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i agree with ashley, every time we read a really great novel, we create the film in our minds, and this is part of what makes it a really great novel for us. when this question was asked in class on tuesday, the first book/movie that came to my mind was peter pan. i recently read the original story of peter pan and it absolutely blew my mind. but it didnt take away from the movie that i loved as a child - was this because i watched the movie first? would i have loved the movie any less if i had read the book first? or, would i love the harry potter movies any more if i had watched them before i read the books? what does this say about the influences of media on our kids?

by introducing movie versions of the books we all love, are we taking away the joy/possible importance of reading for kids? is this part of the reason why we think movies are 'going to be the new novel'? because the only way that idea can come close to becoming a new reality is if we breed it. if teachers start showing movies in class instead of asking the kids to analyze the book, if parents leave their kids in front of the television before bed before reading them a story, or encouraging them to read a story. and the scary thing is, those things are happening.

on another note, i wonder why we are more put off by movies than we are with plays. the lion king (movie) was adapted as a play on broadway - a play that is its own version of the movie, just as a movie is its own version of a book - but people love it. no one seems to be complaining about it. i for this particular example it could be that people do not have as personal a connection with movies as they often do with books.  but in general, for books that are adapted to plays, im going to assume that it comes down to accessibilty - plays just arent as easily available to an audience as movies are. but could it also be that plays seem to be more personal in the manner in which they adapt to books? so it still seems like they're creating something - something real and personal. rather than a movie which can come off as being generic?