because it can have more details and focus on the characters’ feelings. Quite often, fans of famous books, such as Harry Potter, are outraged that the movie does not show this or that episode, which distorts the character’s personality. Such flaws arise because all the book details cannot be placed in the standard or the appropriate time for a movie. In addition, actors may not accurately convey the characters’ feelings with their acting, while the words in a book precisely describe them. For this reason, the advantage of books is that they can reveal details of the story and feelings of its characters, which bring stronger emotions in readers.

However, the advantage of movies is that a director can use impressive graphics that are difficult for a person to imagine, and musical accompaniment to emphasize the atmosphere of the moment. For example, a person who reads about aliens, magic, or outer space cannot clearly visualize some images, since he or she has no real experience with such objects, but computer graphics can create anything. Music also enhances the mood of the moment; for example, a dramatic song sounds during battles or the scene of a character’s death, and harsh sounds are usually a part of horror films. Thus, a viewer can feel the mood of the moment and enjoy the visuals while relaxing in a movie theater.

Therefore, books and movies have a common purpose in conveying a story to readers or viewers. Their similar feature is that they often embellish reality more or less to offer readers or viewers the best version of a story. However, the main advantage of books is their detail and description of the characters’ feelings, while films allow people to perceive their plot visually and audibly but not only through the prism of their experience. Consequently, books and movies are different in the way of delivering ideas, and the choice of people depends on their preferences.

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Book vs Movie Essay

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In popular culture, the arguments about the ability of movies to accurately portray the emotions in a book are never-ending. While most critics claim that movies trade authenticity for entertainment, others believe that movies help the readers to assimilate the information in written form.

For a book like “The Perks of Being a Wallflower,” this discussion has ramped up since the movie’s release. The opinions of fans of the Stephen Chbosky creation cover a broad spectrum. In some quarters, the use of a popular actor to portray an introvert distracts from Charlie’s (the protagonist) true personality. On the other hand, some fans maintain that once the actor does a great job, it doesn’t matter who played the character. So, with these glaring differences of opinion, it is necessary to point out the differences between the film and the book.

How to compare a book to a movie

Note the difference in estimating the time frames in both works. Movies often have a time constraint, unlike TV shows. So, this time restriction means that only the abridged version of the book can appear on the screen.
Find out if the author of the book also wrote the screenplay for the movie. The best directors retain a lot of originality by hiring the same author to write the screenplay for the movie, which is what they did in this film. As a result, the differences in the plot are less noticeable to the viewers.
Highlight the personality difference in characters. For example, you can mention that the book portrays Patrick as a laid back individual, while the film shows a more vivacious young man.
Identify the key omissions or adjustments between the book and the movie. For example, the entirety of the final poem does not make it to the movie. The decision to leave this lengthy composition out is understandable due to the amount of time it would have taken to go through it.
Compare the cultural references to those used in both the book and the movie . Although a different song appears in the book, “Heroes” by David Bowie is the soundtrack that brings the tunnel scene to life. This example is a classic case of reimagining the original plot for cinematic effect.

Ultimately, writing about “The Perks of Being A Wallflower,” as a movie, should compare it directly with the central plot and character dynamics in the book.

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Compare and Contrast A Book and Movie Activities

My first year teaching - when I was constantly running on empty - I slipped several movie watching afternoons into my lesson plans. I defended this as educational, claiming that we were going to compare and contrast the book and movie. Really, however, I just needed some time to play catch up.

Now, we did actually spend some time comparing and contrasting the book with the movie, but this was still a little bit of a cop-out. My students filled in a blank Book Vs. Movie Venn Diagram, and most of the similarities and differences they found were simply the first observations that came to their head. These were surface level observations that required no real thinking.

I wanted my students to think more critically and more deeply.

Comparing and contrasting a book and a movie can be a very meaningful, educational experience that requires critical thinking - and without all the prep. Use the questions and activity ideas below to help make your movie vs book lesson plans more rigorous for your 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade students.

Or, check out these ready to use, no prep activities for comparing books and movies.

Questions to Include in Your Movie Vs. Book Lesson Plans

I found the best way to encourage deeper thinking was to ask upper elementary students some questions before watching the movie so that they would be thinking more critically while watching the movie. This also helped my 3rd graders think about what they expected from the movie. (No duh - teachers use before, during, and after reading questions with books. For some reason it took me a while to translate that to movies.)

Then, after the movie, I encouraged my students to think about very specific details about the book and movie, rather than just comparing and contrasting using the first thing that popped into their heads.

Not all of the questions I asked were directly related to comparing and contrasting the book and the movie, but these questions got students thinking more critically, which made their comparisons later more thoughtful.

Use the example questions below in your own compare and contrast lesson plans. And while you're at it, teach students to ask their own meaningful questions.

Pre-Movie Questions

• What do you think your favorite part of the movie will be, and why? • What do you think the main characters will look like/act like? • What do you think the main setting will look like? Will it be messy, small, bright, noisy, beautiful, spooky, cold, colorful, etc? • What parts of the book do you think will be cut out of the movie? • What should be added to the movie to make it better than the book? • Which do you think you will enjoy more – the book or the movie? Why? • What was your favorite scene in the book? Would you be upset if this scene was changed in the movie? • What parts of the book will be difficult to portray in the movie? For example, how should the movie portray what a character is thinking?

Post-Movie Questions

• Which did you enjoy more – the book or the movie? Why? • Did the main characters look and act like you expected? Why or why not? • Did the main setting look like you expected? Why or why not? • Think about the scenes that the movie changed so that they were different from the book. What scenes do you wish hadn’t been changed? What scenes were better because of the change? • What parts of the book did the movie leave out? What scenes were added to the movie that weren’t in the book? Were these changes good or bad, and why? • What are some other differences between the book and the movie? • What stayed the same in both the book and the movie? • Whose point of view do you agree with more - the author of the book or the director of the movie? Why?

Want to hold students accountable while watching a movie? Check out this No Prep Movie Vs. Book Resource.

Compare and contrast books to movies in 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade

Activity Ideas to Compare and Contrast

Apart from asking questions, there several fun, yet rigorous activities you can do with your 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade students to help them compare and contrast the movie.

For example:

Have students assign a grade to the movie based on how well it stayed true to the book, and then defend the grade.
Have students write an essay comparing and contrasting the movie and the book.
Have students write book reviews and movie reviews.
Have partners or groups of students list as many differences they can find. See what group can find the most!
Have students think about one of the scenes that wasn't included in the movie. Then, have them draw/write about what it would have looked like if the director would have included it.
Have students use paragraph frames to write an opinion paper explaining which was better - the book or the movie.

