Books and films are two amazing art forms. When one tries to become another, many important aspect of the plot can be lost in translation. I watched Zora Neale Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God two years before I read the novel in my AP English class. I was in the 9th grade when the Oprah TV special premiered. My mom had read this book prior and had many critiques. It wasn’t until I read Their Eyes that I understood why the film art form crippled the amazing symbolism of the story and even took out many parts of chapters.I appreciate this book for being a great literary work. There was no better feeling than being given the opportunity to read a book by a Black author in a 12th grade class. What amazed me about the novel is how the book was written. Hurston writes the narration and the dialogue in two contrasting ways. The book is rich with symbolism and metaphors; comparing love to plants and nature. There is an immense amount of descriptive language in the novel; this made the book come to life to me. Their Eyes Were Watching God is a brilliant coming of age tale about the main character Janie who learns about love and life through two husbands and a lover.
The transformation from novel to movie can have advances as well as setbacks. The mo
vie gives an overlaying backdrop; one can see the emotions on the characters faces when they speak and the audience is not forced to imagine what the characters and the setting look like. The movie is good at giving the audience a good gist of the plot. One of the setbacks of a film is the time frame. Almost every time I watch the special features of a movie, the directors express the challenge of keeping a movie under two hours long. This causes directors to cut scenes even if the movie didn’t even start off as a novel. Just imagine what becomes of novels that go into movies.
vie gives an overlaying backdrop; one can see the emotions on the characters faces when they speak and the audience is not forced to imagine what the characters and the setting look like. The movie is good at giving the audience a good gist of the plot. One of the setbacks of a film is the time frame. Almost every time I watch the special features of a movie, the directors express the challenge of keeping a movie under two hours long. This causes directors to cut scenes even if the movie didn’t even start off as a novel. Just imagine what becomes of novels that go into movies. Their Eyes Were Watching God is a beautifully written novel. The movie is an equally beautiful way to understand the themes of the novel. Although the movie was well made, it’s nothing like experiencing the story from page to page, getting a more in-depth look at the different stages of Janie’s life. Watching maybe more entertaining and time efficient, but building a personal interpretation to the story can be a more enriching experience.
A lesson that I got from Their Eyes Were Watching God is how important it is to be yourself. For the majority of her youth and early adulthood, Janie was coerced into being someone she wasn’t by outside forces. As the story shows us, it can be hard to break free from those types of forces. So many people hide positive talents and characteristics about themselves because the people around them frown upon those aspects. The story encourages the reader to be bold and do positive things even if some people around us don’t agree with your choices. Money and social status was of no interest to Janie. All she cared about was having strong connections with people. Sometimes striving for material items can cause us to treat our loved ones like items the same way that Janie’s second husband treats her. Even though I’m striving to graduate, I take the time out to meet new people; I’ve realized who I know can be just as important as what I know.
-- Amanda Scurlock
Brownstone Intern
Hi Amanda,
ReplyDeleteYour comments are well presented in your overview. I agree, the film doesn't capture more of the raw essence in the story, but just as you stated, the film allows you to see images of expressions, rather than what is imagined, from the book. I'm looking at some of the symbolic and metaphoric meaning. I'm now in college and writing a comparative analysis of the film and book. I unfortunately have to read and observe the film simultaneously. I didn't see the movie when it frist came out on television in 2005, and now, here I am. I have my opinion about the movie, the book and acting. But that is another topic. Thank you for providing an insightful synopsis. And by-the-way, you have a very nice blog site.
I read the book as a teen and saw the movie years later. Oprah Winfrey has a habit of turning good books into horrible movies for example "Beloved" by Toni Morrison. She needs to stick to what she is good at. I love good literature by African American authors.
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