yousra.ca

Movies Ruin Imagination

Yousra

After being glued to my laptop for a YEAR, I decided to grab a book from my bookshelf and read. READ. I can’t remember the last time a read a book from cover to cover. I realized that I have a lot of books on my bookshelf that I’ve only read once and have been collecting dust since then. I decided to revisit one of my favourite childhood series – Harry Potter.

I opened the book, read the first sentence and couldn’t help but smile: “Nearly ten years had passed since the Dursleys had woken up to find their nephew on the front step, but Privet Drive had hardly changed at all.” It was the sentence that begin all of the magic! I read on…

This part of the first chapter literally made me laugh out loud because of its irony (in the book, and in real life). Dumbledore was justifying to Professor McGonagall that leaving baby Harry Potter with his aunt and uncle would be best for him, since he wouldn’t have to deal with the wizard world. Dumbledore wrote his aunt and uncle a letter explaining everything. This is what Professor McGonagall had to say to that:

‘A letter?’ repeated Professor McGonagall faintly, sitting back down on the wall. ‘Really, Dumbledore, you think you can explain all of this in a letter? These people will never understand him! He’ll be famous – a legend – I wouldn’t be surprised if today was known as Harry Potter day in future – there will be books written about Harry – every child in our world will know his name!‘

Every child in their world, AND ours, really does know Harry Potter’s name. You would have to be living under a rock if you haven’t heard it.

However, one thing that bothered me while reading the novel, was the fact that I couldn’t picture the characters in my head like I did the first time I read Harry Potter ten years ago. Privet Drive looked like the movie set in the first Harry Potter movie, Albus Dumbledore was Michael Gambon, Harry Potter was Daniel Radcliffe… and it just didn’t seem right. Books are always better than movies, but I don’t think that will stop me from watching the Harry Potter movies. I just wish there was a way I could read the series like I read it the first time.

I came to the conclusion that movies ruin imagination. And it bothers me.

Yousra Avatar
Yousra

3 responses to “Movies Ruin Imagination”

  1. john doe Avatar
    john doe

    if i read books, i can see how that may be a problem.

    i find mowies ruin books in a different way…….. i usually find books just seem boring and long compared to all the other things you could be doing

    Reply
  2. Salman Avatar
    Salman

    That’s so true! Though I haven’t read a novel in a long, long time, I feel the same way. I’ve always preferred reading a book and then watching its movie adaptation, not vice-versa. It’s also worth mentioning that movies are slowly replacing books as a dominant means of story-telling. Compared to so many decades ago, people simply aren’t as into reading for leisure. On the other hand, people are flocking to movie theaters on a weekly basis! It’ll be interesting to see where we’ll be a few years from now. Because no matter the means, story-telling is an inherent aspect of human behavior. We’re social creatures and relaying our experiences and past experiences through story and poem and song is something we’re naturally inclined towards. Good entry! Write more please. Also, incorporate photography somehow. :)

    Reply
  3. Ikhlas Avatar
    Ikhlas

    I recently just reread the first book too, and am on the fourth one right now (and loving it) and know exactly how you feel…that first sentence always captures me!

    And while I’ve heard a lot of people tell me this, weirdly enough, I don’t have this problem.

    I’m an avid reader and I consider my day a waste until I’ve read something (preferably fiction) and I usually finish books extremely fast, especially if I like them. In fact, up until recently, I use to bring a book to the table when I ate, because I found mundane conversation too boring, but my family yelled at me about it enough times that I had to stop. Unfortunately.

    With Harry Potter, a series I have read countless times, before and after the movies, I still see the characters as I saw them and the settings as I saw them. Sometimes, my lazy brain will begin to make comparisons of locations (such as privet drive, platform 9 and 3/4) but then I force it into obedience.

    And while I agree with what Salman above said, about reading and books becoming almost obsolete (for pleasure, anyways) I find myself even more distant from my peers and the generations below me, almost an oddity, if you will, because I don’t find many people who are avid readers like myself anymore. And this makes me sad.

    But really nice entry, Yousra! And I’m so glad I found your website. When I have more time, I will stalk it and write creepy comments under different names, inshAllah. LOL >_<
    :)

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *