Journal 3

I remember reading the Harry Potter books, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Godfather, and The Devil Wears Prada and many more. All these books were an interesting read and the movies were great.

I like the Charlie and the Chocolate Factory not because of Johnny Depp (even though he’s a great actor) but because it felt like every character had come to life. Each character suited the actor and the acting was phenomenal. The way the factory was showcased was great. The Oompaloompas looked very realistic.

Some things like the ending were a bit different and Willy Wonka’s past life was not shown in the 1971 movie but was expanded in the 2005 movie. Whereas there is little mention of Wonka’s past life in the book. Both movies were mostly based on the book because of Dahl’s clever plot. Any major deviation from the book would have resulted in the failure of the movies. People would not watch a movie that is vaguely based on Dahl’s book as they read the book when they were young and any changes would have spoilt the fun.

The book raises many issues like greed, robbery, inheritance, respect, and being a gentleman. The time the book was written, the law and order was not very effective. Moreover, people don’t usually follow ‘manners’ very well. The movies retained a very big chunk of teaching ‘etiquettes’ to their young audience.

Knowing the context helped me to understand the significance of each dialogue and helped me understand the plot better. It made me realize that books are written on the basis of what happens in the world rather than just ideas in the author’s mind. Thinking of the context made me appreciate the books more. I also learnt something from them rather than just being tools of entertainment.