When the Book is Better than the Movie (Feat. Lindsay Ellis) | It's Lit!

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It's an age-old debate: The Book vs. The Movie
Since the dawn of cinema, film has been sort of the little brother of the more heady, intellectual medium of novels. And many film adaptations of literature leave viewers and critics saying… “The book was better.” But why do adaptations of beloved stories tend not to live up to the source material?
Interested in using this video as a teaching resource? Check it out on PBS LearningMedia: to.pbs.org/33DFwb4
Hosted by Lindsay Ellis
Written by Lindsay Ellis and Angelina Meehan
Directed & animated by Andrew Matthews
Produced by Amanda Fox
Executive in Charge (PBS): Adam Dylewski
Music and Sound Design: Eric Friend
Hand Model: Katie Graham
Imaged by Shutterstock

[@pbsvoices]

Looking for more It's Lit? You can find the latest season on Storied, PBS's home for arts and humanities content here on KZbin. Subscribe to Storied for the latest episodes of It's Lit and get your folklore fix with Monstrum while you're there! kzbin.info/door/O6nDCimkF79NZRRb8YiDcA

[@locutusdborg126]

Don't you mean when the movie is better than the book? Because that is more unexpected than the reverse.

[@ThatOneGuy7550]

Lindsay Ellis and PBS? That's a match made in Heaven.

[@DenGigantiske]

That One Guy photo of lindsays mug shot www.google.com/search?tbm=isch&sa=1&ei=u-MYW9rgCOrP5gLR4qSgBg&q=lindsay+ellis+arrested&oq=lindsay+ellis+arrested&gs_l=mobile-gws-wiz-img.12...4597.8577..9400...0....440.3139.0j9j3j1j2......0....1.........0j35i39j0i24.JpQq4m%2BZhX4%3D#imgrc=XyN2jDsUv8KseM:

[@DoppelgangerJ]

Den Gigantiske People drink alcohol. People may choose to walk home because they're too inebriated to drive. Sometimes the police are overprotective. And arrest them for their safety. It happens, boyo.

[@imveryangryitsnotbutter]

Fuck off Den.

[@duffman18]

@@DenGigantiske I know you're a weird stalker so I'm not gonna convince you, but mate, most people get drunk. It's weird to NOT have ever been drunk in your adult life. Anyway keep on with the creepy behavior i guess

[@ana10gcadaver99]

right???

[@Entertainer13]

Pssst... PBS.... More Lindsay.

[@LOSTLEAD8R]

Entertainer13 yes please. I love her analysis stuff

[@carpiioo.806]

I FELT THIS

[@hopevaldez4759]

@@LOSTLEAD8Rfffffffcizhsjshddjdjdndnndnnrrjjhrn

[@myriadmediamusings]

So cool to see an Internet celeb you've been following since she started transcend into stuff like this on the big network-affiliated sites. And the topic of the video itself is pretty interesting especially in this age where we seemingly have gone back to a culture of not reading books. It's also great to see this sort of topic be discussed more analytically instead of just hand-weaving away that "movie studios and Hollywood stink".

[@R0DisG0D]

That's not a point to be dismissed though. Movies cost a lot of money so there's way more of an incentive to "play it safe".

[@myriadmediamusings]

Oh I agree that it's a point to consider, and I'm in no way saying that it's OK for Hollywood to sacrifice artistic integrity for the sake of money. Just that more often than not, rather than finding a reason why these things happen, people just off-handedly blame Hollywood just because it's easy. There's multiple layers to this than just the hippie mentality of evil greedy corporations bad.

[@HereComesPopoBawa]

R0DisG0D - Movies costing a lot of money is a tactic studios use to monopolize the medium. They try to cultivate a popular taste for something that they are in a unique position to deliver. For example, compare popular music now with massively overdubbed analog prog in the 1970s, or popular orchestral music. The indie music revolution would never have happened if people still expected those things. Making or consuming mainly tens-of-millions of dollar spectacles is not a given, it is a choice with many underlying factors.

[@dalton5229]

Honestly, with how popular ebook readers are I find it hard to believe that we, as a culture, don't read books. Media is now more readily accessible than it ever has before, I think it's incredibly unlikely that we're not reading.

