THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAS
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 25, 2015
PAGE 4
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opinion
Text your FFA submissions to (785) 289-8351 or at kansan.com
FFA OF THE DAY
The semester isn't done but I sure am.
There's no thrill like studying for your midterm the day before...
When you had a whole week off!
workingit
Finding an S.O. through the FFA is not the way. Spoken by the Forgotten Pokeguy from 2 years ago.
When people text "k" after a long text. >.0
If the security alarm in Anschutz goes off, does anyone hear it? #noonecares
I mostly cry because I'm still single and in my mid-twenties.
Making your life seem as if it is professional and perfect for your resume is really, really hard and totally the opposite of how I really am. #imstillakid
If you were Ranine Cycles, which would you be? Haha!
Oh thermo, you're killing me.
How did you survive winter if you're wearing gloves and a scarf when it's 50 degrees out?
Got some donuts from Muncher's Bakery and life is gooooood!
Went to the liquor store and saw that the legal drinking age is now up getting to 1994 birthdates... I feel so old.
Checking out a dude's nachos instead of the dude. #foreveralone
People running in the cold weather are way too ambitious. Excuse me while I roll around in my snuggle.
Take me back to the beach: '('
Going to Dave and Busters isn't the same when you're an adult.
I see you on Facebook and
iMessage on your laptop and
the professor can, too.
Taking a nap in class while wearing sunglasses makes you look cool and totally attentive... not
Same-sex schools would be boring as hell! I agree, let's get rid of them.
50 degrees in March now feels like the Arctic #GetOutaHear!
Buster and Tobias from "Arrested Development" are literally the worst Editor's Note: ...Excuse you?
Only 50+ days until graduation and I can't WAIT!!!!!!
FILM ADAPTATIONS
PRO CON
Book-to-movie adaptations essential to today's film culture
When I think about some of my favorite movies, I've found that the ma-
I've found that the majority of them are based on books. Often, people don't even realize that their favorite movies are based on books. And it's not just the quality of the movies that matters — bookto-movie adaptations are financially beneficial to both the author and the movie industry, and help to maintain an active fan base.
Some of my favorite movies of alltime, including "Psycho," "Breakfast at Tiffany's" and "Wild," are book adaptations. Although it is usually suggested to read the books before seeing the movie, seeing these movies inspired me to read the books.
Although it's often argued that movies based on books compromise the integrity of the original story line, I completely disagree. There are people who love to see their favorite books turned into films. The majority of readers know not to expect the movie to be completely faithful to the book's story line.
Movies that I didn't even know were originally books like "The Graduate," "It's a wonderful Life" and "Forrest Gump" are film classics. If these books were never adapted into movies, wed be missing a huge part of our film culture.
In addition, movies based on books win some of the most prestigious awards, like Golden Globes, Oscars or Critics' Choice Awards. Recent book adaptations like "The Help," "The Great Gatsby" and "Gone Girl" have been nominated for or have even won several major prizes.
Movies inspired by books are great for those who are too busy to read an entire novel or series. Book adaptations are simple, quick forms
of entertainment.
Even when a book adaptation isn't of the highest quality, people still love to see their favorite characters on the big screen. "Twilight" was criticized for its uncomfortable acting, low-budget production values and overall cheesy plot. In spite of these problems, the series
"IF THESE BOOKS WERE NEVER ADAPTED INTO MOVIES, WE'D BE MISSING A HUGE PART OF OUR FILM CULTURE."
I am not suggesting that movies based on books are better than the books themselves. Books have much more integrity and detail that cannot be replicated in a two-hour production. However, there is nothing wrong with making a popular book into a movie. This method brings readers' favorite characters to life.
still managed to bring in over a billion dollars in domestic box office sales. No matter how uncomfortable Kristen Stewart's acting makes them feel, people still want to see her love triangle with the vampire and werewolf.
Madeline Umali is a sophomore from St. Louis studying journalism
Hollywood doesn't do book-to-movie adaptations justice
The visuals in book-to-movie adaptations are rarely the problem — seeing how Harry Potter
looks in real life, how the people of the Capitol dress or exploring Middle-earth can be incredible. The best part is seeing admired characters take on a tangible, physical form. While some casting choices are questionable, some, like Leonardo DiCaprio in Shutter Island, are spot-on.
Unfortunately for many avid readers, the films that try to translate the action from our heads to the big screen fall short of our expectations. One of the biggest problems literary fans have with movie adaptations is that the films
"It DOESN'T MEAN THAT EVERY GOOD BOOK SHOULD, OR CAN, BE TURNED INTO A MOVIE."
can only contain so much. They have to fit their material inside a two- to three-hour time frame. Viewers become distracted if movies are much longer than this, and the distractions may take away from the viewing experience. While reading, it's easy to put the book down and pick up from where one left off at another time.
