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Showerthoughts_Mod t1_j2ajhvl wrote

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Remember, /r/Showerthoughts is for showerthoughts, not "thoughts had in the shower!"

(For an explanation of what a "showerthought" is, please read this page.)

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SmallpoxTurtleFred t1_j2alpov wrote

Not if they saw the movie first. Millions of people have one memory of Lord of the Rings from the movie. They will see that when they read the novel.

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Toasterstyle70 t1_j2aq8ca wrote

That’s my theory on why movies made from books are often regarded as “not as good as the book”. Partially because movies leave some things out, but I feel like it’s mostly because reality of the movie is no match for your personalized imagination of the story.

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deicist t1_j2aqqc9 wrote

I have Aphantasia, I have no idea what characters / scenes in books 'look' like.

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MS822 t1_j2atk83 wrote

It's the best part! My mind's version of "Jurassic Park" would've never made it past the censorship board 🦖

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laaldiggaj t1_j2awztq wrote

That's why books to films can be tricky. You have to make thousands of people happy.

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Wanderervenom t1_j2b4olf wrote

Replying to deicist (#1,197,347)

I didn't know there was a term for this. I don't picture the characters neither, I just live in a world of words when I read. I don't picture anything, yet I greatly enjoy what I read anyhow. Upon reading the description, I don't have aphanasia. I can imagine things if I wish. I can picture a horse's face in my head. I just don't picture anything while reading.

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OkPenis-ist28 t1_j2b66b6 wrote

That's why books are better than the movie - YOUR imagination at play.

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Longjohnthepirate t1_j2b7ac8 wrote

I am always so disappointed by any movie where I have read the book of first. They never get the faces right!!

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DragoKnight589 t1_j2bam76 wrote

I often imagine some scenes from books as similar to certain places I know. A random neighborhood might be like my neighborhood, and I might imagine the layout of a character’s house as similar to my own.

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apathiest58 t1_j2bh0m8 wrote

I've seen several movies and shows where I hated an actor's voice because I was so different from the sound in my head. More so once I realized I couldn't remember the original "voice" I had.

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Addedinterest t1_j2bjhno wrote

Not if the face is blurry. I'm sure a lot of us imagine blurry faces.

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Billybobjimjoejeffjr t1_j2bjq14 wrote

Replying to dgz345 (#1,201,201)

I also have aphantasia. I usually do listen to music while gaming if i get tired of the games music (usually when playing roguelikes). I also listen to music while doing pretty much anything i dont like doing to entertain myself.

Also i got an inner monologue.

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sociallyvicarious t1_j2bnkf4 wrote

Replying to SmallpoxTurtleFred (#1,196,189)

STOP with the movie stuff!! They are NOT the same as the books! If you read the book, you determine the features and such in your mind. When you watch the movie, that determination is no longer your own. Books and movies of books should be mutually exclusive.

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Human_2468 t1_j2bpxan wrote

And those will change if you reread the book at a different time/place in your life.

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HelldiverL17L6363 t1_j2bq8ef wrote

Yes!! That’s why I get so nervous when a book I love becomes a movies bc I’m so scared it will mess up my mental image of everyone!

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franklygoingtobed t1_j2bqwi7 wrote

I read “characters and scents” and was “yeah, that makes sense”

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dubiago t1_j2brzuc wrote

Replying to SmallpoxTurtleFred (#1,196,189)

Can confirm. I watched the first season of The Expanse before starting to read the novels...I already had the characters' appearance neatly laid out for me. Same with Harry Potter--saw the movies first. The books, however, were absolutely superior to the films.

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skunk_ink t1_j2bteku wrote

I remember reading a study on this and they found most people imagine the characters to be remarkably similar. It really isn't that surprising to me either. Books can be quite descriptive of a characters physical features. So as long as the writing is detailed enough, readers should have some what similar image in their head of what characters look like. I'm currently unable to find the study again, but will update if I do.

Now as for the scenery you are probably correct. It's a lot harder to describe every detail of a scene.

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JoyfulExmo t1_j2buf9f wrote

I hate it when I see a movie of a novel before reading the novel and the movie casting forever overrides how I picture the characters.z

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Dragon_Slayer_359 t1_j2bum89 wrote

One word: graphic novels

P.S. I'm being stupid for the funny factor. Don't think I'm serious.

