Rip.Mix.Feed- Movie Tie-In Book Covers (are terrible)

“What is happening is a readjustment of the ratio between text and image in the various forms of print (books, magazines, newspapers, billboards), and the refashioning of prose itself in an attempt both to rival and incorporate the visual image” (Bolter, 2001, p.48).

This assertion by David Bolter triggered something in my subconscious, something that I do my best to suppress the memory and thought of; something that has proven to be the bane of my existence any time I visit a bookstore – the dreaded movie tie-in book cover.

I utilized Camtasia again as I found it extremely user friendly in order import Powerpoint slides into a video. I considered using various apps to create a collage, but ultimately wanted to directly compare original, first-edition book covers and their movie tie-in counterparts, drawing from works over a range of years and genres.

While the sample size is far too small to trace any noticeable trends over time, I think we can see shifts in the original editions of book covers towards vibrant visual images in which the visual element is as important as the text, if not more so. Some look almost like movie posters in their own right in some cases, or have text double as a visual element such as in Ready Player One. An exception to this of course seems to be The Road, which is appropriately bleak.

I found it interesting to note the subtle differences between the original and movie tie-in covers (besides the covers blatantly using movie posters) such as the relation of text to image, as well as the not so subtle change of emphasis on the title of Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep in which the book and movie titles differ. Emphasis was placed on the film title rather than the original literary title. Film and television often draw on literary works and as such the two mediums have become linked, as it has become profitable to market one medium based on the other.

You can view my video below:

Reference

Bolter, Jay David. (2001). Writing space: Computers, hypertext, and the remediation of print [2nd edition]. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.