[@christopherdeleon2095]

Pio Nepomuceno More people read books now than in the 1950's.

[@BKcritic]

Yo Lindsay has transcended all her contemporaries at channel awesome, it's pretty dope.

[@TalysAlankil]

Lindsay has risen far beyond even being mentioned in the same sentence as "channel awesome" if you ask me. (Is that sentence paradoxical? Okay maybe)

[@NathanWubs]

she left channel awesome years ago and by doing so already transcended channel awesome by miles and leaps.

[@threadbearr8866]

It's *very* cool.

[@MrIrrationalSmith]

As much as I liked Nostalgia Critic's earlier content.... man.... that guy just keeps doubling down on the unfunny skits. #feelsbadman

[@heavytransit]

Shes really talented and evolved a lot from what she used to do back then.

[@sudevsen]

Me after watching a bad movie movie adaptation: WHY DOES IT HURT SO MUCH!

[@JoaoPessoa86]

Sudev Sen because it was real

[@mariamicallef8151]

BECAUSE IT WAS R E A L

[@JonConstruct]

See how I g l i t t e r

[@Number9Robotic]

lik if you cri everytim ;_;

[@Thessalin]

Nice call back!

[@MagusMirificus]

Wha-wha-what?! THE Lindsay Ellis?! It's a great day for America, everybody!

[@DavidMajors]

Your Craig Ferguson reference will not go unappreciated.

[@TheGreatsagegoku]

I also got that reference. Love.

[@daustin8888]

Trump was a great day for America

[@micahadamson4309]

@@daustin8888 Hilarious.

[@daustin8888]

@@micahadamson4309 Not really. But seeing her despair after election night was hilarious

[@PavarottiAardvark]

Film adaptations tend not to live up to the book.....but tie in novels are rarely as good as the film.

[@despaahana]

PavarottiAardvark preach!

[@jackfruth3738]

Yeah i think the overall theme is whether or not the second thing (be it book or movie) is a shameless cash grab :)

[@Forceprincess]

SO TRUE!!!

[@movienight6437]

Yess

[@ackbarfan5556]

I had to read the English Patient for a collage class and was surprised when I watched the movie to see how much they changed it, especially the ending.

[@troyareyes]

IM LOSING TO A BIRD!!!

[@MiloKuroshiro]

They are fine.

[@MagusMirificus]

See how I glitter!

[@gvendurst]

I ate the whole plate. The WHOLE plate!

[@idakiilerich6541]

See... he's fine.

[@jethroreading7168]

It's fine

[@Mystakaphoros]

I love how well-researched and well-sourced all of Linday's stuff is.

[@TactownGirl]

Oh what! Will this be a series with Lindsay? Cuz she is my fav and i am here for this.

[@R0DisG0D]

It will be

[@captaindinglepants4890]

Hoorayyyyy! Lindsey Ellis you wonderful lady! I'm glad PBS has recognized your talent

[@musicguy322]

Lindsay should have her own PBS KZbin channel!

[@meganturner9086]

YES! I love Lindsay Ellis!! One of my favorite KZbinrs :D

[@unfabgirl]

Yay! After watching Lindsay's most recent video essay, now there's this! Thank you. One example I love to use for this argument is Stardust. I enjoy both the film and the book, and both are so different from each other, that it works in both mediums' favor. Gaiman, the author, went on record to gush about some of the changes that occurred for the movie.

[@MoonSafariFilms]

Lindsay is the best

[@MetropolisPictures]

I coul listen to Lindsay talk intellectual musings about literature all day.

[@sundawg911]

Awesome Lindsay!! Glad you're able to provide your well researched expose on PBS.

[@MrErgtide]

PBS and Ellis together?, this is the chocolate and peanut-butter of KZbin.

[@Thessalin]

OOMMMMM nom nom nom nom!

[@jmwilliams88]

Great to hear Linsday on here! However, I wish she had more specifically explained what para-text was not accounted for in the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy film that "made it fail to capture the spirit of the book to so many people."