Principal Problems?

Some principals look down on activities like this for upper elementary students, and understandably so. Too often, movies are used as a way to babysit students - however, this activity really can be meaningful.

This no prep resource is a great way to convince your principal that comparing and contrasting a book with its movie version can be rigorous. They will LOVE the scaffolded compare and contrast essay and other activities. Best of all, it can be used over and over again with ANY book that has a movie companion.

This is a great activity for the end of the year!

Activities to compare and contrast a movie with its book for 3rd grade, 4th grade, and 5th grade.

Books and Movies that can be Compared and Contrasted

Below is a list of children's books that are also movies. Before showing the movies to your class, be aware of your school's policy on movies. Some of these are rated PG or PG-13 and have some language and content that you might want to fast-forward through or that might require parental consent.

Because of Winn Dixie

The Tale of Despereaux
The Phantom Tollbooth
Charlotte's Web
Wizard of Oz
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
James and the Giant Peach
Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs
Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMN
Where the Red Fern Grows
Polar Express (a great option for a fun Christmas activity )
The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe
The Indian in the Cupboard

Where the Wild Things Are

Fantastic Mr. Fox
Spookley the Square Pumpkin
How to Train Your Dragon
A Wrinkle in Time
Tuck Everlasting
Percy Jackson Series
Harry Potter Series (your students who love Harry Potter might like some of these similar books)
The Mouse and the Motorcycle
The Witches

City of Ember

Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library
Freak the Mighty
Flora and Ulysses
The Bad Guys
Maniac Magee

Never Stress Over Sub Plans Again!

Make copies, find a fiction book, and you'll be ready for any emergency that comes your way!

Comments 178

I love to do Polar Express, Tuck Everlasting, Jumanji, The Wizard of Oz, and Charlotte’s Web (both the cartoon and regular one). I wish I could do them all in a year, but I have to pick a couple to do each year. I am doing a 4/5 split this year, so it will be harder to decide.

I love teaching Because of Winn Dixie!

I am currently teaching a Christmas carol to my 7th grade learning support students. We are going back and forth between reading the play and watching the movie. However, as far as our comparing and contrasting go, we are having more discussion than anything. This would be s fantastic resource that I could use with them right now!

Charlotte’s Web as it works great as a cross-curricular unit with life cycles in science.

My favorite novel to compare and contrast with the movie is “Hatchet”!

I love to compare and contrast The BFG. I feel that students often times enjoy the movie so much more after they have read and discussed the book. There are so many things in the book that are not in the movie and the students love to point them out.

Sarah, Plain and Tall…I’m from Kansas and I love this book because it reminds me of home and my grandparents farm. The movie was actually shot in Emporia, Kansas, where I attended college, and I actually waited on Christopher Walken at a restaurant I worked at at the time. 🙂 Great memories!

I like to compare Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol” with Theodor Seuss Geisel’s “How the Grinch Stole Christmas”. Fingers crossed! Thanks for hosting this giveaway. Teresa Special Ed Shenanigans

Polar Express would be perfect!

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is a good one! I also like doing Shiloh!

I loved comparing the first Harry Potter because my students loved the book and I was able to get permission to show the movie. I also do Because of Winn-Dixie and my students love that

I love to compare the movie and book: The Grinch Who Stole Christmas and The Polar Express

Wonder – It sparks great discussions and has so many great messages that benefit the students.

I just commented and realized that I hit submit too quickly. I meant to add that we like to compare Number the Stars to the Disney movie Miracle at Midnight. I accidentally mentioned the picture book The Butterfly. (Which is another great comparison)

Jumanji and Zathura, as well as Percy Jackson are all interesting to compare and contrast.

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe

My class loves to compare Number the Stars with the picture book The Butterfly. We also enjoy reading Island of the Blue Dolphins and then watching/comparing it to the movie.

I would love the holes package as I am planning on reading that novel in the new year

My favorite book to read and compare with the movie is the Newberry Award-winning novel The Phantom Tollbooth… such amazing fun with words, maps, adventure, and learning important lessons. Truly a timeless treasure! 🙂

My students and I love Winn Dixie! We’ll be watching the movie soon.

The Witches by Roald Dahl

Holes is my favorite!

Inside Out, Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium, or Sky High

I also love Matilda! Harry Potter is also a strong movie representation of the book. 🙂

Thank you so much!!

My 5th graders compare and contrast the book The Sign of the Beaver to its companion movie Keeping the Promise.

Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs or Horton Hears a Who!

I am a first year teacher and my 4th grade students and I have just completed reading aloud all 17 Chapters of “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone” – it has taken us the entire semester! I was able to get approval for us to the watch the movie the last day before winter break, and I could really use some compare/contrast activities to make the experience more meaningful (and to fill the afternoon when the movie is done!) Here’s hoping you choose a newbie to the profession! (Krista G., TMP member and 4th grade teacher in Johns Creek,GA)

We’re reading Fantastic Mr Fox at the moment, because the film is quite different it’s really interesting to see what the students can pick apart for an author’s intent and why it might be different.

Percy Jackson – The Lightning Thief! My kids love it!

I would love to compare/contrast The Giver. I haven’t seen the movie yet, but I love the book! 🙂 Thank you and happy holidays!

I am an absolute Wizard of Oz fanatic! I even had a “Toto” dog and named her Ruby, after the red slippers! I always wanted to to compare and contrast with the book and movie, but couldn’t find a resource where my admin. would allow me to do it. I also love Charlie and the Chocolate Factory as well! And of course WONDER!

We’ve done To Kill a Mockingbird. I would love to do Wonder.

The Polar Express!

Thank you for all you thorough work. In my 5th grade class, we read and watch War Horse. The film adaptation is a favorite among my students. They love comparing the book and movie to see the differences. One of most talked about differences is about Joey and Albert at the end. I will not say more and spoil it! Check it out!

My favorite book to compare to the movie is The Grinch. We do the animated and the Jim Carrey version. Now, there is a new movie. We could start comparing the movies to each other!

Wonder!!!! My class LOVES the book, and they are SO excited to watch the movie! They are very similar, but my kids were mad they left a few things out, and laugh at how different the characters looked compared to what they had imagined!

compare and contrast Mr. Popper’s Penguins

Freak the Mighty and Tuck Everlasting

I love teaching Charlotte’s Web! Comparing and contrasting is one of my favorite things to do with this!

