In my decades-long quest to find the magic lesson plan that would make high school students want to read great books, my unit on “Books into Films” came closest to that goal. Students were lured with the promise of good movies and only gradually discovered the real lure: figuring out why books are altered when translated to a visual medium.
The unit started when groups of students chose good films adapted from good books. That limited the options since many good films are adapted from mediocre novels (“The Godfather”) and some great books have spawned weak films (“1984” and “All the Pretty Horses.”) Options were further limited by the need to choose films that were not R-rated, so clips could be shown in class. Each group was tasked with reading the novel and presenting a 45-minute report analyzing the differences between the book and the film, and why the director and screenwriter made those changes.
Students rushed to sign up for modern films like “Where the Heart Is,” “Clueless,” “The Accidental Tourist,” “Fried Green Tomatoes” and “The English Patient.” Girls were enthusiastic about the Jane Austen adaptations, although some are better than others. (There is the good production of “Pride and Prejudice” and a less good version. Surprisingly, the film “Clueless” — as modernized as it is — captures the spirit of “Emma” better than film versions remaining truer to the original.)
What kids are reading
This weekly column will look at lists of books kids are reading in various categories, including grade level, book genre and data from booksellers. This list of books below all have successful film adaptations that can be used in conjunction with the novels.
Books that have good film adaptations
1. The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis
2. Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
3. The Lord of the Rings trilogy by J.R.R. Tolkien
4. Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak
5. The Color Purple by Alice Walker (Young adult)
6. Emma by Jane Austen
7. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
8. Fried Green Tomatoes by Fannie Flagg (Young adult)
9. The Accidental Tourist by Anne Tyler
10. Where the Heart Is by Billie Letts
The most miraculous part of this activity is that my students — even the ones who had been reading SparkNotes all year for Shakespeare, Franz Kafka and James Joyce — actually read their novels. They did it in part for other group members, since a weak link would be an embarrassment in front of the class. But they also did it because the assignment required that they analyze the differences, and what about a visual medium required the director to cut out characters, streamline plot points and add a “Hollywood” ending. They looked at historical accuracy, the contribution music made to narrative pace, and the use of shot angles and flashbacks. They began to understand that movies and books really are different and appeal to different parts of our brains.
Their process of discovery was wonderful to watch. Those who had read Alice Walker’s “The Color Purple,” which became an early Steven Spielberg film, were shocked by the addition of a musical production number celebrating an event that never happens in the original text. They all agreed, however, that it was good cinema. I asked them to explain why Spielberg included it and why the addition took advantage of the film medium.
In recent years, children’s books and young adult (and adult) fantasy novels have been successfully brought to the screen. These adaptations would be wonderful for middle school students as well as high school students and would help them understand why film is a separate art form, with its own conventions and traditions. Students reading and watching “Alice in Wonderland,” “Where the Wild Things Are,” “The Chronicles of Narnia” and “The Lord of the Rings” can hone their analytical skills explaining why these films are different from the books and why each enriches our understanding of the other.
Erica Jacobs, whose column appears Wednesday, teaches at George Mason University. E-mail her at [email protected].
