Reading vs. Watching movies

I found it much more exciting when informed to watch a movie than asked to read a novel. To be honest, reading actually provides readers with imaginative experience and seems academic while watching movies sounds like an entertainment. When we watch Big Lebowski in class, we were just passively receiving the information the movie conveys. The characteristics of the protagonists, the way they speak and behave, every plot and even every second is designed by the director of the film. The story has already been "recreated" by the director, and everything reflects his taste. The director help us complete the task of imagining. We enjoy the movie because we marvel at the director's technique of framing varieties of scenes. As audience, we like the feeling of being caught by surprise from time to time, we would rather be passive. However, reading is a process which require much more efforts than watching films. If we don't take time thinking about it, the novels will appear to be boring and pointless, especially for the ones like Big Lebowski which contain some underlying values. But if we readers can try to read in an active and imaginative way, every reader might have a particular Dude in his/her mind which is totally different from that in others' minds. To read and think actively is actually more beneficial for us, though the easy and relaxing ways are popular.