Any Narnia book with the movie version.

Tale of Desperaux and Percy Jackson and the Lightening Thief.

I like to use compare and contrast of the movie and the book with either The Polar Express or Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. I use the old version of this movie and book rather than the Johnny Depp version which is almost identical to the book.

I’m a huge Roald Dahl fan and do at leats two of his books a year. My favourites for compare and contrast book to movie are The BFG and Charlie and the Chocolate factory. This is more about content and missed bits than plot change.

Another good one is The Tale of Despereaux – the movie is so sanitised and happified (is that a word?!) compared to the darker, and in my opinion better, book – more opportunity for critical thinking.

Winn Dixie!

Our school is showing The Polar Express to families as a fun evening activity next week. I would love to read my students the book and compare and contrast the movie and book:-)

Thanks for the awesome free resources!!!

I would love to compare “The Hate You Give!” with my class.

Wonder would be a great book/movie to compare and contrast!

Holes would be great!

We love comparing and contrasting both Where the Red Fern Grows, To Kill a Mockingbird a Mockingbird and Old Man and the Sea. I would love to do the same with Freak the Mighty or The Giver!

I love any Ronald Dahl book. Currently, we are doing BFG. Next is Matilda! 🙂

The City of Ember has been a fun one to compare movie and book. I would love to teach Because of Winn Dixie, since Kate DiCamillo is one of my favorite writers.

Swindle. I do it as a read aloud at the beginning of school, then we watch the movie.

To Kill a Mockingbird book and movie

Tuck Everlasting is a good one!

Phantom Tollbooth is one of my favorites and has been since I was younger. Although I think it’s a little too high for my current students.

Wonder is a favorite of mine.

I did Polar Express last week, and we are going to do It’s A Wonderful Life/ The Great Experience next week! 🙂

I love Holes for my 5th grade babies.

The Grinch, and The Lorax are my favorite. I am interested in looking into comparing Tale of Despeaurex

I love reading Because of Winn Dixie and we are going to watch the movie this year too! I also love the Polar Express!! I would love use your resources please!

We are just finishing Wonder and will watch the movie in a couple of weeks.

Our grade level loves to compare and contrast “The Polar Express.” We do a whole week centered around this book, then wrap up the week with a Polar Express party and the movie. Then we complete a graphic organizer to compare and contrast both of them, and write a short essay response.

Wonder! We are going to start reading that after Christmas break!

I love Because of Winn Dixie!

I love to use Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone or Chamber of Secrets with upper elementary because I’m a huge HP nerd. They take a long time to read though!

Charlotte’s Web

Right now we are reading Harry Potter (the 1st one). We will be watching the movie version to compare and contrast. 🙂

I’ve done The Grinch with classes multiple times, I was excited to do Stubby the War Dog last spring unitl I realized the movie wasn’t out yet!

Harry Potter is a fun compare and contrast.

The Worst/ Best Christmas Pageant Ever!

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe!

I want to do Ferdinand this year with my Dual Language students!

Sarah, Plain and Tall (and the series)

I use Shiloh.

Wonder. Or any Harry Potter

I’ve done Charlie and the chocolate factory as well as Charlotte’s Web. Love the activity 🙂

I love comparing and contrasting Holes.

This is such a fun activity! I’d like to try the Nutcracker, once the new movie comes out, or use an older version. I’d love to see if there is a movie for Hatchet. The Indian in the Cupboard would be fun!

We read “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever” as a class novel every year in December and then watch the movie.

I have compared and contrasted Cloudy with a chance of Meatballs many times, but I would like to compare and contrast Matilda.

I like to compare/contrast Charlotte’s Web.

I like to compare/contrast “Series of Unfortunate Events”. My 4th graders love that book. We use the old movie with Jim Carey, and now with the Netflix version they are able to view it at home and come up with yet another take on the story.

Stone Fox or Polar Express!

I love comparing and contrasting the Polar Express or the Grinch with my 4th grade students.

I love to use Charlotte’s Web and Wonder.

I love your resources! I look forward to and enjoy the freebies you send! They are greatly appreciated. I would like to compare/contrast Wonder. I am currently reading the book to my students. Thank you! 🙂

I read Stelluna to my class every year, but I didn’t realize there was a movie too! I am definitely going to have to get the movie so we can compare and contrast the book vs movie. Thanks for the idea!

I love to compare and contrast The Grinch and The Lorax.

We usually compare and contrast Maniac Magee. The book is amazing, but the movie leaves out SO much of the story! Great one to prove the book is much better.

Wonder and Phantom Tollbooth

I love to compare and contrast the book/movie Wonder. Both the book and the movie are wonderful and my students enjoy both. I am doing Tuck Everlasting and The Giver this year as well.

We compare and contrast the movie The Best Christmas Pageant Ever, Maniac Magee, and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. My kids love finding ways the movie is different. Many of them have also promised me they will create a movie for There’s a Boy in the Girls’ Bathroom when they grow up. It is one of our favorites! 🙂

I love comparing and contrasting Because of Winn-Dixie with my students

Charlotte’s Web is fun to compare and contrast! There’s several different versions of movies to choose from – animated and non-animated.

I just started reading Because of Winn-Dixie with a fifth grader and he already saw the movie, so your compare/contrast resource is very helpful! Thank you

Each year I compare/contrast The Christmas Shoes just before Winter break. I also did Wonder last year.

I love to compare and contrast Wonder with my fifth graders!

When I taught third grade I would compare and contrast Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Charlotte’s Web. With my sixth graders, we compare and contrast Where the Red Fern Grows.

I love to do the movie/book comparison for HOOT. There are a lot of differences and it is a popular book with both the boys and the girls.

Book to movie– Matilda

I think The Grinch would be a great one!

The grinch is a movie and book I would like to compare/contrast

I would like to compare/contrast Wonder. Thanks for all of your resources.

I would like to compare and contrast The Best Christmas Pageant Ever! 🙂

We ha e read the Tale of Despereaux and I’d love to compare/contrast that story with the movie.

I love Charlotte’s Web!

I love compare and contrasting The Outsiders with my 6th graders, but this year I’m embarking on a new one – Percy Jackson and the Olympians – The Lightning Thief. The students are so jazzed about finishing the book and looking forward to watching the movie!!

