“Literature Vs. Film
People often repeat the fallacy that “film is a passive medium”. The statement is usually elaborated like this: “When I read a story in a book, I have to use my imagination to conjure up what the characters look like, the sound of their voices, the appearance of their surroundings, the house, the landscape. When I see a movie, those things are all nailed down for me, so I don’t feel as involved.” What the person is describing are the most obvious aspects of a given story, that is, its physical properties. They are, in fact, the least interesting and least important components of a story. I do not read books in order to imagine the physical appearance of things.
Conversely, there are things which are typically spelled out in a book, but which must be imagined in a film. These are the intangibles, the important stuff; what are the characters thinking and feeling? Novelists have the advantage of being very explicit about the internal experience, and they indulge it, often to the detriment of the reader’s power to infer. Good writers are the ones who maneuver around this pitfall. A book’s ability to describe thoughts and feelings is a liability, not an advantage, if used to declaim its themes rather than evoke the desired consciousness in the reader.”
-Peter Chung, The State of Visual Narrative In Film And Comics (which I linked to before)
Mood: annoyed at having to find a foot doctor
Music: The Ramones – Sitting In My Room
November 19, 2008 at 7:54 PM
Excellent!
November 19, 2008 at 8:01 PM
Peter Chung is a fucking genius, and it’s one of the great tragedies of our lifetimes that someone isn’t just giving him infinite money to do whatever the hell he wants, artistic-wise :)
November 19, 2008 at 8:18 PM
Judging from this excerpt, he certainly knows how to express himself. And I agree. I’ve heard all the talk about film being a “passive” medium (I read once that a viewer’s brain waves are ‘flat’ even while watching Shakespeare!) but I agree with Mr. Chung. And WHY do people insist on comparing different art forms, in some pointless attempt to prove that one is better than the other?? There are works of genius (and a slew of utter crap) in both film and literature.
His point on “imagination” is especially appreciated.
November 23, 2008 at 10:11 AM
I overall liked his essay, I just wish he wasn’t so down on the state of modern comics. Comics are like films and books in that 98% of them are worthless, but there are some mainstream comics that rise to the level of literature and are widely respected like Maus, Persipolis, and Boy Genius… It’s just that people who read comics won’t touch these with a 110-foot pole. : )
December 16, 2008 at 6:07 PM
GENIUS
September 17, 2009 at 9:28 AM
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