I have a confession to make: I watch more tv/movies than I read books.
I know, I know, “TJ,” you say, “you’re a TEACHER. You should be reading more!”
Yes, I am fully aware of my reading deprived life. In fact, if I had it my way, I’d spend a lot more time reading but my job, family, and home make it nearly impossible to physically pick up a book and read it. I mean, c’mon, have you ever tried to read in the presence of a 9 month old? They rip that parchment and matte cover and try to eat it. Strangely enough, some of my sixth graders do the same.
While I might not be able to consume my stories through the written word as often as I’d like, I DO consume them via other means: audiobooks keep me in a reading rhythm (I’ve read 10 this year already!) but what I find most interesting is the effect that film and television have on my story diet.
This is normally how it works:
Wife: Let’s watch this show I found on Netflix.
Me: Cool, what’s it about?
Wife: Dunno. Let’s watch it anyway. Looks interesting.
Me and her *Watching said show*
Me: This story is AMAZING. I’m going to go buy the books and read the amazinger story.
Wife: Cool. Tell me all about it when you’re done.
Repeat
The day after we finished BBC’s Sherlock, I had the entire Sherlock collection on audiobook.
We’re on episode 5 of Shadow and Bone and the books are already en route.
Same thing happened with Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, Enola Holmes, and Percy Jackson.
Conclusion: Film and video are catalysts to more reading because we know, more often than not, there’s more to the story that we will enjoy even more than the director’s cut.
I’m not alone, either. If you watch book sales as closely as I do, you’ll notice that when a book is made into a movie, the book sales skyrocket. It’s normal to have to wait more than your 2-day Prime membership “guarantee” to receive copies of those books, and for good reason– they’re good stories.
Why does this happen?
The publishing world is so flooded with thousands upon thousands of good stories (and bad ones, too) that it’s up to the gatekeepers to tell us which make the cut and can retain our attention and interest. By “gatekeepers” I mean publishers with huge marketing budgets and filmmakers with the same financial capacities. Hence, when a book is turned into a movie and achieves success from the “viewers,” the message is then relayed to the “readers” who purchase the book to see what all the fuss is about.
The same thing happens visa-versa, if the readers are impressed by an author, their buzz gains traction until it reaches Hollywood or Netflix and the rest is history. It’s a symbiotic relationship that “viewers” have with “readers,” with the end goal of amplifying the story’s message.
Sometime a long LONG time from now, I’ll have the ability to sit down, find, and read amazing books before they blow up into blockbuster films and addictive tv series. Until then, however, I’m content with getting my stories any way I can, be it through screens, earbuds, or pages.
