Some of my favorite Young Teens and Girls books when I was young have recently become hit television series or blockbuster movies. These include:
Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (movies: 2005, 2008)
Babysitter's Club (movie: 1995)
Gossip Girl (TV series: 2008)
I have seen both movies and watched several seasons of the television series, but it just did not offer me the same experience as reading the books when I was a young teen. This largely has to do with being disappointed by the transition from book to film/tv show that is often expressed whenever a popular book of any genre is adapted for the silver screen. My own personal qualms with the particular transition of these novels into film is not primarily with the adapted storylines. Although I do not appreciate the changes made to the storylines, I understand that this is a necessary adaptation because books often included vivid, detailed (and lengthy) descriptions to provide the reader with enough information to create a specific image in her mind. However, this is exactly where my dissent lies within the transition from book to film. It seems that the only actresses suited to play the female roles within these stories are super skinny, very attractive, 5'10 model-looking actresses. I think this is an unfair selection. When I read these novels as a young girl, I was able to use the authors' descriptions to create images of these female leads in my own mind. Often times, the images I chose did not involve the stereotypical 'beauty queens' we see on television and in movies. As girls transition into including more television and film watching than reading in their daily lives, I think it is important to fill these roles with diverse women (in terms of their race, attractiveness, etc.) in order to allow girls to better relate to the characters and not feel the pressures to become the "stereotypical image of a woman".
Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (movies: 2005, 2008)
Babysitter's Club (movie: 1995)
Gossip Girl (TV series: 2008)
I have seen both movies and watched several seasons of the television series, but it just did not offer me the same experience as reading the books when I was a young teen. This largely has to do with being disappointed by the transition from book to film/tv show that is often expressed whenever a popular book of any genre is adapted for the silver screen. My own personal qualms with the particular transition of these novels into film is not primarily with the adapted storylines. Although I do not appreciate the changes made to the storylines, I understand that this is a necessary adaptation because books often included vivid, detailed (and lengthy) descriptions to provide the reader with enough information to create a specific image in her mind. However, this is exactly where my dissent lies within the transition from book to film. It seems that the only actresses suited to play the female roles within these stories are super skinny, very attractive, 5'10 model-looking actresses. I think this is an unfair selection. When I read these novels as a young girl, I was able to use the authors' descriptions to create images of these female leads in my own mind. Often times, the images I chose did not involve the stereotypical 'beauty queens' we see on television and in movies. As girls transition into including more television and film watching than reading in their daily lives, I think it is important to fill these roles with diverse women (in terms of their race, attractiveness, etc.) in order to allow girls to better relate to the characters and not feel the pressures to become the "stereotypical image of a woman".
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