It is the age-old question. The one countless generations of readers (at least in the last fifty years) have asked themself. Which comes first? And no, I do not mean the question of the chicken or the egg. I mean that debate between popcorn and lights off or tea and reading glasses on. Yes, I mean the question of whether to read the book first or watch the movie. My family has religiously read the book first for years. Your family may have done the opposite. There are, like any debate, pros and cons for both sides. Below, I have outlined some for watching the movie first. If you disagree with my stance, please comment on this post.

Pros

• It gives you a basic outline of the story better. Because of a movie’s shorter nature and the use of background music and effects, it is easy to see the basic parts of the story. The climax is clearly outlined, the setting easy to spot, and the character introduction more natural. In addition, for many people seeing and hearing the story play out is much easier to process than only reading it. If you are picking up a challenging or antiquated piece, it may be very beneficial to your understanding of the plot to first watch the movie. This is something very commonly practiced with students studying classics like Shakespeare.
• It is a faster, less demanding commitment. If you are reviewing a story simply for a basic knowledge of what that story is, you may not desire to devote hours of your time to reading the book. If you are exploring it to have some shared knowledge of a topic with a friend, you may want to acquire that quickly. Whereas a book might take days to read, your average movie may be about two hours. If you have limited time or do not find this particular story exciting, a movie may be the only possible option.
• A movie may attract your interest more easily. With the flashy effects, emotional music, and cool costumes, movies often have a more immediate desire for our Age of Technology brains. If you are struggling to start a long or slightly less entertaining book, watching the movie can hook you. It grabs your attention and makes you think long and hard about the story. You may very well find yourself wanting to give the book another try.

Cons

• The movie gives away all the plot points quickly. When, in the course of a ten-minute scene, that great, classic plot twist is portrayed, you may find yourself frustrated when ten hours of reading goes by and you have not gotten to it. It takes away much of the motivation to read the text if you already know what is going to happen. Reading becomes an obligatory, chore-ish activity, the opposite of what we want to happen! The suspense is what keeps you reading. Take that away and you have nothing.
• The movie steals your attention span. A movie is shorter and typically takes a lot less brain power and energy than a book. Because of this, it can be very discouraging to try reading a book after watching its movie. When we find it more challenging, confusing, or just plain longer than the movie, it is far too easy to brush it aside as something we have already seen the movie for.
• The movie does not do justice to the story. Because of the shortened nature of movies and the need for flashiness and attention-grabbing, movies are often required to adjust the storyline slightly. They may have to shorten it or even leave out large chunks. They cannot show scenes that are harder to display but give enhanced meaning to the story. They change small details to make it more smooth or exciting. And they add entire scenes that have no relevance to the plot but look shiny. This may leave you with an impression of the story that does not do justice to the author.
• The movie does not reward you in the same way that the book does. Reading works several parts of your brain. It grows your intelligence, attention span, reasoning skills, and life wisdom. Movies do none of these things. If you watch the movie first, you come to the book with preconceived notions and it is hampered from giving you all of these benefits. You end up spending time and energy but not getting the full reward for your labor. You are robbed of part of the joy.

After creating this list, I think that my position is similar to how it was before. I think that in most cases, the book should be read before the movie. It makes the book more enjoyable and the movie a pleasant reward for any hard work. It also keeps you from misunderstanding the story or having opinions meddled with by special effects. However, there are some times when it is beneficial to watch the movie first. The most prominent example I can think of is when you are reading something especially hard to understand. First watching the movie can give you some guidance and an outline to match with the story as you go along. If your opinion differs from mine or you have additional pros and cons, be sure to comment below. I would love to hear them!