[@KingBobXVI]

This is largely the same issue that plagues pretty much all of Lindsay's movies... ...they just aren't _long_ enough!

[@teemusid]

Arthur Dent was a dull everyman with a lack of self-awareness. He was hard to like or dislike. The movie didn't understand that his personality was necessary to the tone of the movie.

[@MusicMeg2012]

Two of my favorites together: Lindsay and PBS. Makes me wonder what a Dan Olson or Contra collab with PBS would look like. Beyond that, maybe Rachel Bloom would partner with you guys to do a series on music in film/TV or how musicals tell stories. Bagels After Midnight/Harrison Chute is also a great writer.

[@Mystakaphoros]

You have impeccable taste. These are good ideas and you should feel good about them.

[@swivelmaster]

I want to see Contra doing one of those random unexpected 2AM Adult Swim shorts. She's got a bit of that Tim & Eric editing/post-production-driven surrealist sensibility... (as does HBomberguy)

[@KaijaSchmauss]

God what I wouldn't give for Harrison Chute to write a PBS series for Rachel Bloom to narrate. I miss his videos and I'm certain he'd be overjoyed to work with Rachel.

[@MusicMeg2012]

Right?? I just need more CEGF analysis. There's still so much to unpack from season three.

[@RectPropagation]

I would pay money to watch a reaction series for CEGF.

[@SoleMan117]

Once Doug Walker struck her down, she became more powerful than he could possibly imagine!

[@KingBobXVI]

Was she fired, or did she quit? Or would it be more accurate to say, "escaped"?

[@BostonMBrand]

My favorite adaptation has to be the Shawshank Redemption, simply because it takes a very underdeveloped novella and manages to make it into one of those most heart warming and inspiring stories ever put to screen.

[@kayhaven4710]

Will Lindsay be writing future episodes? If so, I shall sub now. If not, I'll give it a few more episodes to see how it pans out. EDIT: Confirmed for more Lindsay. Subbed!

[@melissayes3161]

I love how the animation like flows and it makes it hard to not understand what's happening omfg i love it so much

[@dominictemple]

Very nicely done, really glad Lindsey is getting recognised.

[@djpal5321]

They should use Lindsay in more of these. Her extensive knowledge of film provides an interesting perspective on lit.

[@Yin2522]

I love how clear and concise this is! Really effective and cool host VO! I dig it. definitely watching more.

[@rickbeck2121]

Excellent job! I've loved seeing Lindsay's online persona grow over the last several years. I find her videos more interesting, informative, and entertaining than ever!

[@marteenyo]

I hope you keep doing more of these videos, Lindsay. They're amazing!

[@Kahtisemo]

There's also the fact that when making a movie, there's a LOT more components desperately trying to work itself out. I forget his name, but I saw an interview a while back where the author explained how in the process of changing it over to a film something like "What most authors struggle with during adaptation is that when you're writing the book, it's just you. All the characters and designs and symbols and stuff is how you put it. The book has a lot of red, it means something, it's very important to you. Then you end up with a studio head who hates red and thinks orange will show better. So they go with orange and there's not much you can say about it." Like how endings get changed all the time either to wrap things up due to things being cut, or because test audiences had a bad reaction to it so they feel the wider audience won't take well to it. Not to mention things like how elaborate a scene may be to try to rebuild or issues with the actors or something came up with the filming location or who knows what all can happen behind the scenes.

[@nickfiore2068]

I'm so happy to see Lindsay's work outside of her channel. A great video! Excited for this contest

[@corabee923]

I only just discovered this video series. The world definitely needs more Lindsay Ellis. Great stuff!!!

