Monday, April 9, 2012

Boys have feelings too

As a teenage girl, I thought it wasn't possible for a boy to like a girl as much as a girl could like a boy. I still have moments where I believe this.

I also thought that the only thing boys wanted to read was shoot em up, knock em down kind of books. That they didn't like the emotional kind of stuff.

But I was wrong.

We went to see The Hunger Games on vacation and both my sons, who recently read the books, were so excited to see it.

Here's how the conversation went afterwards:

Oldest Son: That was pretty good.

Second Son: I hated it.

Oldest Son: What? Why?

Second Son: They left out so much. (Goes into details about all the things they didn't put in)

Mom: It's hard to put a whole book into a movie. There are going to be things they leave out.

Oldest Son: What else didn't you like about it?

Second Son: You didn't see how Katniss felt. And I'm not sure if I totally believed the relationship between Katniss and Peeta.

Oldest Son: That's hard to show on a screen. It's easier to read.

Second Son: I still didn't like it.

The conversation continues until we get home and get ready for bed.

I think this review of the movie says it all: And if the depiction of the death-by-death progress of the Games themselves, as Katniss struggles mightily to save her own life on behalf of her sister, doesn't match the psychological tension on the page, well, thems may be the rules of the adaptation game. The movie shows how, but the book shows why.
  

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

That is SO cool! What awesome sons!!!

Bish Denham said...

Excellent. Sounds like you are raising two thoughtful and insightful boys.

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Martin Willoughby said...

Novels can be a nightmare to convert to the silver screen, mainly because of what gets left out. Transposing them to a TV mini-series is easier.

Short stories and novellas make the best crossovers as there isn't quite so much in them.

Robyn Campbell said...

Your boys are smart! Is that where you get your brains from? *wink*

I heartily agree. The book is always the best choice. And the folks who saw the movie and didn't read any of the books are really missing out. YO! :-) Glad to see your back in the blogging saddle.

Melissa Amateis said...

My fourteen-year-old nephew loved the first book in THE HUNGER GAMES. I have yet to read it OR see the movie.

Miranda Hardy said...

Wow! I'm so glad your boys read the books. That's wonderful. My daughter explained to me everything they left out, too.

Heidi Willis said...

I loved reading this post. My son read the books months ago and has been begging me to take him to the movie. I wasn't about to see the movie without reading the book, so I read it over the weekend and took him to see it. Reading books together is a great way for us to still bond, even as he gets older.

And your boys are right. There is just no way a movie can get it all in, and the complexity of emotions of Katniss was impossible to show. Her relationship with Prim, Peeta, and Gale were all so surface and simple in the movie. Good to watch and enjoy, but the heart is still all in the books. :)

Carol Riggs said...

Oh wow! I'm glad to hear that boys can admit stuff like that. :D And I love that they care about emotions, etc. Great!!

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