My class reads Wizard of Oz every year. Of course, we also watch the movie. It’s the best compare & contrast! Although we did do Because if Winn Dixie last year too, because it was a Battle of Books. 😉

This is perfect! We are working on comparing and contrasting and getting ready to do Polar Express. Awesome! Choose me, choose me

Thanks for all of your resources you provide. I am interested in compare/contrast for the movie Polar Express! Thanks

This time of year I like to “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” as a compare and contrast of the book versus the movie. It has such a nice message.

Book/Movie to compare/contrast: The Grinch!!

I love doing Stuart Little! 🙂

Love Love love Charlotte’s Web to compare and contrast.

I love to compare and contrast Stone Fox with my fourth graders.

I have been comparing and contrasting movies for years. The last few years it has been harder to find the time because some administrators do not feel that showing a movie is educational. Last year I showed the movie Holes after having read the book with my fourth graders. I think I will go back to my all time favorite this year, Peter Pan (the cartoon). Many of my students have not heard of the great Disney classic movies yet alone read one.

My team teacher and I are hoping to compare and contrast the book/movie of Wonder this year in fourth grade!

I would love to use this with Wonder. 🙂

Actually, my team and I are planning to compare and contrast the Polar Express! Thank you!

Some of the book/movies I’ve done:

Hachiko Waits vs. Hachi: A Dog’s Tale Sarah, Plain & Tall Holes

Jumanji & Zathura

I have compared the books and movies for Polar Express and The BFG.

We do Wonder and we compare and contrast the book and movie! Lots of fun!

My favorite movie & book to compare & contrast is Stone Fox. There are a ton of differences between the 2 so it’s very easy to contrast for sure!

My students and I have been reading Escape from Mr Lemoncello’s Library and I just learned there is a series/movie! I’d love to use your resources!

Percy Jackson, The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan. We love the book.

We used Winn Dixie this year, which was a hit. We also did this last year with Wonder. We read it aloud to start the year and watched it towards the end to have a full circle ending! I’d love to try the Polar Express around this time of year as well.

I love to use Mr. Popper’s Penguins to compare and contrast a book and a movie. There students have to really listen and focus to find the similarities in the two. They always love how many differences there are and are very quick to point them out…so much so that they can hardly watch the movie for telling each other and me things like, “Hey! They didn’t do that in the book.” or “That’s not anything like how Mr. Popper acted in the book.” I love to see that they are paying attention to those details, and it helps me know how well they listened to the book as we read it in class. I would love to have additional resources to use in my classroom to make my book/movie comparison lessons more engaging. Thank you for the opportunity, and thank you for all that you do and share with educators.

I love to compare and contrast The Sign of The Beaver. It’s old but every year the students love it. The movie is different enough that it gives lots of opportunities for discussions.

I would like to try to compare and contrast the book and movie versions of Stellaluna.

I am comparing and contrasting The Westing Game book and movie the week before Christmas.

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The Grinch would be great for my fourth graders!

I want to compare and contrast Because of Winn Dixie with my students!

Because of Winn Dixie and Polar Express

Holes for sure is my favorite! What a great resource.

I would love to compare and contrast the book and movie Polar Express!

The Grinch Who Stole Christmas

We have compared and contrasted the book and movie “Holes”! I also like to do “Charlotte’s Web”.

I also love reading Matilda! So many themes you can pull from that text. Around this time of year, we like to read The Grinch, discuss it in depth, then watch the classic version of the movie. Inadvertently, we are also able to make comparisons with the more recent version of The Grinch and compare both adaptations with the book.

My students and I are finishing Charlie and the chocolates factory! I would love to put this great spin on watching the movie. #12daysofChristmas

I would love any of the books/movies listed above. Especially Polar Express! One of my favorites! Thanks for everything!

I love Polar Express of course! But earlier this year we did Stone Fox with my third graders and that was so fun! They loved finding all the little differences!

Where the red fern grows is an excellent comparison but watching the movie students can really feel the emotion which in the book they may not understand some of the events that take place

My favorite book/movie to compare and contrast is “Bridge to Terabithia” by Katherine Paterson. The students get to compare and contrast events that happen in the book and not in the movie (or vice versa), but an added bonus is they get to compare and contrast the visual that they create in their minds of imaginary world Terabithia and the magical world the producers made. There are lot of points to compare that it always leads to a great discussion!

We love to compare any Roald Dahl books/movies.

My third graders have been reading Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and they have been loving it!! We will be finishing it next week, so the following week (right before break) we will be watching the movie! I was already planning on having my students compare and contrast the movie to the book, so this resources would definitely be a huge help!!

I would like to compare the book/movie Wonder with my kiddos.

My favorite book and movie to compare and contrast is Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. My 5th graders love it!

A unit my students are doing focuses on the Nez Perce Indian tribe. We read the book, Thunder Rolling in the Mountains, and then watch the movie, I Will Cry No More Forever. I have my students do some comparing/contrasting, but I would love your resources! Thank you!

The first book we read is Mrs Frisby and the Rays of NIMH. We then compare and contrast it with the movie, the Rats of Nimh. This time of year we read A Christmas Carol together and then watch A Muppet Christmas Carol and compare. It’s a bit silly, but so fun for the last week before Christmas break. I also hope to use The Man Who Invented Christmas and do a little compare and contrast with Dickens actual life.

So I would love to compare and contrast Harry Potter, but it is such a taboo book and I don’t know that I’d even want to try it. I would also love Matilda! I’ve never thought of that one, but I saw it on the list as I was scrolling through, and thought it would sound fun!

I would love to compare and contrast “The Polar Express” movie and book. Not only is it perfect to read around the holidays, but we are actually working on comparing and contrasting right now. It is a perfect way to do something fun and interesting with the kids that will also be educational and get them in the holiday spirit.

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is the latest book/movie we have done this with. Back when the first Harry Potter movie came out, we did that one and it was a HUGE hit. There were so many points to compare and contrast in that set! The kids loved it!!! One student told me that reading the book was like a movie playing is his head, because the details were so well written in the book. I think I may need to recycle that one. 🙂

Thank you! Have a great day!

I am reading Because of Winn-Dixie for the first time with a class. I would love to have the movie to show them when we finish right before winter break.

I am currently reading Tale of Depereaux with my four sections of language arts classes. I would love to have some resources to help my students compare and contrast the book to the movie!

Thank you, Ms. G Heiligenstein

My latest favorite movie/book to compare/contrast is Wonder.

I just compared and contrasted The Jungle Book movie and story and then we got to watch a play of it too. The kids loved it!