[@phoenixalvarado651]

First off, I love seeing more Lindsay and it's so cool to see her working with PBS! She has come a long way and I love hearing more of her thoughts!!! I find this video interesting. I thought all of this though not sure how exactly to express this thought in a concise and thoughtful way. For me, watching a movie is difficulf just because I am focusing too much on what I would do differently or being distracted by something else. It is something I have been getting better at though for me the book is my preferred mode of entertainment. I love the idea of plotting the story for myself in my head. The movies seem only to be of use to me if there is a character I am not exactly sure would love like or a setting. There are very few movies that I think actually help the book, mainly Harry Potter. Harry Potter has so much more going for it in the book though the movies are so well made and the cast is so believable, they work with the books. Almost like a companion. Lon Chaney's Phantom of the Opera also kinda works like this for me too. The only movies I can say I honestly feel are better than the book is Frankenstein (along with Bride of Frankenstein) and The Wizard of Oz. Though even with Oz, while I have not read Baum's and the many other books in the Oz series unless you also count Wicked, there are many ideas I enjoy from the book. I just find the Judy Garland movie such as masterpiece that it is above the book in someways and acts as a companion as well. I feel like I am rambling. I am so happy to hear Lindsay talking books!

[@newwavejunkie]

Lindsay and PBS: what a fantastic combination!

[@DenGigantiske]

newwavejunkie Mug shot of lindsay www.google.com/search?tbm=isch&sa=1&ei=u-MYW9rgCOrP5gLR4qSgBg&q=lindsay+ellis+arrested&oq=lindsay+ellis+arrested&gs_l=mobile-gws-wiz-img.12...4597.8577..9400...0....440.3139.0j9j3j1j2......0....1.........0j35i39j0i24.JpQq4m%2BZhX4%3D#imgrc=XyN2jDsUv8KseM:

[@miasummers3886]

Den Gigantiske Sometimes peple get drunk. Get over it

[@newwavejunkie]

Mia Summers It’s clearly so newsworthy it’s worth taking the time to post it on everybody’s comment 🤣

[@user-qb1nw1zi3f]

This is very interesting and a great way to bring these discussions to people who might not otherwise watch PBS material. I definitely would love to see you bring her back! And reach out to other youtubers!

[@CorpseTongji]

ITS TIME TO ELEVATE LINDSAY TO THE LEVEL OF IRL CELEBRITY

[@wecaneatcereal8453]

YEAH LINDSAY GETTING THAT SWEET PBS MONEY.

[@Hakajin]

Great commentary! I love Lindsay Ellis and think highly of PBS, and I'm all about literature, specifically talking about animation as literature. I have a lot of thoughts about how image and sound create meaning in a different way than words on a page, and... I'm really excited about this series, looking forward to seeing where it goes!

[@kellerica8005]

A great video, can't wait for more! Lindsay Ellis always has and continues to be one of the most insightful and interesting people on the face of the internet. A small thing about the video itself though: I found it a little hard to focus on what was being said at times, because of the sound effects kept distracting me. It could definitely be just me, as I do seem to be more easily bothered by overlapping noises in general, but if maybe they could be at a tad lower volume in the future?

[@amberp8835]

I am so excited to see Lindsay partnered with PBS. I have been following her video essays and reviews for years. She is intelligent and breaks down information about media in a clear and understandable way.

[@redsnake69]

What I've learned: * First of all literature and filmography are almost completely different languages, so getting things missed in translation should be expected. * Film adaptations can bring new and valuable things to the story. * Paratext: personal features of the audience that influence how they experience the content. * Sometimes it's possible getting more using less, so it could be the case that cutting stuff from the text is the best. * Lindsay Ellis is just awesome.

[@ria75002]

Dang how do they make these videos? they’re so fun and well edited

[@Anna-xh6fk]

GO Linsay! So happy for you

[@buzzlightyearsu]

i’m so excited for this series, love lindsay and also love the design/animation!

[@monkeyshunenugz]

This is a great video! It has an interesting visual style that's very informal, has a host that is very well educated in the the history of popular culture, and best of all: at no point do the visuals or the host ever talk down to the audience's intelligence. Great Job!

[@andy150395]

Hooray Lindsey!! Also wonderful video

[@grenbaygrl1]

Loving these videos! Can't wait for more of them :)

[@PrinceofArfon]

Great idea for a video series, and major props for working with Lindsay Ellis! She’s been an excellent critic and video essayist for years, and has only gotten better this year.

[@jeffrycoello8944]

Great point. Love your work. Although, we must add «you can only translate what is inessential to the book» (I think that's a quote from Kundera), and the essential of a novel is that it's written. A movie is in itself a completely different work, unless you think that a movie or a novel can be reducted to its plot, which I hope, no one does.

