C. Are you more impressed with the film or the story? Why?
I can't really say, obviously the film has a lot more detail because this was just a short story but it played out well in that short amount. I like how the movie described their past more and how the two ended up being friends and how their lives played out with each other and in the story it did that also just not as much. I was sort of more in tune with the story for some reason. Usually I would rather watch the movies then read the stories but I feel like I got more out of the story. It tells you everything that the movie does just in shorter sequence.
It tells the past of the two that they didn't always get along and how Victor would always pick on Thomas. It showed Thomas stepping up to help Victor with getting his father and the journey the two set out on that actually brought them closer together. Even though they couldn't be friends, they knew somewhere that they could now be civil with each other. All in all I think I would say for me I was more impressed with the story just because that's how I received my information better, but the movies are always better to watch.
Hailey:
ReplyDeleteI chose this question as well, although I felt the film was much more developed for a better understanding of native american indians and just a more insightful story. The book seemed to be more of a short story rough draft...and it left out Suzy Song, who I thought without her moral honesty was not protrayed in the book as it is in the film...Even though I do agree with you that both show a closeness that developed between Victor and Thomas...then of course as you mentioned it comes down to which a person grasps better reading or watching a story. thanks for the reading !!
Hi Hailey,
ReplyDeleteUsually when a film is made, there are only slight revisions; the major aspects of the story are maintained. "This is What it Means..." serves as a rough draft for the film; Alexie made major revisions to the story when he created the screenplay.
Something to keep in mind is audience. The audience of Smoke Signals is quite a bit larger and different than the intended audience of the text. Audience changes everything. Think about the way you'd write to your best friend as compared to writing for this class. Alexie did the same in his writing; he knew each audience would have different expectations while reading or viewing, so he makes revisions to address those expectations.
Thanks for your insights.
Take care,
Lauren
Hi Hailey,
ReplyDeleteI also liked all the details that the movie included, especially how long the trip to Arizona was. I noticed that in the movie Victor and Thomas end up being friends. On contrary, in the story they are both socially polite to each-other but they understand that they cant have a friendship due to their different personalities.
Thanks for sharing,
Natalia
Hi Hailey,
ReplyDeleteI usually like books better than the Movie, but this time I really liked the movie. I think that the book left out the best part and that was leaving Suzy out of the story. Without her there is no compassion and no one to tell Victor that he dad really did care about him and that Arnold was carrying around some terrible guilt. I also didn't care for how the book pro-trade Thomas and Victor relationship, I think the book was just darker. Well I guess I am a sucker for a Happy Ending and that is what the movie gave me. Thanks for sharing you gave me something to think about.
Hello,
ReplyDeleteI agree how you said Victor and Thomas knew they could not be friends but learn to be civil towards each other. Even though the story gave more detail, I like the movie better. I guess I just like the drama. I liked Lauren's comment that is all about the audience. Drama sells and grabs the audience's attention. But I did enjoy the story as well.
Thanks for sharing,
Mandy Ericson
I agree with you on this one Hailey. I believe that the story is much more intriguing with details but the story in the end is much more involving to watch. But that is usually how it plays out in the real world. I agree with your insights about how the story portrayed to the audience that victor and thomas could finally be civil with one another. The story always gives us much greater details about the character in the actual story but the movie is always much more exciting to watch. Thank you for your insights hailey.
ReplyDeleteHi Hailey,
ReplyDeleteUsually I like the book better then the movie, but oddly enough in this case I liked the movie better. I think it was because of all the extra detail that was put into it or maybe just because I watched it first.