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Why Do Movies Replace the Memories from our Favourite Books?

In the past, when I still enjoyed watching movies, I always attempted to avoid movies that were based on my favourite books. I knew that as soon as I watched the movie, the pictures of the places and people that I had constructed in my imagination would immediately dissolve and be replaced by the movie settings and the Hollywood faces playing the major roles.

For the most part, I ended up watching the movies and Liam Neeson became Rob Roy and Peter O'Toole became Lawrence of Arabia. I thought I had a victory when I managed to avoid watching Nicholas Cage and Penelope Cruz in Captain Corelli's Mandolin, but the previews, movie posters and advertising were enough to take over the treasured, but shadowy realms of my imagination.


I have since wondered why pictures in movies so easily and ruthlessly replaced those in my imagination, why Daniel Radcliffe actually became Harry Potter for all time.  So, I thought I would look into the phenomena and find out if it was just me or if there was something going on in our brains which makes this process inevitable. 

Apparently, movies can "erase" or overwrite book character memories because movies provide strong, pre-defined sensory details (like visuals and sound) that are perceived directly, rather than imagined. The brain often prioritizes these concrete, real-world sensory inputs for memory formation and recall, making them more potent than the fainter mental images conjured from reading. This creates a new, powerful set of memories associated with the characters that can take over the original, imagined versions.


Basically, movies bypass this imaginative process by presenting the sensory information directly to your eyes and ears. And because your brain is designed to filter out all of the crap that comes its way, it is actually a finely tuned forgetting machine.

So when its time to engage in filtering out those things that the brain is designed to filter, then the first thing that it removes is the details related to the least formed memories. So the imagined memories are deleted and the more detailed memories generated from watching the movie remain.

I also discovered an article by Osman Cetin, who noted that imagined memories are opposite the normal flow of stimuli to the brain. Normally we perceive stimuli with our senses, whether through seeing, hearing or feeling. They originate externally and then are processed finally with our brains. 

On the other hand, our imagination starts internally in our brains and then flows outward where it is felt through our emotions, such as sadness, joy or fear. This latter process is opposite the natural flow for which our brain is primarily designed for  And this makes sense from an evolutionary perspective. It's probably more important to have long term memories about the ability to recognize bear tracks, then a happy thought you might have had after a good nap.

Sadly, its inevitable that the cherished memories of the heroes and heroines of our favourites novels are bound to be replaced by the images from the movies that we watch. Ultimately, I am okay that the process is inevitable. But can the move at least be good and well acted? I don't think that's too much to ask.


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I often buy new books at a very good price from Book Outlet. As I understand it, Book Outlet sells overstock books received directly from new bookstores.  You can find a broad range of genres, publication dates as well as soft covers and hardcover. 

If you are interested in checking out Book Outlet, please follow my link. I don't get paid for referrals, but I can earn credits that are applicable to my own book orders. Help me read and review books so that you can avoid things or find things that are up your alley! 

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