This post can originally be found on the Emerson Pub Club Blog along with other great posts from really cool people!
In 2013, I eagerly anticipated The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones along with millions of other
fans around the world. An adaptation of Cassandra Clare’s first novel of the
same title, the movie seemed destined to launch the next Young Adult movie
franchise. The books series has six books in total, is constantly on a best
seller’s list somewhere and has been a fan favorite since 2007 when the first
book was released. With such a massive cult following, why did the movie
completely flop?
The answer is quite simple. The movie was terrible. Despite
a promising looking cast and teaser trailer, the film was nothing like the
books whatsoever. Sitting in a theater watching the movie in full cosplay with
some of my closest friends, I was heartbroken at what I was seeing. The movie
lacked all of the character development that Cassandra Clare is so famous for
in her novels. Some elements of the mythology were changed for no reason and
other changes, like the location of the final battle in the book, served no
purpose.
I understand that when making an adaptation of a book, some
things have to change. While it might be interesting to read an entire novel
where the narrator speculates and monologues in their own head, it can be
difficult to translate that to the big screen. My problem with the film was not
that they chose to add in more action sequences to make it more interesting, it
was how they chose to make these changes. The directors, producers, and other
decision-makers made changes that would affect not only the way the mythology
of Cassandra Clare’s Shadowhunters functioned, but also contradicted events
that occurred in later books.
For example, Clary, the main character, is supposed to be a
girl who learns that her mother was a Shadowhunter. They are demon hunters who
are half angel and half human. They keep the peace in Downworld, which is the
side of New York City ordinary people never see where faeries, werewolves,
vampires, warlocks, and demons all roam free. In the first book, Clary has to
come to terms not only with the fact that she is a part of this ancient race,
but also that her mom hid it from her for her entire life. She’s understandably
confused and scared, but none of this was effectively portrayed. Lily Collins
played Clary as if she were confident, self-assured, and already aware of
powers that she did not discover until the second book of the series.
After the cheesy, cheap disaster that was The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones, I
was horribly upset and praying that the studio wouldn’t pull a Percy Jackson and try to keep making the
movies despite fans hating them. So when it was announced that the rights had
been sold to make a TV series, I was worried. The books could benefit from
being transformed into a TV series instead of a movie. They’re long, all around
400 pages, so if each season could be the equivalent of one book, then more of
the original content could be translated to screen. Unfortunately, all of my
hopes for a good adaptation of one of my favorite childhood book series were
dashed when I read that the rights had been picked up by ABC Family.
ABC Family has a reputation for having overdramatic TV Shows
with poor acting and writing that barely makes sense. Think The Secret Life of an American Teenager
or Pretty Little Liars (another
series which has completely deviated from the books). City of Bones deserves much better than this kind of treatment. The
show is set to air in January and several different clips and trailers have
been released so far. If it wasn’t irritating enough that the show has been
named Shadowhunters, the trailers are
completely cringe-worthy.
Check out one of the trailers below so you can see for yourself!
Any fan of the books will say that the beauty of what
Cassandra Clare has done with the world in her books is make it relatable.
While the teenage main characters may be demon hunters with some angel blood
mixed into their genetics, they are not superheroes by any means. They train
hard to have the combat skills that they possess, to learn to use the different
weapons like seraph blades, and to learn to draw the magical runes which they
draw power from. Essentially, they are humans who are made stronger by their
angel blood, but they are still human. In the trailer for the show, characters
like Alec and Jace are seen jumping to ridiculous heights and seemingly flying
into the air. This simple change may seem insignificant, but it demonstrates a
fundamental lack of understanding of the values and themes that lie at the core
of Cassandra Clare’s book series.
When the show airs in January, I will probably watch one
episode to give it a chance, but I am already heavily anticipating my disgust
with the series. Small changes are fine, but huge changes to the timeline, the
age of the characters, their appearances, personalities, and terrible acting
are all things that I cannot tolerate together. ABC Family’s Shadowhunters show may turn out to be successful
in its own way, but it will definitely not be successful with fans of the book
series. As much as I would love to see my favorite characters on the screen, I
want to see their story done authentically, with at least some resemblance to
the books that I love so much. Since it seems that is impossible, I say it’s
time to let City of Bones stay a
brilliant book and not continue to sully it with poorly executed adaptations.
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