Padding is one of the techniques found in novelizations when
the novelizer explains things to the reader that are unnecessary. As discussed
above, the reason the extra information is superfluous is that the dialogue in
the movie provides everything the viewer needs to understand the story,
connotations and all. At times, the explanations can really slow down the story
and the novelization quickly seems superfluous itself to the reader. A prime
example of padding in The Dark Knight Rises takes place when Bruce Wayne
is discussing the film’s main villain, Bane.
Bruce and
Alfred watched from the front hall as the patrol car drove away.
“You
checked that name?” Bruce asked. He assumed Alfred had been listening in on his
meeting with the young police officer. “Bane?” The word had sinister
connotations. A cause of ruin, disaster, and death, at least according to
Webster. Bruce wondered what kind of man would choose such a name for himself.
A man who
wished to instill fear in others?
He
understood the reasoning.
“Ran it
through some databases,” Alfred said. The faithful butler ha once served as an
operative for British Intelligence, before going into service. His skills at
garnering information still came in handy. “He’s a mercenary. No other known
name. Never been seen or photographed without a mask. He and his men were
behind a coup in West Africa that secured
mining operations for our friend John Daggett.”
The novelizer's insertion about the etymology of the word bane
is redundant. As if the viewers/readers didn't already know Bane had sinister
intentions from the previous forty-five minutes of film or eighty-nine pages of
text, the author provides a definition of the bad guy's name for them. He even
quotes Webster’s dictionary in a way that is more appropriate for a young adult
novel. If Bruce Wayne is confused about this character Bane, Alfred’s findings in
this and succeeding scenes are more than enough to make Bruce aware of his
nature without needing to consult a dictionary.
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