[@jyotiranjan7062]

Such useful contents are very rare in internet....great job

[@jonnay23]

This was a great team up! Awesome!

[@EPWillard]

ready player one: you tried. pretty hard to make a diamond from a turd though

[@princess7strawberry]

OMG, finally somebody agrees...

[@askewman37]

I'm glad The Hitchhiker movie got brought up because it means I can mention Movies with Mikey and his excellent episode on that movie. Basically his point is yes all the adaptations were different, but don't feel the need to rank them, just try and enjoy each on their own merits

[@Trixtah]

But why, if the movie simply STUNK? I really can't think of one "merit" about the movie. I can kind of go eh about Zoe Deschanel (if you must go with an American actress to make it more appealing to the US audience - I think a South Asian woman would have been great, given how Trillian is described in the books). Mos Def was simply wrong. I don't care about his colour - it is the fact that Ford Prefect is like a manic unhinged hipster dude. And actually funny - Mos Def was like a petrified forest of woodenness. Eddie Redmayne could maybe do it - he's perfect in looks - if he managed to summon up more "cool dude" and less "puppy dog eyes". Sam Rockwell was not right as Zaphod. Yes, an American is right on, but those heads flipping around was a stupid effect. Part of the fun of the two heads being visible at the same time are when they're having two different reactions to what's going on. Or the same one. I admit I'm prejudiced against Martin Freeman, so I won't get into his annoying so-called "everyman". And Marvin was completely and utterly and stinkingly wrong in terms of looks - he's not supposed to be "cute". Was it an attempt at product placement for Sony? The plot (admittedly not an Adams strongpoint, but they hired a screenwriter precisely to *make* a plot) was crap. The effects were crap. And the directing was crap (stick to music videos, dudes). Some of the jokes were good, but that was in spite of the main cast (who had no discernible chemistry with each other), not because of it. I can't help thinking an earlier-proposed cast featuring Hugh Laurie, Jim Carrey as Zaphod (if he didn't do too much of the rubber face thing) and Nigel Hawthorne as Slartibartfast would have been about a zillion times better. As long as they had Alan Rickman doing Marvin's dialogue (at least THAT was perfect). And Stephen Fry was pretty good as The Book.

[@gcooper642]

I enjoyed the film when it came about, when I watched it again a few years later I felt that it was a bit smug.

[@RRyleM]

0:27 my thoughts exactly when I saw the trailer for it. The Giver is one my favorites and I’ve always wanted to see an adaptation of it, I’ll wait to see if they’ll make a better one...

[@BaldingClamydia]

I was so excited for the Giver to come out 😞

[@rawjawbone]

Regarding the Jaws/Spielberg adaptation, wasn't Coppola's Godfather a similar treatment? They took a mostly pulpy crime novel and turned it into (some say elevated the content) into a highly regarded classic film. A sort of reversal of the book vs. movie adaptation debate. It would be interesting to see film adaptations that transcend their source material.

[@CBSmith-js9yl]

Richard Becker every invasion of the body snatchers adaptation ever (there’s so many at this point) is so so so much better than that book.

[@VaultBoy13]

Anything that tones down the author's inner monologue in Ready Player One is a win. Plus, every challenge the character has in the books is basically solved with exposition about how he knows all of X, because blah blah blah. He was already great at Joust, because he'd just spent the summer playing it against his friends. The success seems to be more based on it being 80s nostlagia the book.

[@commandercaptain4664]

@@VaultBoy13 I'm guessing the story wanted to paint Wade as being worthy of OASIS, mainly because Wade is the parallel of Halliday. Not much of a hero's journey, but moreso a quest of destiny.

[@1805movie]

Good for you Lindsay for going on PBS. You're really moving up in the world.

[@litcrit1624]

This video's definition of "paratext" isn't one I'm familiar with. It may be just wrong. Traditionally, "paratext" is NOT a blanket term for all the experiences and ideas the audience bring to a text. Rather, it is the set of frames or attached items (cover design; illustrations; introductions; dedications; blurbs; even the author's name) that go into the creation and distribution of a text as a readable object. Paratexts offer the initial entryways into a work. As critic Gérard Genette put it, "The paratext is for us the means by which a text makes a book of itself."