One movie that tried to keep too much of the book's plot in one film was "The
Golden Compass." A Rotten Tomatoes review discusses how the movie "is reduced to impressive visuals overcompensating for lax storytelling." The reviews of the movie are polar opposites to the reviews of the book, which has won several awards (including the Carnegie Medal) and has sold more than 15 million copies according to the Economist. An article by What Culture pointed out that "the movie's story was crammed way too tight for its barely two-hour running time."
The consequences of turning books into movies extend beyond disap- pointing fans of the novel, il can also negatively impact Hollywood's wallet. The tradition of using novels' plots for movies and TV shows can cause many directors to take on huge, grandiose projects that don't always work out. By attempting to recreate a beloved classic on screen, they bite off more than they can chew, especially if those classics happen to be in a series. This is the case with the film adaptation of "A Series of Unfortunate Events." The film grossed slightly less than $119 million domestically, which fell way short of its $140 million budget, as TIME reported. Its relative lack of success prevented a sequel from being made. Another example is "I Am Number Four," based on the book by Pittacus Lore. It grossed $5 million less than its budget, leaving little hope for a sequel film.
Although adaptations can be a fantastic representation of the books they are based on, it doesn't mean that every good book should, or can, be turned into a movie. Sometimes, simply reading the words on a page and allowing them to manifest into a movie inside one's brain is better than seeing a director's interpretation of those words on a real, physical screen.
Victoria Calderon is a sophomore from Liberal studying English and political science
Heavy reliance on thermostats is unnatural
The EPA reports that excessive air conditioner use produces 100 million tons of carbon dioxide each year.
According to the principle of homeostasis, humans, as biological organisms, are perpetually responding to changes in their internal and external environments in order to maintain a relatively constant body temperature. We also adapt to changing seasons: during summer, 50 degrees feels freezing, compared to some of my classmates wearing flip-flops and shorts when it's 50 degrees in the winter. But in any case, our body temperature remains constant. Without this temperature consistency, we would not feel well - enzymes would not work properly, compounds would not interact smoothly, etc. This does not mean that we need to live in a temperate climate year round; we do and have adapted to changing temperatures appropriately. This idea brings me to the paradox that I have in mind. In this country, heating and cooling is taken to unhealthy and environmentally-harmful extremes.
FILE PHOTO/KANSAI
What I cannot understand is
the extreme nature of heating and cooling by many businesses, grocery stores, private homes, automobiles, etc. In the summer, if you don't bring a sweater with you to the grocery store, you're bound to get a cold. In the winter, it's a race to take layers off before getting into the grocery store sauna. It's an absurd phenomenon: in the summer, I've seen thermostats set in the mid-50s and in the winter, high 70s. It can't be possible that we require such vastly different temperatures in different seasons to reach optimal bodily temperature.
Before air conditioning and heating, people adapted to major temperature changes in simple and efficient ways. If it were cold, you'd wear more layers and eat warmer meals. If it were hot, you'd wear fewer layers and go about your day conscious about the heat: avoiding being in the sun too
heated house into their pre-heated car, and park as close to their destination as they can so that they can sprint into the heated building without getting too cold? I certainly think that laziness has a lot to do with this issue
The EPA reports that air conditioners use around "5 percent of all the electricity produced in the United States."
— given the availability of relatively cheap heating and cooling, some people are able to (and do) wear shorts year round. What's sad and often forgotten about is the environmental waste in terms of energy. The EPA reports that air conditioners use
long, eating lighter foods, drinking more water and so on.
Today, some people can't imagine having to be in an environment in which the temperature is not controlled. During the winter, how many people do you know leave
around "5 percent of all the electricity produced in the United States." The high usage results in an average of 100 million tons of carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere each year.
Those who turn their thermostat to extreme temperatures should choose to set more moderate temperatures instead. We should use more energy-efficient methods of dealing with unpleasant temperatures; less energy would be wasted with the same result of helping our bodies maintain their optimal temperatures.
Recent data published by the U.S. Energy Information Administration forecasts a general reduction in average energy consumption of heating fuels
during the wintertime in the coming year, compared to last year. This is wonderful news, and I can only hope this trend continues. Perhaps it is the case that in order to figure out how to properly use cheap energy, we first have to misuse it. It's not natural to constantly live in temperature-controlled environments. Let's reach back to our roots and better appreciate the variety that Kansas presents us. In doing so, we'll be less dependent on machines, less environmentally harmful, and we'll live more naturally in our beautiful world.
Sebastian Schoneich is a senior from Lawrence studying biochemistry and philosophy
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