Their Eyes Were Watching God Movie Analysis
Book and Movie Comparison
The general thought of films based off of a novel is negative towards the film, in the case of Zora Neale Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God I will have to agree with the general thought. The film adapted for television by Oprah Winfrey does not include many of the important or want to see exciting details from the novel. The novel also exaggerated some parts of the book on psychological level, for example the hatred people had for one another. It was a good movie without doubt, yet I think they could of have done a better job staying on the novels storyline. Janie’s life with Tea Cake lasts only about a year and a half. Yet the film made it seem as though the relationship lasted much longer. Though it was the most significant relationship of her life, for through it Janie gains the voice (identity) that has been squelched for her previous 37 years and through that voice saves herself from prison, the love story overshadows the character development.The movie is it doesn’t depict the sense of community that Zora Neal Hurston portrays profoundly in her book. This is a problem because the book is supposed to show the reader how an African American woman tries to make her way through the hardships of life and find out who she is. I think the the actors and actresses did a good job at conveying the love …show more content…
between Tea Cake and Janie, it, like most movies that try to capture the essence of a great work, misses on the deeper levels. The film leaves out a pivotal topic that reveals an important message of the story: the struggle of being both African American and a woman. African American communities back
NOLIN 2. in the 1920’s gave the people a sense of safety because they viewed the communities as their homes. The sense of community plays an important role in the novel by proving that community is a big part of African American culture. Portraying a piece of art accurately is important because if you fail to be truthful then you remove some of the accountability of the film. Characters in the novel were influenced by the other people around them, but the movie only has the very main characters influencing Janie (Janie, her husbands, and her grandma).
This stuck out to me especially in the scene when the hurricane comes to the Glades. The novel discusses how Janie, Motorboat, and Tea Cake were all together, waiting out the storm. But the movie doesn’t have that at all. The movie doesn’t even introduce a character named Motorboat, and in fact only mentions the name once. Motorboat gives a sense of community because he influences Janie and Tea Cake throughout the storm, or until they leave him in the
house. All in all both the film and the novel are incredible and inspiring, yet the general opinion on films made of novels stands in this instance. The book clearly contains much more material and emphasis than the film. The novels storyline was though to stay on and would of have required much more time. The movie tried to catch the important plots yet strayed some from the main topic, the difficulties of being black and a woman in the 1920’s.
The general thought of films based off of a novel is negative towards the film, in the case of Zora Neale Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God I will have to agree with the general thought. The film adapted for television by Oprah Winfrey does not include many of the important or want to see exciting details from the novel. The novel also exaggerated some parts of the book on psychological level, for example the hatred people had for one another. It was a good movie without doubt, yet I think they could of have done a better job staying on the novels storyline. Janie’s life with Tea Cake lasts only about a year and a half. Yet the film made it seem as though the relationship lasted much longer. Though it was the most significant relationship of her life, for through it Janie gains the voice (identity) that has been squelched for her previous 37 years and through that voice saves herself from prison, the love story overshadows the character development.The movie is it doesn’t depict the sense of community that Zora Neal Hurston portrays profoundly in her book. This is a problem because the book is supposed to show the reader how an African American woman tries to make her way through the hardships of life and find out who she is. I think the the actors and actresses did a good job at conveying the love …show more content…
between Tea Cake and Janie, it, like most movies that try to capture the essence of a great work, misses on the deeper levels. The film leaves out a pivotal topic that reveals an important message of the story: the struggle of being both African American and a woman. African American communities back
NOLIN 2. in the 1920’s gave the people a sense of safety because they viewed the communities as their homes. The sense of community plays an important role in the novel by proving that community is a big part of African American culture. Portraying a piece of art accurately is important because if you fail to be truthful then you remove some of the accountability of the film. Characters in the novel were influenced by the other people around them, but the movie only has the very main characters influencing Janie (Janie, her husbands, and her grandma).
This stuck out to me especially in the scene when the hurricane comes to the Glades. The novel discusses how Janie, Motorboat, and Tea Cake were all together, waiting out the storm. But the movie doesn’t have that at all. The movie doesn’t even introduce a character named Motorboat, and in fact only mentions the name once. Motorboat gives a sense of community because he influences Janie and Tea Cake throughout the storm, or until they leave him in the
house. All in all both the film and the novel are incredible and inspiring, yet the general opinion on films made of novels stands in this instance. The book clearly contains much more material and emphasis than the film. The novels storyline was though to stay on and would of have required much more time. The movie tried to catch the important plots yet strayed some from the main topic, the difficulties of being black and a woman in the 1920’s.