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kheret t1_j2bv8um wrote

Replying to Toasterstyle70 (#1,197,235)

LOTR was, for me, a big exception to this. I read the books well before the films came out. Tolkien was so rich with his descriptions that while things were not the same as in my head they were, like, close enough.

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Wildjay7931 t1_j2bzqda wrote

Likely. However, seeing as there is no way to definitely show the imagined image of the characters by the readers without outside influence, and impossible to definitely record all interpretations, this is indefinite. Although unlikely, it is possible for the imagined appearance of a character be the same for two separate readers.

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visionarydonut t1_j2bzxpg wrote

Replying to Toasterstyle70 (#1,197,235)

I think this is also the case with manga and anime. I often see people complain that a manga did a certain scene better than its anime. Many times when I check them side by side, the anime scene looks exactly the same, except with extra movement.

I figure that the issue is that they imagined a certain tone of voice and movement in the manga and are disappointed when it doesn't happen like that in the anime.

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BBGunner96 t1_j2c012n wrote

(besides the watching a movie then reading point many have pointed out) There are plenty of novels that have pictures, some of which are the characters (typically I've seen these portraits as chapter headers)

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strajer1 t1_j2c41nn wrote

I work in advertising and this is the analogy I use when preparing a client for a creative project- that you have to decide whose vision you’re creating (typically businesses have many stakeholders in creative decisions). Every person will have a different vision of the outcome despite the same inputs and parameters. So similar to a movie- only the director will think “this is exactly what I envisioned”, everyone else will find that elements are “off” from what they imagined. But it’s impossible to realize everyone’s vision - whether you’re making a movie or any creative project.

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EnderTheThird3 t1_j2c49vh wrote

Not true. Every single person who read Jack Reacher pictured Tom Cruise in their mind... right...?

/s

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Tha_Watcher t1_j2c9f6v wrote

This explains why most book to screen adaptations rarely appease or satisfy their reading audience.

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Eborys t1_j2cac15 wrote

Hmm, try reading a Star Wars novel. My brain refuses to recast Han Solo….. even though fucking Disney did.

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tkdyo t1_j2cjstb wrote

When I read GOT I didn't have faces, I just kind of imagined every character in that 1800s style where they have all of their clothes but just an outline of their face. I guess my mind just didn't know what to put there. So thanks HBO for giving my characters faces.

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Kumquatelvis t1_j2ckiv5 wrote

Replying to deicist (#1,197,347)

Same boat. I have to check the cover art to know what the characters look like. Was easier in the 80’s when fantasy book usually showed the main characters in a heroic pose.

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howuprick t1_j2cmalx wrote

I realised this from how many different interpretations there are of Harry potter and lotr

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JacktheRipper500 t1_j2csjp6 wrote

Even after seeing the movies first, when I read The Hobbit I had different images in my head regarding the appearances of characters and locations.

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dgz345 t1_j2ctcok wrote

Replying to Billybobjimjoejeffjr (#1,204,789)

Ok so I do not have inner monologues. Its quiet all the time for me on the head. Me myself I can't really lisen to music while playing games because I can't concentrate then.

I guess it's not connected with aphantasia.

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Pedantichrist t1_j2ctk6m wrote

Nope. I have aphantasia. I have no image at all. Bilbo is just the word Bilbo.

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Andythompson78 t1_j2cu1m9 wrote

That's the appeal of a book, it stretches your imagination. Example take a Bond book, the lead character could be any body, even any gender but the films have typecast the lead to being a white English male.

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D3monVolt t1_j2cvch2 wrote

And a movie adaptation throws things under the bus. I love the percy Jackson books but the movies are just bad. I wad excited when a "truly faithful" series adaptation was announced by Disney but their casting is incorrect. The characters have detailed descriptions and Disney disregards that. Why even bother?

But with harry potter I had the opposite experience. Never read the books but I like the movies

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Naggitynat t1_j2cxfdn wrote

Doing this with the book called Son of Achilles. I keep picturing Brad Pitt from Troy as Achilles’s character.

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Billybobjimjoejeffjr t1_j2cxr1x wrote

Replying to dgz345 (#1,217,261)

Yeah people with and without aphantasia can have a quiet mind or a inner monologue.

