Nicole Givens Kurtz :: Blog

With the movie version of C.S. Lewis's Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe being out in theaters and fans getting their first looks at the movie adaptation, I wanted to add my voice to the many, many conversations that simply must be floating around about book to movie adaptations.

As a part-time critic and lover of books, I found myself wanting very much to rip on the adapation of J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. Yet while I sat in the movie theater--trying my best to nick pick the thing to death, I found that I absolutely enjoyed the movie. Yes, I love Rowling, and yes, I did read (and ahem, re-read) the "Goblet" several times, however, the movie did what Rowling couldn't do--shorten the damn thing to less than three hours. To read my entire review of the movie go here.

And now with the upcoming movie versions of The Da Vinci Code, and Memoirs of Geisha, which are generating Oscar buzz as well as comparisons between thebook and the movie versions, I am once again pondering the worthiness of taking a great book and putting it onto film. The process seems to have gotten better, as my list seems to prove, but there are upturned stones on the path to great movie making and book-to-movie-adaptions...

As a teacher I agree and promote to students that the book is almost always better, but when I read in Time about how the movie version of Geisha was light years better, than I must admit that I could be wrong.

Yes, I know it's a rarity....

Some of you who are long time readers of my blog already know about my best "out of your world" movie list. You can check out my list here and give your feedback. My point, though, is that most of the movies on that last are versions of great, classic books. For example, Lord of the Rings, and Blade Runner, which was Phillip Dick's Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep--has to be one of my most all time favorite books.

So, perhaps a great book makes a great movie? Is it worth it to convert beloved classic tales into film?

Part of me doesn't want to go down this path of questioning for thorns such as the movie version of Battle Field Earth and The Island of Doctor Moreau, may crop up in my path, tear at me clothes and give me painful scratches that will serve as reminders of how dreadful movie making can be.

Thus, I'll try to stay on the straight and narrow.

I haven't ventured out to see "Chronicles" yet, but I will. I do know that my best friend fell asleep in the movie--for about twenty minutes. That doesn't really count for anything though, since he fell asleep in the "LOTR: Two Towers," too. So his opinion is ranking right around worthless.

But yours does matter, so leave me comments if you think that the book, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, is even well represented in film. I already know that the book is way better, despite the argument I have presented here today.

A few months ago, I returned from a science fiction convention where people were dressed as characters from television shows, movie, and various anime comics. As a published writer, I pondered the importance of fans and their powerful impact on the writer, director, and/or creator of fictional works.

I set out to find out the underlying, and often overlooked, power of fandom.

According to Encarta, fandom is a noun and means, “a large group of fans: fans collectively, especially of a public entertainer such as a movie or TV star.” Science fiction and fantasy fans are the pure embodiment of the definition.

Yet Wikipedia broadens the definition and enhances it by stating that fans are, “keen aficionados of any phenomenon such as authors, hobbies, ideologies, genres or fashions, which can collectively manifest as fandom. The term "fandom" is particularly associated with fans of the science fiction and fantasy genres.”

Though the dictionary’s definition of fandom can be traced back to 1903, fandom itself emerged as a force in the 1930s when science fiction readers began writing to each other. The first science fiction convention was held in Philadelphia in 1936.

And so the world of fandom, and creators in the science fiction and fantasy genres were forever changed and cosmically linked directly to their fans (Kendzior 1).

Like much of today’s world and technology, the word fandom has evolved as well.

At the mention of the word, fandom, many people may think instantly of Star Trek. Trekkies, or members of the Star Trek fandom that epitomizes the term. Those who participate in a particular fandom, the so-called Trekkies. Gene Roddenberry’s futuristic vision of a united people searching the universe, didn’t win fans immediately, but later grew to a have an enormous cult following.

That cult following grew up into a barrage of fans that not only continue to actively support the Star Trek franchise, but inspired millions of other fans to celebrate, hold conventions, and display their own love of a particular creative work.

So much so that the primary members of the original Star Trek cast are known to do some otherwise embarrassing things after Star Trek and still continued to have success. For example, a holiday Christmas album with the joyous chorals sung by Leonard Nemoy and William Shatner. How can anyone forget the hilarious, but somewhat sad Priceline commercials? There are tons more examples, like Nichelle Nichol’s novels, and other acts of complete lunacy that seem to inspire those individuals to poor judgments.

So does the freedom that comes from having a gaggle of fans empower stars (authors) to continue to indulge in awful acts of otherwise unwise career choices? Does one believe that because fans supported and loved their former roles, that one thinks he can do anything?

The answer is as varied as the stars and writers whose portrayals and fictional works have inspired so many to continuously celebrate and indulge in the sub-cultures culled from those works.

In fact, fans have the power to condemn or exalt obscure works into blockbuster films, best-selling novels (and series), and terrific television. This power is unheard of in other such mediums, such as newspapers, or radio. I mean, no one dresses up like their favorite news reporter and go to conventions where everyone is a fan of a certain news show or radio host.

So, in closing, fandom allows a certain creative freedom to take risks with one’s career. Moreover a celebrity it also affronted and nurtured. For this reason alone, fandom will continue to run the roost and segregate the diamonds from the zirconium.

Works Cited

Kendzior, S. (2000). Who owns fandom? Salon. Retrieved October 28, 2005 from Salon.com.