[@commandercaptain4664]

I guess it'll have to be stacked on the pile of culturally-degraded nomenclature, along with "MacGuffin" and "Mary Sue".

[@orangelion03]

I do so enjoy your essays...here and on your own channel.

[@tofu_golem]

Sometimes, the film exceeds the source material if the source material is trash. ;)

[@geensloth911]

Paul T Sjordal and sometimes you can polish a turd, but it's still a piece of crap.

[@LadyAhro]

@@geensloth911 Like 50 shades. Still trash, and all the 'good bits' are creations of the director rather than the author.

[@ariadna7189]

The editing is so entertaining omg :))

[@ashyuka300]

Lindsay is an absolute delight. I’m so excited she’s getting more recognition!! Looking forward to more from this series!

[@niab4450]

I will always brake for Lindsay Ellis projects!

[@backpagecomics]

Really great stuff! Looking forward to more!

[@lorena1628]

Delighted to see - er, hear - more of Lindsay Ellis! Also that is such an interesting animation style!

[@hyperrrtrophy]

I’m so entranced by this animation! It’s so clean and fun

[@DJTea]

Awesome video! I always thought a good example of a movie elevating its source material was The Exorcist. I can't imagine anyone walking away from it thinking the book was better, because the book didn't come close to the movie in impact for me. Conversely, The Amityville Horror book I found legitimately more terrifying than the movie (any of them actually) ever was... regardless, thanks for the food for thought!

[@johnstaley641]

YES! MORE LINDSAY!

[@ArcaJ]

Nice job Lindsay and PBS!

[@kylefoutz4920]

Wonderful! I really enjoyed the fast-paced engaging style with citations, but not bogged down by too much over-my-head... stuff.

[@meghanisapirate]

Lindsay is the best! Also I truly lol-ed at the fact that this video series on books is called *It’s Lit!*

[@sarahfickling9699]

This series is amazing! I can’t wait for more!

[@aspiringpolymath701]

A very interesting video! I love the in-depth look at a ubiquitous question. I love Lindsay Ellis as a narrator, and I recognize her witty and informative style. Witformative? Informawitty? Point is, I'm excited to see the next video done by her!

[@Lucholosabe]

So great to see this video! Love your work, Lindsey. And love that too many people still care about books here. They were the first gadgets made to share fictions in human history!

[@russnco]

Very nice! I love your content. I think Time is the difference, books can spend, and take so much more time, on anything and everything. Movies seem to have to hits the beats, or lose the audience.

[@wellsb973]

Delighted to see Lindsay Ellis and PBS together. A great video.

[@thefinestsake1660]

Mooooovin' on up! GJ Lindsay and PBS.

[@Caitlin_TheGreat]