I would love to compare/contrast the book and movie “Wonder” with my students. Such good themes and point of view!!

I would love to be able to compare and contrast the book and movie “Wonder”.

My all time favorite read aloud and movie to watch with my kids is Holes! I read this book as a kid probably 5 or 6 times. I love being able to share my love for this book and the movie. 🙂 It’s great for 5th and 6th grade students.

I love comparing Balto to the movie. The real story to the cartoon. I would love to have this resource to use during this unit. Happy Holidays. Debbie

My students are a little older than yours but good materials are good materials. We are currently doing 2 different book/movie projects (the students had a choice.) We are doing Wonder and The Hate U Give.

I use The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe and The Giver with my middle school students.

I’ve been receiving your newsletter for some time now. Perhaps I originally requested your sub plans, but if so I’m afraid I’ve mislaid them. Now when I click on the button to request them, nothing happens.

Could you please send me your sub plans, maybe via email?

I emailed them to you!

My class always enjoys “Lemoney Snickett: A Series of Unfortunate Events.”

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Best Essays and Books About Horror Movies

Learn more about your favorite frightening films, or film theories of horror itself, with this list of creepy books and essays.

You’ve probably wondered about the inspiration behind your favorite scary movies and the background of some of those horrifying stories. Sometimes the origins of a horror movie are as simple as an author telling a scary story, and at other times films are based on more sinister, true events . You might also be interested in the making of certain horror movies or the impact they have on the audience or the cast. Maybe you're into film theory and want to study the gender dynamics, cultural and political significance, and philosophy of horror, like in Carol Clover's seminal book Men, Women, and Chainsaws . Luckily, there are plenty of resources that explore these exact topics and the development of horror movies in general.

You might be interested in why people are attracted to horror movies and the act of feeling fear. In which case, you might want to read Stephen King’s essay Why We Crave Horror Movies . Digging even deeper, you might notice horror films can help us examine fears around eating, sexuality, religion, and more. You might even wonder about the characters that often die first and why, which is explained by Lindsay King-Miller in her essay A Love Letter to the Girls Who Die First in Horror Movies . Whatever it may be, in addition to the aforementioned texts, here are the best essays and books about horror movies.

Monsters in the Movies: 100 Years of Cinematic Nightmares

Director John Landis ( American Werewolf in London, Twilight Zone: The Movie ) wrote a book on movie monsters covers some of cinema’s most terrifying creatures and their development. Landis explores the design of movie monsters and special effects, both in high and low-budget films. Monsters in the Movies includes interviews with the minds behind the monsters, their historical origins, and tricks behind bringing these ghouls to life.

Nothing Has Prepared Me for Womanhood Better than Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2

Sarah Kurchak’s essay examines a subject people might not consider in horror movies. The truth is that many scary films express beliefs about women and their experiences via horror and gore. Kurchak dissects how Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 features female stereotypes in hot pants but also explores women facing the threats of men and emerging from adolescence completely altered. Kurchak argues that this horror comedy can teach female viewers about what to expect from the world and adolescence.

Stephen King At the Movies: A Complete History of Film and Television Adaptations from the Master of Horror

The chilling stories of author Stephen King have made both startling reads and frightening films. King’s works have established more than 60 horror movies and 30 television series. This book covers the making of all of them, including behind-the-scenes material and King’s opinion on some adaptations. If you’re looking to dive deeper into some iconic films based on King’s stories , consider picking up Stephen King at the Movies .

There’s Nothing Scarier than a Hungry Woman

Remember how we said that horror movies can contain messages that don’t appear obvious on the surface? Laura Maw notices how in many horror movies there is always a scene of a ravenous woman eating, and her fascinating essay considers the meaning behind that.

Related: Best Performances in Horror Films of All Time, Ranked

Maw writes that “horror invites us to sit with this disgust, this anxiety, and to acknowledge our appetite and refuse to suppress it.” Maw presents a feminist analysis of hungry women in well-known horror movies in a way which both explores and challenges preconceptions about women.

Behind the Horror: True Stories that Inspired Horror Movies

Dr. Lee Miller’s research into the origin stories of movies like The Exorcist and A Nightmare on Elm Street are compiled in this handy book. Miller details the true accounts of disappearances, murders, and hauntings that inspired these hit movies.

Behind the Horror explains the history of the serial killers featured in Silence of the Lambs and takes a good look at the possessions that motivated the making of The Exorcist and The Conjuring 2 .

My Favorite Horror Movie: 48 Essays by Horror Creators on the Film that Shaped Them

Arguably one of the best books to read if you are curious about the makers behind famous horror movies. My Favorite Horror Movie features over 20 essays from filmmakers, actors, set designers, musicians, and more about the dark works that solidified their careers.

The films discussed include It , Halloween , The Shining , and others. It’s a good book for looking at horror movies from different angles and recognizing the many minds that contributed to these iconic works.

The Art of Horror: An Illustrated History

Yet another great book for establishing a rounded perspective of horror movies, this time in a much more visual way. The Art of Horror sorts through famous illustrations, movie posters, cover art, comics, paintings, photos, and filmmakers since the beginning of horror with Bram Stoker’s Dracula and Mary Shelley’s infamous Frankenstein . Learn about these talented artists, their chilling work, and their impact on the direction of horror.

Wes Craven: Interviews

If you’re trying to hear from the best horror directors themselves, the Wes Craven interviews are a great place to start. Craven is responsible for films like Scream , The Hills Have Eyes , A Nightmare on Elm Street , and The Last House on the Left , and is often considered one of the greatest horror filmmakers of all time.

Related: The Best Scream Queens of All Time, Ranked

Craven established a particular style in his films that changed the way horror movies are made, and this book pulls information from the master himself. Wes Craven: Interviews includes almost 30 interviews with the director ranging from the 1980s until Craven passed away in 2015.

101 Horror Movies You Should See Before You Die

Ever wonder if you’re missing a great horror film from your spooky collection? This is the book for you. 101 Horror Movies You Should See Before You Die covers the absolute essentials of every kind of horror film, from gothic to slasher and international horror classics as well. Horror can take on so many different forms and this book is one of the best for finding horror films you might have missed.

The Science of Women in Horror: The Special Effects Stunts, and Stories Behind Your Every Fright

Authors Meg Hafdahl and Kelly Florence examine women in horror movies in this book that explores feminist horror films , and more misogynistic ones from the standpoint of feminist film theory. The Science of Women in Horror recalls the history of women in horror movies and goes on to analyze more recent, women-centered horror flicks and series such as The Haunting of Hill House and Buffy the Vampire Slayer . If you want to know more about the women on and off-screen in horror movies, check out this book!

