An open letter to book elitists:

Book elitists are quite possibly the worst kind of people. It is one thing to advocate for more accuracy in movies, but another thing entirely to bash the film industry because it is not able to accomplish the impossible feat of including every minute detail of the book in the film adaptation.

Of course, there are some movies that stray too far from the path of the original material, but in general, the film adaptation industry is founded in good intentions.

The worst part of the book elitist phenomenon is the hatred directed at movie fans who were not previously familiar with the story. Just because a person wants to see a Marvel or DC movie does not mean they should have to sit down for hours and spend hundreds of dollars to read all the comic books. These movies are made for two reasons: to entertain a pre-existing fan base and to generate interest in the common population. There is no reason the average movie goer should be expected to know the birthplace, eye color, and license plate of every character.

Being a book elitist is like biting the hand that feeds you. If directors try their best to stay true to the original source material, they shouldn’t be criticized for getting the color of the curtains wrong.

Book elitists take enjoyment of the movie away from not only themselves, but other audience members. Their hypercritical complaining makes it impossible to focus on positive characteristics of the film.

Take the Harry Potter series, for instance. No one can focus on the spectacular camerawork and acting in the movie because of the insane fans who are still complaining about the exclusion of one minor character from the movies. It is simply sad that these people can suck the joy out of the films, much like the Dementors they despise so much.

So to all the book elitists out there, suspend disbelief for a minute and let people enjoy their movies without putting the films under a microscope. No movie will ever be able to completely visually capture a book, so stop expecting perfection from something that was simply meant to bring the material to a wider audience.