Always good to see more Lindsay. Now then, I feel that the reason the movie is typically less satisfying than the book is not only because the movie has to adapt something from it's native medium and remake it to fit a new container... but also because movies are short. Even a short novel will far outpace a movie, and so drastic and deep cuts must be made. You can really only capture the gist of the thing, and often for a book that means missing out on so much of the depth that made it worthwhile. One adaptation I thought was superb, though it still had to drop some things, was The Green Mile. Oh, yes, it's "mini series" which really just translates to "a long-form movie with built in intermissions". And I think there's a reason TV (i.e. Netflix, Amazon) has entered a golden age, because you can make these long-form movies and it's easy for audiences to access them. And at their leisure! The problem with movies is that the film industry keeps telling itself that movies must be short. Part of this problem is with the whole theater system. Typically people don't want to lose a giant part of their day to sitting in some dark room with a hundred or more strangers, unable to attend to things that might pop up. See, a book doesn't need to be consumed in a single sitting. Because it's a one-on-one experience you can pause at any point, pick it back up at any point, etc. The same goes for online streaming. And I think this is why movies have gotten the false notion that they need to be about an hour and half to two hours long. Interestingly, I suspect that if movie technology had come along earlier -- when industrialization hadn't yet stolen people's free time -- very long movies probably would have been the norm and there would have been all sorts of commentaries about trying to enjoy the classic long-form film in an age when people no longer had the time and patience to sit through a 6 or 8 hour story. Meanwhile, yes it is true that because movies are a very different medium that forces showing rather than telling, even much of that is simply a matter of "this is how it's always been done." It's not that bizarre to have a narrator, it needs to be done with skill and artistry, but this is just as true with writing. But I think the ultimate issue is that movies, especially today, are typically only created by large companies (global corporations now) and they don't usually like trying new things. They find something that works and often refuse to stray from that formula. Unless someone else shows them another way to do things that actually makes _more_ money. But my point is, that for me, when I read there's usually a very strong visual in my head of what I'm reading that all too often feels like it would translate very well to a movie format. It may not be perfect, that's what revision and pre-production are for, but it's always made me doubt the validity of the excuse "well, movies are audio visual and books aren't." I believe it's a false dichotomy because in both you're attempting to simulate human (or maybe alien?) experiences and you necessarily overcome the obstacles of the medium to do that. Books can't make sound, but they can describe them. Books can't show you what's happening, but they can describe them. All too often I think the problem originates from _why_ a book is made into a movie: profit. Those in charge may try to wrangle up someone who has some artistic interest in it, but that person was recruited, they weren't driven by interest to originate the project. And in that sense, if you've ever read a book that was adapted from a movie you may realize have thought "wow, that wasn't very good. Glad I saw the movie first." It's rare, books tend to be less lucrative, but you can wind up with these sort of contracted adaptations to fill a niche. They're good enough, but that's usually it. What you need is a someone who is a fan of the work they are creating. They need to be critical too, but they need to genuinely care. If you're a writer/director making an original film, you're a fan of what you're making. If you're an author writing an original story, you're a fan of what you're making. Otherwise (unless you're being paid a disgusting amount of money) you wouldn't have the interest to make it. And even then it might not turn out very good... at the end of the day it still takes talent. And a book that was crafted by a talented artist doesn't have great odds of being transcribed into a movie by an equally talented artist. It might, but usually such talented people want to work on their own thing. And that's why movies often are as good as the book. Anyway, my rambling aside, still happy to watch your videos Lindsay even if I'm all contrarian.

[@MiloKuroshiro]

Lindsay is so good, probably my favorite content creator in all KZbin.

[@TylerMayMedia]

Wow. This video is incredible! Thanks for sharing!

[@LupeJustinian]

There Will Be Blood>>Oil! The Thin Red Line (film)>>The Thin Red Line

[@donnylurch4207]

I haven't read or seen Ready Player One, but I was surprised by the apparent favor given to the book in this video. I've just been fascinated by how people react to it, and I got the impression the book was horribly written, while the movie managed to make it more coherent and less neckbeardy.

[@princess7strawberry]

Please don't read the book. It's been six months, and I'm still angry about its stupidity. Better to be blissfully ignorant, because it can't be forgotten.

[@donnylurch4207]

The Unicorn I suppose it's at least safe to extrapolate that PBS isn't trying to push an agenda with their videos, but if anything is a symbol of toxic gamer mentality that is hostile and unwelcoming towards women and minorities, Ready Player One sounds like it would be the work to point to.

[@This1sS0Stup1d]

Lindsay! I’m so excited! I love her video essays.

[@theopollind8024]

ultimate plot twist: the plug at the end. It's so good! :D

[@LeePresson]

Hey PBS, great call on hiring Lindsay!

[@kerricaine]

I really hope this will be a regular thing now with Lindsey!

[@THEchriscola]

Damn didnt expect to see lindsay in a place like this. She's one of my all-time favorite content creators!

[@mathieuleader8601]

the Christmas Carol is truly the gift that keeps on giving with its many adaptations

[@IAmHermaeusMora]

Even though I consider myself more of a writer and reader than a film buff or movie goer, I do just love the way cinematography can present a narrative so directly when a novel may take several paragraphs or pages to express what is seen in film. Spielberg was a great example of that -- particularly in the case of Jurassic Park in how between the combination of the animatronics and CGI, it truly felt like one was seeing dinosaurs on the screen, and the expressions of Dr. Grant and Ellie was phenomenal, especially considering how they weren't even looking at something really alive. I believe there are times when cinematography excels in the presentation of such media.

