Good Book, Bad Movie, Better Understanding

There are some good books that have been made into some pretty lousy movies. For example: "The Firm" = good book, bad movie; "Running with Scissors" = great book, lame movie; "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil" = very interesting book, terrible movie I turned off 45 minutes into it; "The Kite Runner" = phenomenal book!, haven't seen the movie but CAN'T be as good as the book. The list could go on, and on, and on. To the people who have never read the books, the movies might be great, but there is little disagreement if you are a reader, that the book is nearly always better.

Why is that?

There are several reasons people can give including trying to narrow down a 500 page book into a 2 hr. (these days 1.5 hrs at twice the cost - but lets not go there!) movie, and the beauty of imagination versus interpretation on screen. As I reflected on my own reason for disappointment with movies over books, I realized that one of the aspects of books that establishes intimacy and meaning between the characters and the readers is the insight the author gives to character motivations -- Understanding why they did what they did. The movie watchers don't get that privilege and often are left somewhat confused just seeing the behaviors on screen without the benefit of knowing what lies underneath that behavior.

This is true with couples and families as well. Often we are left simply watching our spouse's (or children's) movies -- confused and often making incorrect assumptions that can lead to tense situations. Many arguments can be avoided simply by asking, "why" or "what were you thinking?". Even better, we should be able to offer to our partners some insight to our motivations and thoughts. Allowing others to "read our books" can lead to better understanding and deeper intimacy.

Running with Scissors

Over vacation I read the memoir Running with Scissors in which Augusten Burroughs recounts his tumultuous, sad, and frightening years between the ages of 12 and 17. When beginning the book, I likened it to Catcher in the Rye with a much drier whit employed. Essentially, the story has three main plots under the theme of “coming of age”: being raised by a bipolar mother; floundering between the mother and the bizarre “Finch” household after his mother signed over rights to Augusten; and Augusten being the victim of a sexual predator who lived in the garage behind the Finch’s house. The Finches are headed by the father, Dr. Finch who is the very peculiar psychiatrist of Augusten’s mother. As I continued through the memoir it became evident to me that Burroughs was recounting many of these memories with hindsight (factoring in information and interpretations he did not have at the time of their occurrence) which I deemed acceptable, because I think most of us would do that when writing about our childhoods. Continuing through the book, I had the fleeting thought, “this can’t be true!” but continued reading. I am a bit OCD about things that interest me, and because of this, after finishing the book, I did a Google search for critiques of the book and it’s author. I came across a January 2007 Vanity Fair article that interviews the 4 “Finch” sisters who claim they and their family were grossly mischaracterized by Burroughs. Immediately, I assumed Burroughs is another James Frey and was disappointed. However, as I read, the complaints that these siblings made had very little to do with the major systemic dysfunction that was so unbelievable (e.g. when you are 13 you make your own decisions and are offered support and enabling by Dr. Finch; sex between adults and children is acceptable).

I was a very vocal advocate of the professional castration of James Frey after he was exposed for blatant lies about his substance abuse recovery and literally applauded when Oprah confronted him on her show. The experience I had with Scissors forced me to question my consistency on the issue of creative integrity. Should I be as appalled by Burroughs as I was Frey? Why am I not? Is it because I connected emotionally with Scissors and not Pieces? So far, what I have come up with is that Frey made himself out to be hero and an “example” for those in recovery. Augusten made no such claim or characterization. He was just as screwed up as his “siblings” in some respects and he has enough veracity to expose it with such biting humor. If Burroughs made up ½ of the stuff in his memoir (which there is seemingly no evidence to support this large a percentage) it was still a horrifically sad and tragic period of his life. Even some of the more sensational situations were not denied by the family.

If you are an adult reading this blog, and you are not completely turned off by graphic situations and profanity READ THE BOOK. If you are not an adult reading this, please DON’T READ THE BOOK!

Here are links to the Vanity Fair article and Smoking Gun's exposure of A Million Little Pieces:

http://www.vanityfair.com/fame/features/2007/01/burroughs200701

http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/0104061jamesfrey1.html