The Namesake: Compare
and Contrast Book vs. Movie
In the Namesake – book and movie – the main theme is
self-discovery. Nikhil (Gogol) has been told who to be and what to do all his
life and when he matures and leaves for college, he becomes a completely
different person. A series of unfortunate events occur in a short amount of
time that lead him back to his roots and his culture that his parents have been
trying to get him to accept his whole life. When Nikhil finally learns the
origin of his first name – Gogol – he reaches that final level of maturity and
learns to accept himself. In The Namesake
film directed by Mira Nair (book written by Jhumpa Lahiri), small details are
added such a lighting, sounds, costume/makeup, and settings to enhance the
audiences understanding of all the thoughts, feelings, and emotions of the
scene occurring under the surface, that the book could not provide.
Sensory
details were one of the most effective ways to indicate the underlying messages
within The Namesake. In both the book and movie, the messages are
detectable, through the use of imagery and figurative language in the book, and
mice en scene elements in the movie. In the book, Lahiri uses very little
dialogue and majority narration to describe Nikhils actions/reactions during
the telling of his father’s story. Lahiri did the best she could trying to
utilize the iceberg theory within the passage, but Nair did a much better job.
The movie makes the emotions, feelings, and thoughts of Ashoke and mainly
Nikhil considerably more clear by not only telling, but showing. There is a difference
between reading something, and actually seeing it before your eyes. The furrow
of Nikhilss brow, the worry in Ashoke’s face, the guilt Nikhil will carry for a
lifetime. (transition)
Movies
are often indisputable, with all the details clear and ambiguity removed, the
viewer is free to watch and enjoy. To an extent, I believe the same applies to The Namesake movie. Like the book, the
movie shows the same emotions and actions, Nikhil is shocked, angry, confused,
and most of all, guilt stricken. His
father is worrisome beforehand and afterwards you can practically feel the
relief he is experiencing. There is no arguing this was a major turning point
in both the book and the movie, especially in the film. The difference between
the film and the book is that the book could be interpreted differently in some
situations, which could lead to confusion. The reader is unable to really tell
whether it was right or wrong of Ashoke to tell Nikhil about his past. In the
movie, it is apparent when Ashoke is finished with his story, tears in his
eyes, he assure Nikhil that he is not a reminder of that horrible train
accident so long ago. The love for his son is so clear in that moment, and
Nikhil is relieved to hear that, the viewer can see his sudden change in heart
almost instantaneously.
In
The Namesake the confusion and
obscurity of the book can be eliminated in the film through the use of mice en
scene elements that provide deeper insight and understanding to a potentially unclear
passage in the text. In both the book and film, the underlying messages are
detectable and the general ideas and thoughts stay consistent throughout, even
though the book does allow for some uncertainty. From this one can draw that
often times films of books can help to bridge the gaps that were left after
reading any given piece. Customarily people agree that books are better than
their movie remake, but in this case, this is not entirely true. By comparing
and contrasting the two, it was discovered that the movie was more effective in
portraying the thoughts, feelings, and emotions the characters were
experiencing.
No comments:
Post a Comment