When youre really focused thinking about something do you think in words then? or is it some kind of other thought process? Ive heard people usually think in images when they dont have an inner monologue but i guess that wouldn't be how you do it.

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Jada_the_dork t1_j2cxvi2 wrote

wrong my specific imagining of the character is exactly what they look like even if it goes against the description

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ven_zr t1_j2cyod7 wrote

Replying to deicist (#1,197,347)

I'm very interested in this term for a few years now. I have a 3D brain (near full control over my visual cortex while awake) so it's a bit difficult to comprehend. Question. When you recall a memory. Say like a movie scene or an action you just did from a few seconds ago. How is like in your thoughts process?

I not only can recall a memory but I have so many spatial references that I can set up "cameras" and change the camera scenes pov for my entertainment. It does have flaws. As sometimes my imagination overlap the actual observations leading into dyslexia.

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ven_zr t1_j2czosp wrote

Not only images but audios like the characters voices. It's easy to place accents when characters are from an actual place on earth. Like London or southern Tennessee. But why in fantasy adaptations have to go with the UK accents. My dwarves sound like Cajun swamp dwellers and somewhat of the miner accents from the 1950s. My elves sound like noble farmers from the Midwest. My humans vary. Orcs sounds like gorillas with smokers lungs. The list goes on and on.

Hollywood fix your shit.

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Just_OneReason t1_j2d0mhq wrote

I always picture houses stitched together from different rooms I’ve seen in my life. Might be my cousins entryway, my sisters bedroom, my grandma’s basement, my bathroom

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Hendy853 t1_j2d0zhe wrote

This is the reason I never enjoyed Peter Dinklage’s portrayal of Tyrion Lannister as much as most people. He did an an objectively fantastic job. But he moves, looks, and especially sounds much different than what I see and hear in my head when I read the books

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TreeRol t1_j2d14m4 wrote

I've just started reading A Song of Ice and Fire. I haven't seen the show, but I also haven't been living under a rock. It's really weird to have very distinct pictures of the characters in my head, especially when they diverge from the descriptions in the text.

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BeefyIrishman t1_j2d1gzg wrote

Replying to 12soea (#1,209,569)

I don't have aphantasia, but rather a fairly active mind (likely due at least partially to my ADHD), and I just want to thank you for getting the image of a cow floating 3 feet above the ground slowly rotating in circles stuck in my head. That's what is going to be stuck in my head as I'm trying to fall asleep.

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-Redstoneboi- t1_j2d347c wrote

this is less of a showerthought and more of the usual argument for books over movies and adaptations

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dgz345 t1_j2d6axm wrote

Replying to Billybobjimjoejeffjr (#1,218,327)

I "speak" the words with closed mouth when I think. I think. It feels like the muscles in my throat is moving sightly when I think. So when I'm thinking I'm speaking for myself kinda. It's hard for me to think stuff if I'm trying to not move my muscles in the throat kinda.

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mayneffs t1_j2d6shc wrote

I always thought Pantalaimon from The Golden Compass was a lizard. I even got a stuffed toy lizard that I named Pantalaimon.

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dgz345 t1_j2d6wzy wrote

Replying to nightsky77 (#1,219,803)

Interesting I'll read the full text soon. I hate reading :) but I read the abstract. I'm shit at short term memory I think but my longterm memory is kinda good I would say. I don't really listen to music and I don't plan stuff but my logic thinking is considered great. I've always had an easy time for maths and patten recognition.

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sedrech818 t1_j2d7bf0 wrote

That’s the great thing about books. All you have to do is tell the reader a little bit and they will fill in the blanks. I find it interesting that a character that is supposed to be beautiful in a book will always be perceived as beautiful because each reader has their own personal image of the character. Each person has their own preferences that visual arts can’t always match.

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AlwaysAngryAndy t1_j2dcb5a wrote

I was really disappointed by Captain Underpants’ voice when I was a kid. Wasn’t what I imagined at all.

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ilikemoots t1_j2dfwhb wrote

Yep. I read the lord of the rings multiple times before I saw the movies.

The orcs were the biggest disappointment. I just pictured them to be waaaaaay tougher looking.

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canuck47 t1_j2dg51w wrote

Many years ago I had just finished reading "The Firm" and about a week later they announced there would be a movie version starring Tom Cruise.

