Ginny Weasley in the Books or the Movies?
We all know about the hugely popular Harry Potter book series and most of us have read J K Rowling’s brilliant masterpiece. But there are some things that will always bother you if you are a fan of a certain book that has been adapted into a film.
Firstly, the films that are an adaptation of books leave out many aspects, background stories and scenes to fit the time limit but in doing that they sometimes change important details and perceptions that are there in the books. Also, there are always certain characters that become diametrically opposite in the adapted films.
People who have watched the Harry Potter films but not read the books unanimously agree on one subject- Ginny Weasley is useless. This concept however, doesn’t hold true at all for all those who have read the books and know about the actual characterisation of Ginny Weasley.
In the books, the youngest of the Weasley children is a very strong, feisty and dynamic character, whereas in the films she has been portrayed as sort of a pushover without any personality of her own. Weasley’s character barely gets any screen time in the entire franchise, which has omitted many background stories of different other characters and altered them as well.
For anyone who has watched only the films and not read the books, the character comes across as someone who is merely the love interest of Harry and her sole job description is to stand meekly to one side and not have any opinion of her own. This is the exact opposite of what she has been originally written as by Rowling. Growing up with six older brothers, she is strong and knows how to handle herself. Although, her brothers are quite protective of her, especially Ron, she is not one to need looking after. She is smart, funny, independent and performs the best bat-bogey hexes. She is also kind and this is shown by how she always fiercely protects and defends her friend Luna Lovegood, who is made fun of by the entire school.
In the films none of these aspects of her character is shown instead, she is just shown as a wallflower, doing practically nothing. The only time her character shows some life in the movies is during a scene in the Half-Blood Prince, where Harry is holding try-outs for the Quidditch match and is unable to bring the crowd to order. Ginny yells at them authoritatively and they all fall silent.
There is an actual development to the character of Ginny in the books which is sadly, lacking in the movies. The limited amount of screen time that she has got in the films also raises questions about the treatment of female characters in films who have always been given secondary roles without any substance, barring more recent times.
As Ginny is one of the central characters in the books it would have been only fitting to see her develop in the movies also, which is why it is such a huge disappointment. Bonnie Wright, who plays the character in the films is a reasonably talented actor who could have pulled off the role successfully had she been given the chance and time to do so.
There are a lot many problems with the Harry Potter films that the readers of the book series will find but this is one of the most jarring ones. Although the movies were still great, it would have been a real treat to see the obvious chemistry and bond that Harry and Ginny have in the books which actually make them a really great couple.
