After viewing Jonathan Demme's film Beloved, I felt as I usually do upon watching a movie based on a novel, disappointed. Films rarely live up to the expectations set up by a great novel and this is due to the limitations of working with film as a medium. This paper will attempt to exploit these limitations and explain why Toni Morrison's novel, Beloved, is superior to its film version.
A major flaw of the film Beloved is that it did not hint at many of the underlying themes that are ever present in the novel. While the film focused on the theme of the past, it barely, if at all, hinted at the issue of race as well as its effects on slavery, which was a major theme of Morrison's novel. Likewise, the theme of the morality of Sethe's murderous actions was covered in a fifteen minute dialogue between Sethe and Paul D despite the fact that it was a major issue that was questioned throughout much of the novel. Morrison's coverage of controversial themes provides for a more compelling piece.
Morrison's novel is superior to Demme's film in that the novel is much more interactive and open to interpretation. While reading Beloved, one can form his or her own opinion as to the mannerisms and characteristics of certain characters, whereas these characteristics are unchangeable and etched in stone in a film and reflect the opinions of the film's creators. In the same way, the reader is able to attain a better grasp of the characters" actions and reasoning through Morrison's description of past and present events and surroundings. In the film, the viewer has to rely on the ability of the actor to convey the character's thoughts and reasoning through facial expressions and body language. Although Beloved as a film was able to evoke physiological responses from its viewers with the use of music and lighting, the novel is more affective in eliciting certain emotions because Morrison is able to provide better descriptions and go into greater detail.