[@skullkssounds1938]

This is an exceptionally well written and edited video. I am stunned

[@MegaGraceiscool]

I love this woman. Thanks for sharing!

[@RingTheBella]

Had to click just for Lindsay, its so cool y'all collabed with her!

[@juvenilemachine]

So happy for you Lindsey!!!

[@SaveMeMoon]

I was a bit annoyed that a video about a topic that I myself has given a lot of thought and therefor feel no need to watch a video on was suggested to me 6min ago. Then I saw that it had Lindsay and I could not be happier! Thank you KZbin for recognizing that I want to watch anything narrated by Lindsay, you can do things right sometimes!

[@ClayMann]

Super enjoyable. Loved the visuals. Ya know I have had this thought rattling around in my noggin for years that books are better than film despite me spending more of my time watching film than reading. And as the years pass that gap widens! But now and again I hit on an epic series of books that transports me to a place I want to be, in a way that film hasn't managed. I'll give you an example but first Lindsay gives the example of George RR Martin for the ability to have a really expansive work still be translated to film. I don't agree with that example for showing you how big books can be compared to movies. All that TV show does is make the same movie but bigger and serialized into parts. Alistair Reynolds wrote a series of books that all talk about one particular world but in that world we get some of the most believable technically amazing glimpses into what I'm almost convinced our future will eventually hold (minus the aliens!) Like when you first saw Blade Runner (if you're old enough that that happened) when it came out. You couldn't help but feel you were seeing the future. I felt that so strongly at the time I was actually excited for it. And low and behold we did get that future 30 years later with building sized neon adverts and everything except the replicants. For me being well into sci-fi. I enjoy a Marvel movie or Interstellar but they are just feeding me comfort food and not a real vision of not only what will eventually be but a ticket to come and see it decades before. Other people into victorian history or whatever it is. I'm sure within those passions there are books that deeply drill down into those topics unlike any movie ever can. I can't speak to those topics because my thing is sci-fi and its what I understand well. Movies have to obey a set of rules that keep a story moving along. They aren't allowed to sit and dwell or meditate on ideas because audiences won't accept that. Books can go off on amazingly abstract tangets but drawn together as you read further in you can start to construct great big super realistic meaningful moments and grand ideas about whatever the author is trying to get across. So with sci-fi, specifically hard sci-fi where they try and keep to the laws of physics and don't just resort to "its magic its the future" like say Star Wars does. Books can drill down into almost lecture like elaborate descriptions of the world and I've seen some movies tap this vein with stuff like Minority report where you feel a future culture from the amazing sets with things like adverts playing on cereal boxes and shops recognising who you are and showing you clothes that fit only you. That kinda stuff is fun but its surface detail. Books get to allow you to feel what its like there and imagine through the eyes of characters how you'd really think if you were there rather than what actions you'd take to keep the story moving. Stephen King is famous for his abstract wanderings with what characters are thinking but none of that ever translates to film. One exception of course because there are always exceptions was Misery which was a fantastic film and a fantastic book. Anyway I've rambled on longer than anyone is ever going to read so I'll shuup and move on. I just think books are better and if I could only have one. I'd take books every time. And now I'm off to watch Netflix.

[@Gideon_the_Seeker]

I clicked pretty fast when I saw: "Feat. Lindsay Ellis" in the title. Congrats to both Lindsay and PBS for this gig.

[@Wonder7by7me]

keep up the good work! love it

[@cykratzer3463]

When wpould I have time to read a novel. There's all these cool Lindsay Ellis videos to watch! Love your videos. Thanks.

[@GodlessVoice]

Woo-hoo!!! Ellis came to PBS??? Yay!!! ❤❤❤❤ You rock! Much love to Todd, btw. Love you both! ❤ PBS hired the right person for this!

[@PogieJoe]

Amazing! I love me some Ellis! And fun animation is always a plus.