Hollywood explodes with 'dumbed down' film adaptations of classics for Gen Z after 'bookfluencers' were accused of reducing media literacy

This week, Shakespeare traditionalists were warned to stay away from the new West End adaptation of Romeo & Juliet, with the Sadie Sink and Noah Jupe fronted play veering away from the traditional script and exploring alternative realities. 

The West End production is seemingly targeted at a younger audience who will not be fazed by the retelling of a classic tale, and have been drawn in by the fact one of the lead stars is famed for Netflix hit Stranger Things. 

Yet it's hardly surprising that the 430-year-old tale has been given a bit of a spin as it follows a growing trend of adapting classic literature for a younger audience. 

In recent years, Hollywood has been awash with films and TV shows that would leave the original authors rolling in their graves but have succeeded in drawing in the Gen Z crowd. 

The popularity of these adaptations is said to be down to #BookTok, a subsection of TikTok where users critique books and offer their recommendations. 

Started in the pandemic, the movement was initially praised for encouraging the younger generation to read instead of scroll on their phones while cooped up in lockdown. 

Yet in recent years, BookTok has also been accused of reducing media literacy.

TikTok's algorithm seemingly promotes fast-paced, trope-heavy, and romantic fiction over literary depth, leading to an echo chamber of suggestions. 

There also seems to be an added pressure to 'prove' how much one likes reading, rather than actually read. 

Examples include a bookfluencer who when suggesting tips for learning to read, said to 'romanticise reading' by finding a cute outfit to read in.

Meanwhile, a BookTok row previously erupted after an influencer admitted she 'skips' reading 'big paragraphs'.

Miranda from the US, who is known as @probablyoffreading online, sparked huge debate after posting the now-deleted TikTok video.

The bookfluencer, who has 641,000 followers and mainly reads romance and thriller books, said: 'If there's a paragraph this big, I'm skipping it, I'm skipping it.'

She added in the caption of the video that 'I can't be the only one' - and others on TikTok have even admitted that they 'only read the dialogue' in books.

While Beth, who posts under the username @thecool_table, even posted a guide on how to 'skip filler paragraphs when reading'.

She said a teacher had taught her a 'speed reading trick' when she was younger, explaining: 'I really wanted to read a certain amount of books by a certain date.

'She said that if you slant your eye across the page in a diagonal instead of reading line by line, your eye will pick up more words... and you'll be able to tell what is upcoming faster.'

Another bookfluencer complained that the novel she was reading had 'too many words'.

Yana from California took to TikTok to review Six Of Crows by Leigh Bardugo, expressing her irritation that 'every page' contained 'so many words'.

The video, posted by @yannareads, has now been deleted but has still racked up 36 million views when reposted on X, formerly Twitter.

Many were quick to take aim at BookTok itself, with some saying it has 'lost the plot', while others claimed influencers only view reading as a 'status symbol'. 

Recently, Emily Bronte's Wuthering Heights started to gain momentum as a result of Emerald Fennell's film adaptation. 

The film, which saw Margot Robbie, 35, frolic around the moors in a latex ballgown after taking on the role of teenager Cathy, proved to be a hit for the Gen-Z audience. 

However, when it came to the novel itself, many admitted on TikTok they had quickly given up, or needed a 'brain break' after reading every few lines. 

Another adaptation that raised eyebrows on the big screen was the 2022 film adaptation of Jane Austen's Persuasion starring Dakota Johnson, which slipped in several examples of modern dialogue, despite being set in the 19th century. 

In 2021, He's All That - a teen romcom starring TikTok influencer Addison Rae - was savaged by critics. 

The comedy was a gender-swapped remake of the 1999 film She's All That, which was a modern adaptation of George Bernard Shaw's 1914 play Pygmalion and George Cukor's 1964 film My Fair Lady.

It has a pitiful 29 per cent 'rotten' rating on reviews aggregator site, Rotten Tomatoes. Yet nonetheless, it still soared to number one on Netflix on the week of its release. 

Coming up later this year is a Netflix series based on Austen's Pride and Prejudice.  

The novel has been adapted into numerous films over the years, including a version in 2005 with Keira Knightley as Lizzie and Matthew Macfadyen as Mr Darcy.

But it has not been adapted for television since the Colin Firth and Jennifer Ehle series for the BBC which caused a sensation in 1995.

Scripts have been written by Dolly Alderton, the well-connected newspaper agony aunt who previously was a 'story producer' on Made In Chelsea and a podcast host.

Her sole TV credit is scripting the 2022 adaptation of her memoir, Everything I Know About Love, for the BBC. 

That was a critical hit and ended up being streamed in the US. The book is seen as the go-to guide for millennial and Gen Z daters.

The series - starring Emma Corrin as Elizabeth Bennet and Jack Lowden as Mr. Darcy - will keep the original setting but is expected to feel fresh to modern audiences, described as a funny and 'sensual' take on the classic romance.

Charlotte Brontë's Jane Eyre is also set for the TV treatment, with Sex Education star Aimee Lou Wood taking on protagonist. 

While Normal People's Daisy Edgar Jones has landed a role in the upcoming movie adaptation of Austen's Sense & Sensibility. 

It remains to be seen if these will stay true to the original works or be given a younger spin.