I was definitely not picturing Tom Cruise in my head while I was reading it.

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AttentionSpanZero t1_j2dhtq0 wrote

Replying to ven_zr (#1,218,583)

It's hard to describe what memories are like to people who don't have aphantasia. I remember things, but I don't visualize them. It's like knowing how many coins are on a table and the denominations but they are covered with a black cloth. All I "see" is the cloth, but I recall that I did see something before they were covered. I can't "see" a scene over again. I also only recall specific details if I noted them the first time. I recognize someone I know, but don't ask me to describe them in detail. You'll get very generic feedback.

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EchoTab t1_j2dijlp wrote

Except those with aphantasia who cant picture things in their head

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ven_zr t1_j2dm0an wrote

Replying to AttentionSpanZero (#1,223,454)

That's the best explanation I heard yet. Its amazing how that is opposite on how I comprehend. I have to "see" it to grasp the concepts of meanings. Example if reading a sentence doesn't translate to visually, the words are meaningless and might as well be a foreign language.

My wife recently found out this term amphatasia but wasn't ever able to explain it well with me.

I wonder. Do you "see" dreams?

Edit: Oh another question! I have issues remember names or remember sentences Ive read but yet I can even remember minor details on faces. Is it the opposite with you?

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Cheshireyan t1_j2dnr3y wrote

And then we will watch the movie adaptation and all this will be over....

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AttentionSpanZero t1_j2dsez1 wrote

Replying to ven_zr (#1,224,840)

I do have dreams that are visual, but they are quite vague and I have a hard time remembering what I dreamt once I wake up. I don't think I've ever had a vivid dream, but they do vary a bit in detail. Oddly enough, I'll sometimes know someone in my dream but they are often portrayed by an actor I might have seen more recently on television. At least I'll feel like it's that actor since I can't see them very well. But I have no visualization at all while I'm awake.

I remember concepts from what I have read very well, but not exact sentences. I'm also bad with names. I'm actually very good at remembering faces, but only on seeing them directly. I don't know which details make them familiar, just that I recognize them. So I'll often recognize someone I met only once before if I see them in person. But I won't usually remember their name.

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OfficerGenious t1_j2dx3lc wrote

Can I cross post this to r/writers? I think we'd dig this discussion.

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Toasterstyle70 t1_j2dz5qf wrote

Replying to Printnamehere3 (#1,223,476)

I know this is off topic, but the same thing goes for time going faster as you get older. When your 1, your whole perspective of a lifetime is 1 year. When your 2, you’re whole perspective on time is double what you experienced the first year. By the time your 30, that one year seems very short, since you have a broader understanding of your perspective of time.

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Sea-Network t1_j2e4cdi wrote

We also see ourselves 3 different ways. How we see ourselves, how we think others see us, how others really see us.

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jumpsteadeh t1_j2e5fop wrote

Replying to MJLDat (#1,224,153)

Man, there was an internet video where a lady is freaked out by a horse sticking its head in the car window, saying "oh no, a cow", and she gets so scared, then turns around and there's another horse in the other car window that makes her scream - but I can never find it again.

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seanodea t1_j2eduat wrote

This is what people do in life too. Ppls view of you is but one of all the yous people may perceive. None is the correct one.

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No_Author_8802 t1_j2eq6ql wrote

True I can hardly picture characters until I watch a movie version.

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hatiehaze t1_j2eu22t wrote

I've read books a second time years later not realizing it because of this! Throws me off.

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Cabbage_Corp_ t1_j2ezaa6 wrote

The most annoying part is that everyone has a different take on the names. So if you try to discuss a book, then everyone is pronouncing their names differently.

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Weary_Jaguar_3189 t1_j2f2xuo wrote

I agree. The Tolkien estate had it written in its contract with Jackson to do the movies (the entire quadrology - The Hobbit and LOTR) as true to the books as possible, to which he did an excellent job.

I watched 'Fellowship' with my daughter and her mother (my ex-wife) and through the first half it I was commenting "He got it right" so much that both she and her mom kept telling me to shut up!

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LordZahlen t1_j2f5u0c wrote

As someone who listen to a podcast about Harry Potter and a guy who never read them as a kid, "Potterless" has made rethink a shit loads of characters and scenes in a new light..

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