So I just finished reading the Hunger Games series - and by just I mean it's 11:57 and I finished at 11:49. Hands down the best series I've ever read - and I'm a big reader.
So.... Now what? I honestly don't know what to do. My first thought was to read the books over again, and then I remembered the movie coming out at the end of this month. Which led me to the following thought:
There is NO way the movie - or trilogy of movies - can amount to the creation of the Hunger Games series in my head. But then again, what movie has actually ever trumped a book? I mean think about it. Movies can be huge letdowns when they don't meet your expectations - even without a book. So how could you not go into a movie having read the book, and not have expectations?
Books allow you to create something from nothing. Think about the first chapter of a book. You can actually comprehend your mind sketching out the main characters as the author gives you little insights. It'll throw me off if I give her brown hair and find out three pages later she's indeed a blonde. But on top of that - reading the book allows your brain to subconsciously think about it for days to come. I would find myself sitting at work, staring at my laptop, and replaying portions of the book over and over.
It encompasses your emotions. Creating the visual image in your head combined with reprocessing the plot over and over again lets you have relationships with the characters. But they're relationships that no one else has with them. Because they were created by you. Essentially, they're your characters.
Do I sound like a freak yet?
All in all - a part of me doesn't want to see the movie. I almost just don't want Hollywood to belittle the version I have in my head. I don't want them to forget a scene. I don't want them to overlook any little detail. I have expectations. But then again - the majority of the world that reads them does, too. And since so many people have developed this obsession with the series...why wouldn't filmmakers want to capitalize on that? What're they to do - stop marketing what sells?
I don't know. I could just sound like a nerd who has a slight obsession with a teen book series. Very possible. But just think about it. How many times have you heard, "the book is so much better than the movie." It just makes sense. Reading a book allows you to be a part of it. Watching a movie allows you to be a spectator of it.
Much, as I'd expect, like a spectator of the Games.