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Critic’s Notebook

Like My Book Title? Thanks, I Borrowed It.

Literary allusions are everywhere. What are they good for?

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By A.O. Scott

You see it everywhere, even if you don’t always recognize it: the literary allusion. Quick! Which two big novels of the past two years borrowed their titles from “Macbeth”? Nailing the answer — “ Birnam Wood ” and “ Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow ” — might make you feel a little smug.

Perhaps the frisson of cleverness ( I know where that’s from!), or the flip-side cringe of ignorance ( I should know where that’s from! ), is enough to spur you to buy a book, the way a search-optimized headline compels you to click a link. After all, titles are especially fertile ground for allusion-mongering. The name of a book becomes more memorable when it echoes something you might have heard — or think you should have heard — before.

This kind of appropriation seems to be a relatively modern phenomenon. Before the turn of the 20th century, titles were more descriptive than allusive. The books themselves may have been stuffed with learning, but the words on the covers were largely content to give the prospective reader the who (“Pamela,” “Robinson Crusoe,” “Frankenstein”), where (“Wuthering Heights,” “The Mill on the Floss,” “Treasure Island”) or what (“The Scarlet Letter,” “War and Peace,” “The Way We Live Now”) of the book.

Somehow, by the middle of the 20th century, literature had become an echo chamber. Look homeward, angel! Ask not for whom the sound and the fury slouches toward Bethlehem in dubious battle. When Marcel Proust was first translated into English, he was made to quote Shakespeare, and “In Search of Lost Time” (the literal, plainly descriptive French title) became “Remembrance of Things Past,” a line from Sonnet 30 .

Recent Proust translators have erased the Shakespearean reference in fidelity to the original, but the habit of dressing up new books in secondhand clothing persists, in fiction and nonfiction alike. Last year, in addition to “Birnam Wood,” there were Jonathan Rosen’s “ The Best Minds ,” with its whisper of Allen Ginsberg’s “ Howl ,” Paul Harding’s “ This Other Eden ” (“ Richard II ”), and William Egginton’s “ The Rigor of Angels ” (Borges). The best-seller lists and publishers’ catalogs contain multitudes ( Walt Whitman ). Here comes everybody! (James Joyce).

If you must write prose and poems, the words you use should be your own. I didn’t say that: Morrissey did, in a deepish Smiths cut (“ Cemetry Gates , ” from 1986), which misquotes Shakespeare and name-checks John Keats, William Butler Yeats and Oscar Wilde — possibly the most reliably recycled writers (along with John Milton and the authors of the King James Bible) in the English language.

Not that any of them would have minded. When Keats wrote that “ a thing of beauty is a joy forever ,” he surely hoped that at least that much of “ Endymion ” would outlive him. It’s a beautiful sentiment! And he may have been right. Does anyone read his four-part, 4,000-line elegy for Thomas Chatterton outside a college English class, or even for that matter inside one? Nonetheless, that opening line may ring a bell if you remember it from the movies “ Mary Poppins ,” “Yellow Submarine” or “ White Men Can’t Jump .”

Wilde’s witticism and bons mots have survived even as some of his longer works have languished. If it’s true (as he said) that only superficial people do not judge by appearances, maybe it follows that shallow gleaning is the deepest kind of reading. Or maybe, to paraphrase Yeats, devoted readers of poetry lack all conviction , while reckless quoters are full of passionate intensity .

Like everything else, this is the fault of the internet, which has cannibalized our reading time while offering facile, often spurious, pseudo-erudition to anyone with the wit to conduct a search. As Mark Twain once said to Winston Churchill, if you Google, you don’t have to remember anything.

Seriously though: I come not to bury the practice of allusion, but to praise it. (“ Julius Caesar ”) And also to ask, in all earnestness and with due credit to Edwin Starr , “ Seinfeld” and Leo Tolstoy : What is it good for?

The language centers of our brains are dynamos of originality. A competent speaker of any language is capable of generating intelligible, coherent sentences that nobody has uttered before. That central insight of modern linguistics, advanced by Noam Chomsky in the 1950s and ’60s, is wonderfully democratic. Every one of us is a poet in our daily speech, an inglorious Milton ( Thomas Gray ), a Shakespeare minting new coins of eloquence.

Of course, actual poets are congenital thieves (as T.S. Eliot or someone like him may have said), plucking words and phrases from the pages of their peers and precursors. The rest of us are poets in that sense, too. If our brains are foundries, they are also warehouses, crammed full of clichés, advertising slogans, movie catchphrases, song lyrics, garbled proverbs and jokes we heard on the playground at recess in third grade. Also great works of literature.

There are those who sift through this profusion with the fanatical care of mushroom hunters, collecting only the most palatable and succulent specimens. Others crash through the thickets, words latching onto us like burrs on a sweater. If we tried to remove them, the whole garment — our consciousness, in this unruly metaphor — might come unraveled.

That may also be true collectively. If we were somehow able to purge our language of its hand-me-down elements, we might lose language itself. What happens if nobody reads anymore, or if everyone reads different things? Does the practice of literary quotation depend on a stable set of common references? Or does it function as a kind of substitute for a shared body of knowledge that may never have existed at all?

The old literary canon — that dead white men’s club of star-bellied sneetches ( Dr. Seuss ) — may have lost some of its luster in recent decades, but it has shown impressive staying power as a cornucopia of quotes. Not the only one, by any means (or memes). Television, popular music, advertising and social media all provide abundant fodder, and the way we read now (or don’t) has a way of rendering it all equivalent. The soul selects her own society ( Emily Dickinson ).

When I was young, my parents had a fat anthology of mid-20th-century New Yorker cartoons , a book I pored over with obsessive zeal. One drawing that baffled me enough to stick in my head featured a caption with the following words: “It’s quips and cranks and wanton wiles, nods and becks and wreathed smiles.” What on earth was that? It wasn’t until I was in graduate school, cramming for an oral exam in Renaissance literature, that I found the answer in “ L’Allegro, ” an early poem by Milton, more often quoted as the author of “Paradise Lost.”

Not that having the citation necessarily helps. The cartoon, by George Booth, depicts a woman in her living room, addressing members of a multigenerational, multispecies household. There are cats, codgers, a child with a yo-yo, a bird in a cage and a dog chained to the sofa. Through the front window, the family patriarch can be seen coming up the walk, a fedora on his head and a briefcase in his right hand. His arrival — “Here comes Poppa” — is the occasion for the woman’s Miltonic pep talk.

This black-and-white cartoon shows a woman in a black dress and polka dot apron standing in the front room of her home addressing its inhabitants, which include a young child, several elderly people, a couple of cats and a dog leashed to a sofa. Through a large window, we can see the woman’s husband approaching on the front walk in an overcoat and hat and with a briefcase in one hand.

Who is she? Why is she quoting “L’Allegro”? Part of the charm, I now suspect, lies in the absurdity of those questions. But I also find myself wondering: Were New Yorker readers in the early 1970s, when the cartoon was first published, expected to get the allusion right off the bat? They couldn’t Google it. Or would they have laughed at the incongruous eruption of an old piece of poetry they couldn’t quite place?

Maybe what’s funny is that most people wouldn’t know what that lady was talking about. And maybe the same comic conceit animates an earlier James Thurber drawing reprinted in the same book. In this one, a wild-eyed woman bursts into a room, wearing a floppy hat and wielding a basket of meadow flowers. “I come from haunts of coot and hern!” she exclaims to the baffled company, disturbing their cocktail party.

That’s it. That’s the gag.

Were readers also baffled? It turns out that Thurber’s would-be nature goddess is quoting “ The Brook ,” by Alfred, Lord Tennyson. (I’ve never read it either.) Is it necessary to get the reference to get the joke? If you chuckle in recognition, and complete the stanza without missing a beat — “I make a sudden sally/And sparkle out among the fern,/To bicker down a valley” — is the joke on you?

It’s possible, from the standpoint of the present, to assimilate these old pictures to the familiar story about the decline of a civilization based in part on common cultural knowledge. Sure. Whatever. Things fall apart ( Yeats ). In the cartoons’ own terms, though, spouting snippets of poetry is an unmistakable sign of eccentricity — the pastime of kooky women and the male illustrators who commit them to paper. This is less a civilization than a sodality of weirdos, a visionary company ( Hart Crane ) of misfits. But don’t quote me on that.

A.O. Scott is a critic at large for The Times’s Book Review, writing about literature and ideas. He joined The Times in 2000 and was a film critic until early 2023. More about A.O. Scott

Explore More in Books

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Home — Essay Samples — Life — Reading Books — Reading Books or Watching Movies: A Balanced Perspective

Reading Books Or Watching Movies: a Balanced Perspective

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Published: Sep 1, 2023

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Engaging the imagination, depth of understanding, emotional resonance and enjoyment.

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Ryan O'Connell to Release Essay Collection (Exclusive)

Ryan O'Connell is set to release a new book.

The Emmy-nominated and Writers Guild Award-winning writer, actor, and producer's debut collection of essays was acquired by St. Martin's Press, The Hollywood Reporter can exclusively announce. The book will be published in early 2026.

The book's collection will include "soul-bearing, funny, and provocative essays about overcoming one's limitations, and the ones others place on you, and leading a fully gay life." Publisher St. Martin's Press describes of the book, "In essays that range from his relationship with his mother, to alcohol, to straight people's weddings, and to online hook-up culture, O'Donnell illuminates his life and the lessons he's learned as he embraces his full self."

O'Connell said in a statement to THR , "I love writing for TV and film but when I started considering putting dead bodies in my pilots and earnestly thinking about my creative vision for Bob's Big Boy: The Movie , I knew it was time to return to my problematic first love: The Personal Essay. My latest book is a collection of stories examining how I, a gay disabled man, learned to value myself even when the world around me didn't. Thank you to my agent Kent Wolf and my editor Anna deVries at St. Martin's for believing in me and letting me write a 6,000-word essay called ‘Are Straight People Okay?' I hope after reading this, people will be struck with the delusional confidence of Rob Schneider in the late 90s and pursue big, gorgeous lives."

O'Connell released his debut novel called Just By Looking at Him in 2022. Apart from his work on television, O'Connell also penned a memoir I'm Special: And Other Lies We Tell Ourselves , released in 2015, which became the inspiration for Special.

His breakout sitcom Special , based on his own journey as a gay disabled man coming to terms with his cerebral palsy, ran for two seasons on Netflix and was nominated for four Emmy Awards. He received a Special Recognition Award from GLAAD and a Visibility Award from the HRC for the special. O'Connell also starred in, wrote, and executive produced Queer As Folk for Peacock.

