The Film Failure

The film version of William Golding’s “Lord of the Flies” was a poor representation of Golding’s theme. In the movie, the children were not British school boys who were civilized but were American boys from military school. Furthermore, the pilot remains alive in the film when the boys crash on the island which greatly changes the level of authority on the island because in the book, the pilot is dead leaving the boys without adult supervision. In addition the character Simon never has his encounter with the “Lord of the Flies” which is the head of a dead pig. This conversation is a key event in the novel and without it the movie lost all meaning in what William Golding was trying to achieve. The film “Lord of the Flies” is a failure in displaying what William Golding had created when he wrote his novel.

When the boys arrive on the island in the novel we learn that they are British school boys which sets a mood for the island. Since they are British readers will assume that they are very civilized and have good manners and morals. When the boys appear on the island in the film, the viewers see that the boys are American and from military school.. When from a military school the viewers will have a different understanding of how the boys act because in being American and from military school, the boys lose the sense of civility and morality that is sensed when they are British. When the boys become savage in the book, we see the true difference in their attitudes and can see how far they have really come from their once British standards. Without the knowledge of their British heritage, the true understanding of their journey to savagery is lost.

In the film version of Golding’s novel, the pilot remains alive for quite some time. He leaves and retreats to a cave and is never seen again. Since the pilot is still with the children in the film, the children still have some sense of adult supervision and influence. This would help them to remain civilized. Furthermore, when the pilot leaves and hides away in a cave, he is found by one of the boys but since it was dark, the boy thought the pilot was “the monster” which represents “the beast” from Golding’s version which generates mass fear amongst all the boys. However, in Golding’s version the beast is a representation of the savagery within the boys but in the film when it is an actual human being that is misunderstood as a monster, the entire essence of the savagery within is lost.

The most important event in the book is when Simon has a conversation with “The Lord of The Flies” which is the head of a dead pig. The head speaks to Simon and tells him that “the beast” is actually the savagery within all the boys and has no physical form. This is the point in the story where many of the reader’s questions are answered and when the book reaches the climax. However, in the film, there is no such conversation. The pig head is present in the film but the character “The Lord of The Flies” does not exist. This event is the main event in the book that tells the readers what the theme of this novel really is and how William Golding wanted to portray what will happen to humans without the influence of society. Without this event, viewers of the film cannot understand what William Golding wanted to show through his novel.

From the ways in which the film “Lord of the Flies” portrayed the events of the story William Golding wrote, the viewers of the movie cannot understand the true meaning behind the story. When the boys are American, military students opposed to British school boys, much understanding of the boys and the mood of the book is lost. Furthermore, since the pilot is still alive in the movie, and actually is “the monster” in the movie, the idea of having no one to supervise the boys is also lost which changes the outlook of the boy’s attitude. The movie also does not include the most important event of the story which is when Simon speaks to pig head and discovers what “the beast” really is. With all these aspects of the story lost, the film has failed and creating a true representation of William Golding’s “Lord of the Flies”