In a recent post I pondered what current books may serve as “gateway” books into science fiction and fantasy, the way the books by Asimov, Heinlein, Clarke, etc., did for my generation. I’ve been thinking about that a little more, and in light of the release of Avatar (which I have not seen yet but plan to do so soon) I’ve been wondering if science fiction and fantasy in the movies works as a gateway to science fiction and fantasy in literature.
Movies based on books generate some interest in the source material even when the cinematic product is wildly divergent from the original (see I, Robot). But does that interest translate into a desire to read more within the genre, or does it end with the particular work tied to the film? I’m honestly not sure, but I would think the bump genre literature gets from movies is modest. Look at how genre movies dominate the blockbuster list in film. Contrast that with the growth and pervasiveness of genre books. While that market is certainly strong, it’s miniscule compared to the film industry. And the one white-hot segment of the book marketplace — paranormal romance and urban fantasy — is almost completely missing from the cinema side.
Mega-hits like the Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, and Twilight films already had enormous followings for the books before they were converted into movies. While the movies almost certainly added some new readers to the already-faithful flock, my guess would be that few of them became interested in the larger world of genre literature as a result. And if I had to bet, I would guess that any new readers were teenagers or younger, who are still searching for exactly the kind of things they like to read. While there certainly were older readers who may have picked up Rings or Potter or Twilight based on seeing the movies, that particular demographic is probably set enough in their reading habits not to venture further afield into the literature of the fantastic. In other words, they read the books the movies were based on out of curiosity (perhaps to see what was changed from book to film), but that was it. They aren’t going to pick up John Crowley or Alastair Reynolds or Cherie Priest any time soon.
I think books are far better gateway drugs for genre books than films. A kid that gets blown away reading Ender’s Game is far more likely to go searching for more books by Orson Scott Card or similar writers than a kid who is blown away watching Transformers.
Star Trek and Star Wars might engender an interest in reading, but I suspect a lot of the books read by such fans will be those based in the respective universes of each film series.
What do you think? Am I on to something here, or way off base?