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Books Vs. Movies: Similarities and Differences Essay
A significant difference between books and movies is in the manner in which the visual images are created. When reading a book, the reader has to use his/her imagination to create a visual image from the words contained in the book (Mayer 17). For example, in the Harry Potter books, the reader is required to form his/her own image of the ...
Books Vs Movies Essay
according to my opinion books are always the better option than movies. Books are much more detailed than movies, they improve your English skills, vocabulary and are proven to help you get better jobs. Meanwhile films are socially better, quicker to watch and made just for entertainment. Filed Under: Essay Writing.
Books Vs Movies: Which Is Better? The Debate Settled!
If you're looking for arguments for movies being better than books, here are some reasons why you may prefer a film vs a book. #1. Movies help bring hard-to-visualize scenes to life. Movies offer a unique cinematic experience that allows viewers to sit back and enjoy a story without having to actively think about it.
Compare and Contrast Books and Movies
Books often provide a deeper insight into the thoughts and emotions of the characters, allowing the reader to immerse themselves in the story on a more personal level. In contrast, movies rely on visual and auditory elements to convey the story, offering a more immediate and sensory experience for the audience.
Comparing Books and Movies: [Essay Example], 511 words
Published: Feb 12, 2024. Books and movies are often compared, as they both have their own unique advantages in conveying a story and evoking emotions. While books can provide more details and focus on the characters' feelings, movies have the advantage of using impressive graphics and musical accompaniment to enhance the mood of the moment.
Books Vs Movies Compare and Contrast Essay
Emotional Expression: Movies vs. Books. Imagination and Creativity: Reading vs. Watching. Time Consumption: A Comparative Analysis. Similarities Between Reading and Watching: Stress Relief, Bonding, and Knowledge Enhancement. Portability and Convenience: A Modern Perspective. Conclusion: The Interplay of Reading and Watching.
The Similarities and Differences between Books and Movies: [Essay
Similarities between books and movies. A. Storyline. Despite their differences, books and movies often share the same storyline. A movie adaptation of a book usually follows the same plot as the original story. B. Themes. Books and movies both explore similar themes, such as love, loss, and self-discovery.
How to Write a Killer Book and Movie Comparison Essay
Find a focus and outline your ideas. At this point, you have a solid list of relevant points to analyze, but you still don't have a focus for your paper. To start, develop a solid thesis statement. Don't write a bland statement like, "There are many similarities, but only a few differences between the book and movie.".
Writing about the Novel: Film Comparison
Step 3: Choose a Film for Comparison. The key to a good comparison essay is to choose two subjects that connect in a meaningful way. The purpose of conducting the comparison is not to state the obvious, but rather to illuminate subtle differences or unexpected similarities. When writing a film comparison paper, the point is to make an argument ...
Books vs. Movies: The Age-Old Debate
Books are great because they allow the reader to be a part of the story; we are the observers that have insight into the character's thoughts and feelings, and all the nuances that create three-dimensional characters. With books, there's just more. More detail, more focus on character development, and more depth to the meaning of the artwork.
Films Vs. Books: What To Choose?
1. This essay sample was donated by a student to help the academic community. Papers provided by EduBirdie writers usually outdo students' samples. Cite This Essay. Download. Nowadays, most of people either read a book or watch a movie at their free time, for entertainment purposes. Printed books and movies have some similarities and differences.
Essays About Movies: 7 Examples And 5 Writing Prompts
Cohen enjoyed the movie thoroughly, saying that the movie did the book justice. 5. Blockbuster movies create booms for tourism — and headaches for locals by Shubhangi Goel "Those travelers added around 630 million New Zealand dollars ($437 million) to the country's economy in 2019 alone, the tourism authority told CNBC.
Comparing The Pros And Cons Of Books And Movies
Books and movies are both great ways to spark someone's imagination and influence them creatively. They both allow their creators the freedom of expression, and they provide entertainment to the masses. With all of that in mind, they are very different forms of media. Books are written works that can spark someone's imagination, while ...
Books vs. Movies: Comparison of Features
Books vs. Movies: Comparison of Features. Topics: Cinema, Movies Comparison Words: 556 Pages: 2. We all have a friend who yells during a movie that this moment was shown differently in the book. At the same time, another friend says that he or she is bored with reading and would rather wait for the movie adaptation.
Movies vs. Books Essay, Compare and Contrast, Short Essay
Movies vs Books Rodreonna Tomlin Grade 10. If you went to a group of people and asked if they preferred "books or movies", you would probably get a whole bunch of different answers. Some people say books are good but movies are better. Some disagree and say books are better. Others hate books and love movies.
Book vs Movie Essay Sample ️ Bookwormlab.com
As a result, the differences in the plot are less noticeable to the viewers. Highlight the personality difference in characters. For example, you can mention that the book portrays Patrick as a laid back individual, while the film shows a more vivacious young man. Identify the key omissions or adjustments between the book and the movie.
Books and Movies: a Comparative Analysis
Differences between Books and Movies. While books and movies serve similar purposes, they differ significantly in terms of imagery, narrative structure, and time constraints. Books rely on reader interpretation and imagination to create visuals, while movies provide audio-visual representation of scenes and characters.
Compare and Contrast A Book and Movie Activities
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Holes. James and the Giant Peach. Stellaluna. Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs. Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMN. Where the Red Fern Grows. Polar Express (a great option for a fun Christmas activity) The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.
Books Vs. Movies: Similarities and Differences
Text book vs. movies essay? 📚 Aforementioned essay sample provides a compare and contrast analysis of books and movies! 🎥 Read the paper to hear about the most significant similarities and differences.
Comparison of books and movies Essay Sample
One can develop emotions and attitude towards a book or a movie, for instance, the story of Romeo and Juliet will always be the same regardless of whether read or watched in a movie (M-a-r-c-o L-e-e). Reading a book consumes a lot of time depending on the speed of the reader. Some people can take up to even weeks reading a particular book ...
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Nothing Has Prepared Me for Womanhood Better than Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2. Cannon Releasing. Sarah Kurchak's essay examines a subject people might not consider in horror movies. The truth is ...
Like My Book Title? Thanks, I Borrowed It.
Illustration by Erik Carter. By A.O. Scott. March 28, 2024. You see it everywhere, even if you don't always recognize it: the literary allusion. Quick! Which two big novels of the past two years ...
Reading Books Or Watching Movies: a Balanced Perspective
In a world inundated with visual and textual stimuli, the debate between reading books or watching movies remains a perennial one. Both mediums offer unique avenues for storytelling and entertainment, but they also engage our minds in distinct ways. This essay delves into the merits and drawbacks of reading books and watching movies, shedding ...
Compare and Contrast Essay about Book vs Movie
If you are looking for unique essay papers for sale on the topic "Book vs Movie", browse our private essay samples. The concept of reading books or watching movies has been in this world long before us and will probably remain after. In the olden times, people read books through literature written on organic pieces of parchments.
Comparing The Catcher In The Rye And Movie Inside Out
Comparing The Catcher In The Rye And Movie Inside Out. 691 Words3 Pages. This book, The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, is a novel that explores a dropout's adventure through New York City. Holden Caulfeild, the narrator, failed out of Pencey Prep and stayed in a hotel in the city, rather than going home to the disappointment of his parents.
Ryan O'Connell to Release Essay Collection (Exclusive)
Ryan O'Connell is set to release a new book. The Emmy-nominated and Writers Guild Award-winning writer, actor, and producer's debut collection of essays was acquired by St. Martin's Press, The ...

Books Vs. Movies: Similarities and Differences Essay

Books Vs Movies: Which Is Better? The Debate Settled!

Books vs Movies Pros and Cons

Pros of reading books over movies

Cons of reading books over movies

Pros of watching movies over reading books

Cons of watching movies over reading books

Why books are better than movies?

#1. Books nurture the reader’s imagination

#2. Books have more depth than movies

#3. Movie adaptations miss out on key points

#4. Reading has other benefits

#5. Books allow the reader to think more deeply

Why are movies better than books?

#1. Movies help bring hard-to-visualize scenes to life

#2. Acting is an art form

#3. Movies are quicker than books

#4. Social interactions are more relatable in movies

#5. You can watch a film with friends

Should Books Be Made Into Movies?

Books vs Movies: The Verdict

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55 Writing about the Novel: Film Comparison

Step 3: Choose a Film for Comparison

Step 4: Research

Step 5: Thesis & Outline

Step 6: Drafting Tips

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