Books Vs. Movies

I wrote in an earlier post about literature and schools, and it got me thinking about all of the movies out there that have been made into books. Which is better, the movie or the book, has been a debate that I have encountered more than once…and in response to those debates, I’ve collected a few books that surpass the movies.

The Beach, by Alex Garland.

White Oleander, by Janet Finch.

Someone Like You, merged with That Summer, by Sarah Dessen. (These two books turned into How to Deal with Mandy Moore)

And while I bring up Mandy Moore, A Walk to Remember, by Nicholas Sparks.

Now, for book/movie series

The Lord of the Rings Trilogy by J.R. Tolkien

The Harry Potter books, by J.K. Rowling

For those of you who like something a little lighter,

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, by Roald Dahl

More girly?

The Devil Wears Prada, by Lauren Weisberger

A bit more action packed?

Fight Club, by Chuck Palahunik

Science Fiction?

La Plantete des Singes, by Pierre Boulle (Better known as the film adaption Plant of the Apes)

Why is this the case? Why is it that I strongly feel that the books are better than the movies (And yes, I can vouch for them all.) Because the imagination is wild. Without the restraints of movies, there are no predecided ideas, and it is possible to take a place, a person, an object, and make it look however you want. The imagination can stretch things beyond reality, whereas the movies show you how it is, and give no room for interpretation.

The imagination is our gateway out of reality, and we can make it into whatever we want.

The Media, Celebrities and Esteem

I am A.D.D. For anyone that knows me, I dare say that it’s not a secret, and there have been many, many times when I have resented it. I think it’s important to look at the ways in which the media have helped me to accept myself also, as opposed to the many reasons why the media is bad, bad, bad for self-esteem.

It is fairly well known that one reason in which people have a hard time dealing with their issues is because they feel like no one understands or that they are all alone. However, now that the world has become connected to the extreme by the internet, one has endless possibilities to meet people and obtain information.

When I am feeling down or frustrated by my A.D.D., I hop onto google for inspiration. After doing a search, I can find many people just like me that have A.D.D. I’m not talking about John Doe, I’m talking of people who can show me not only the downfalls, but the advantages I have. For example, Albert Einstein, Winston Churchill, Walt Disney and F. Scott Fitzgerald all have A.D.D., among many, many others.

I guess it’s not a strong argument against the ways in which the media has evolved (not always for the best), but it’s always nice to know that there’s one place to go when you’re in need of a bit of inspiration.

The 8th Great Wonder of the World…

Women.

According to the media, that is.

How many times have I turned on the TV or opened a magazine that tells me how to be better in a million different ways? Too many times.

I picked up a Glamour magazine the other day and the cover stories consisted of things such as ways to never get tired, eating whatever I like, and vacation trips that I have to take, and I began thinking about the things that we all know about the media and women…their unrealistic expectations of having the perfect body. It goes so far beyond that though. Our bodies are only a part of the journey in striving to be perfect. There are “simple” recipes that I can barely understand, and there are clothes out there that I’m supposed to wear that I couldn’t afford with two weeks of work. These magazines claim to strive to unite women, but in reality, they’re not only driving us further apart from eachother, they are turning us into our own worst enemies simply by telling us how to deal with the “normal” stresses of everyday life (because obviously that’s what magazines about hair, clothes, and makeup are about), rather than telling us that it’s okay to let ourselves be human once in a while.

Why I am tired of this election.

I’m not just tired, I’m exhausted. The media battling back and forth, the misconstrewed facts…give me a break!! In class, we discussed Sarah Palin’s clothes (which has been a ridiculous ploy by the media to distract people from the issues), and now, I’m getting emails about Michelle Obama’s $450 room charge for lobster and champagne! The only problem with that is that I don’t care!! I understand that all of this money is being spent for useless things, but isn’t that money all donated to them? Or are they breaking some sort of campaign money stipulation contract?

When did the real issues get placed on the back burner to Michelle Obama’s afternoon snack or Sarah Palin’s dress suit (both of which seem quite silly and sexist, pinpointing them both as picky and spoiled princesses)? In the circumstances that we’ve found ourselves as a nation, why is the media misleading us to believe that these material things are more important than the economy, global affairs, and civil liberties? And WHY, WHY, WHY are they neglecting to inform the public of the other candidates? Because they AREN’T where the money IS?! Do journalists no longer have a responsibilty to us?

The nobility of being a journalist is dying around this election.

Deja……vu? Something similar, yes.

I adopted a dog. She’s a five year old pitbull, and she’s absolutely adorable.

And that’s what they’re counting on.

I walked into the grocery store to buy her food, and I about went insane. Does 97% fat-free matter? What is BHA? Those were just a few of my many, many….many questions. So, where did I go for my research? The internet, obviously!

The internet is filled with really great info, but how do you know what is actually the good stuff and what isn’t. One website says that dog food is bad. Another says dog food is good. One says my dog can eat rice, another says she can’t. And do you know what it came to?

Whether or not the sponsors were related to the dog food industry. Obviously. Even the website of a vet said that dog food was good, and not even what is considered to be a “good” brand. A brand that had the perservative BHA (apparently, along with everything else now, it causes cancer)! It’s frustrating to be unable to trust the media. Especially when it seems like such a simple, yet important, piece of information to obtain.

