Staff writer

Are books or movies better? This age-long debate has circulated forever, but are the two fair to compare equally? 

Movies are good at showing emotion through facial expressions, music, and body language on screen, but these elements can just as easily make the movie worse if not performed correctly. Books portray emotion through characters’ inner thoughts and feelings, while movies show action. Books also allow the reader to dive deeper into the plot and subplots than you would during a movie. 

Books allow readers to go more into depth into the story and have much more room for creative interpretation of the story and characters, meaning everyone’s experience with a book will be a little bit different from that with movies, where everyone watches the same thing and has no room for creativity of how they interpret the plot. Also while reading a book you can go as slow or as fast through the story as you want, whereas in movies, the pace is set for you. Books have been around for about 6,000 years, and movies have only been around for a little more than 130 years. Books have been around for this long because they are easier to make in the sense of visual elements and literal copies compared to movies but generally have much more complex and more developed storylines.

Movies, on the other hand, express emotion through the actions and looks of the characters, creating a more immersed effect and making the characters more relatable, whereas books can not do that in the same way. Movies also move at a faster pace than books (lasting 2-3 hours), making them better for when you want to sit down and enjoy something for a shorter amount of time. Additionally, movies are good for when you are really tired and don’t want to put any effort in, but still can’t fall asleep.

From a business standpoint, movies are generally better, as they generate more profit than most books, minus a few very popular books. Movies generally cost more money and resources to produce than books. When making a movie you have to take into consideration the time and effort of the crew that helped make the movie. Plus the amount you have to pay the actors, producers, directors, camera operators, makeup artists, costume designers, and production assistants. After the movie is released to the public in theaters, part of the money goes to the actors and the rest of the money from streaming, ticket sales, and advertising goes to the rest of the crew that helped produce the movie. Although movies can range anywhere from losing billions to making billions, depending on their success.  

Financially, most authors cannot support themselves solely on the income from their books, unlike some actors. Books also take time, connections, and the right audience to become successful enough to make good money, and even then, it is usually not enough to support them full-time.

Both movies and books have their pros and cons, but in the end, it all comes down to the person you are asking.