And in case you are wondering, I bought Jennie O lean, ground turkey to cook in the morning for her.

“He began to dance and his laughter became a bloodthirsty snarling.”

Currently, I am reading Lord of the Flies by William Golding, and it’s actually stirred up a bit of frustration for me. I read it once, in high school, along with Romeo & Juliet, How to Kill a Mockingbird, and Animal Farm, among others, and along with the others, I was unable to comprehend what the real messages of such literature are. I was bored in high school with the ridiculousness of reading books that seemed to be spewing out thoughts that I could never appreciate, and I was letting it all fly right over my head.

Words can be so strong, and so powerful, but if they’re given to the wrong audience, they are misinterpreted and unappreciated. At the age of 15, I was completely unequipped to understand the feelings of confusion and loneliness that filled Holden Caulfield, and definitely too young to understand how a pig named Napoleon was a metaphor for Joseph Stalin, or even what communism was.

My point is, I guess, that just like trying to build a house without the foundation, it is useless to put such brilliant pieces of work infront of people who don’t have enough information or experience to appreciate them fully.

“Are you talking to me?”

As a waitress, I can say, without thought, that bluetooth has become one of the most annoying contraptions ever created. I walk over to a table, smiling, and politely (even though I’ve already burned myself with hot water, had a small child rip open sugar packets and throw them on the floor, and have been shouted at by someone because they ordered something, and it wasn’t what they expected, amid other things) ask, “Hi, can I get you something to drink?” in which the response is one finger in the air implying that their time is much more important than mine. However, I know that people with cell phones are like this, and had I been able to SEE the phone, I would not have wasted my time going over there in the first place. Fighting the urge to grab that thing in her ear, throw it on the ground and jump up and down on it, I smile and walk away.

After about 5 minutes, this SAME lady approaches me and says (very rudely, I might add), “This is the worst service ever! Where is my waitress?!” Acting as though she had no idea that it was me (which, is a debate amongst servers. Do they really just not care enough to remember whether their server is the tall, black guy, or the short, white girl?). Once again, I smile, replying, “I’m sorry, how can I help you?” While in my head, I’m thinking, ‘Your waitress is running around helping people that don’t put their fingers in her face, that don’t appear to be talking to themselves, and make it quite known what they want, when they want it. Take that damn thing out of your ear!’ And I proceed to take her order.

Once she orders, I feel relieved, and never again, not once, do I go back over to her table…but that’s okay, she doesn’t notice. She is too busy chatting about something really, really important (I’m sure) on her bluetooth.

“If your dog tasted like pork, would you eat her?”

That quote came to me thanks to PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals).

I am a vegetarian, and everytime I go out to eat with friends (all of which are ravenous meat eaters), I have to explain to them why it is that I don’t eat cute little animals. Usually, after arguing for a few minutes, one of them would say, “yeah, I feel guilty, but I just LOVE to eat meat.” At this comment, I usually respond with, “the only difference between pigs and dogs are the ways in which we treat them,” which also came to me through PETA. A few more tidbits of information I thought I would throw at you:

-”Pigs outperform 3-year-old human children on cognition tests and are smarter than any domestic animal, and animal experts consider them more trainable than cats or dogs.” (goveg.com)

-”Pigs are sociable. They like to cuddle and snuggle up, nose to nose, with one another as they sleep. ” (goveg.com)

-”As piglets, they are taken away from their mothers when they are less than 1 month old; their tails are cut off, some of their teeth are cut off, and the males have their testicles ripped out of their scrotums (castration), all without any pain relief. They spend their entire lives in overcrowded pens on a tiny slab of filthy concrete.” (PETA.org)

These, for me, are just a few reasons why I opt not to eat meat. Now, I realize that there are people out there who think PETA is a joke. They bash PETA and vegetarians because of their compassion for animals. They think that we’re all mal-nutritioned tree huggers. Well, I suppose I’d rather be a mal-nutritioned tree hugger than a meat-eater. And for those people that respond to facts about high blood pressure, obesity, and other health issues related to eating meat by saying, “well, people have been eating meat for years, and they’re doing okay,” I say this: I have been a vegetarian for years, and I’m doing okay, too…without having to murder defenseless animals.

Still craving that hamburger? Next time you take a look at little Fido, picture him skinless, castrated, and/or caged up. Does it make you uncomfortable? Now, replace him with an animal that’s been proven to be just as cuddly as Fido, and more intelligent than your 3 year old neice, nephew, brother, or sister.  Now, look in the mirror.

Donna Reed

(www.donnareedshow.com)

I’ve seen The Donna Reed Show a few times, and I will admit, I started writing with the intention of ranting about it and how negatively it affected young women and housewives during the early 60’s. She cooked, cleaned, and smiled through every episode, causing men to expect their women to take it as the norm, and causing women to accept it as so. These years were the years when women’s liberation movements were beginning, and women were in dire need of positive role models, and Donna Reed was falling short.

After a bit of research though, to my surprise, Donna Reed actually fit into the positive role model category perfectly. According to biography.com, after The Donna Reed Show ended, Reed publicly denounced the show and the role she played. She became an eager feminist, anti-war advocate, and divorcee (which was quite uncommon at the time).

So, this is my shout-out to Donna Reed for changing with the times, and smiling the whole way.