My mother has informed me that I had a fact wrong on the previous post about P&P. Mr. Bennet would have been able to be a gentleman farmer. So scratch that from the objections list. She also feels that the casting in the short movie was better, while the script of the long movie was better.
A short bit on the Mr. Collins, to give some detail: I personally did not feel repulsed enough by the Mr. Collins in the shorter P&P. He actually reminded me of the father of a friend of mine. He was too friendly and I almost felt bad for him when Kiera Knightly said no. That's one of the reasons I didn't like him.
anyways, that was me ranting, I don't claim to have any wisdom what-so-ever on film making, or Jane Austen. However, considering that fact that I have read all her novels at least twice and seen several movie adaptations and read several things she wrote that you have probably never heard of and read lots of fan fic, which is never as good as the real thing, and wrote a ten page paper on the woman and her writings, I can promise you I am a DEVOTED fan of Jane.
Links:
incredibly funny post on P&P in Twitter world...
http://madhattermommy.blogspot.com/2009/05/pride-and-twitterverse.html
also hilarious, a fake FB page for Obama...
http://www.slate.com/id/2217225/
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Sunday, May 24, 2009
Pride and Prejudice
Today in Sunday School we watched Pride and Prejudice(the short one) as part of our movie worldviews series. As a Jane Austen purist, I feel the need to express my opinion of the Kiera Knightly film and why I personally HATE that last scene. Now, I have a tendancy to get overworked about pointless things, so if you don't want to hear me rant, you should stop reading. Like, Now.
In the Focus Features ever-popular film Pride and Prejudice, Mr. Bennet is shown working directly with pigs and farming and other such lowly jobs. He would not have been able to do this and still be counted among the gentlemen of the town. Hence the first reason that this version of Pride and Prejudice is faulty.
Second, the ball held at Sir William Lucas's in this film is far too large. The town around Loungbourne and the surrounding estates would not have had that many high class families, even if you are including the lower-high class like the Bennets. There simply would not have been that many people!
Skipping ahead a bit...can't complain about Mr. Collins, it would take to long...
The wet scene of Darcy's first proposal. First of all, the lines of what is perhaps the most poignant and important scene in the book are altered. Second, never would Elizabeth have allowed a man that close to her. It simply wasn't done! Also, it takes a skilled writer (like Jane Austen!) to create sexual tension between two people who are across a room, sitting far apart from each other. (Colin Firth and Jennifer Ehle persent this wonderfully). It is easy to create tension between two figures who are sopping wet and ready to kiss. It's a modern movie, and I think that scene ruins an excellent piece of writing.
Skipping some more...wouldn't want to bore you...
The final sequence, the oh-so-popular "Mrs. Darcy" scene. Jane Austen would never have written nor approved of that scene. Her novels were always stopped at the wedding of her heroine. Never did she attempt to look beyond the happy bride. The final scene betrays her in that. Also, I feel that it betrays the book Darcy's true character for him to be involved in that sort of playful banter with Elizabeth. It says at the end of the novel that she had to train him to enjoy her light attitude, and that he often misinterpreted her, until they found a happy medium.
My objections are so much more than this. They go on and on and on. That is not to say that the directors did a bad job. On the contrary, they made a facinating film. But the fact that they dared to associate it with Jane Austen is, I think, an awful betrayal of her true style. I feel the same about the Narnia films and C.S. Lewis
In the Focus Features ever-popular film Pride and Prejudice, Mr. Bennet is shown working directly with pigs and farming and other such lowly jobs. He would not have been able to do this and still be counted among the gentlemen of the town. Hence the first reason that this version of Pride and Prejudice is faulty.
Second, the ball held at Sir William Lucas's in this film is far too large. The town around Loungbourne and the surrounding estates would not have had that many high class families, even if you are including the lower-high class like the Bennets. There simply would not have been that many people!
Skipping ahead a bit...can't complain about Mr. Collins, it would take to long...
The wet scene of Darcy's first proposal. First of all, the lines of what is perhaps the most poignant and important scene in the book are altered. Second, never would Elizabeth have allowed a man that close to her. It simply wasn't done! Also, it takes a skilled writer (like Jane Austen!) to create sexual tension between two people who are across a room, sitting far apart from each other. (Colin Firth and Jennifer Ehle persent this wonderfully). It is easy to create tension between two figures who are sopping wet and ready to kiss. It's a modern movie, and I think that scene ruins an excellent piece of writing.
Skipping some more...wouldn't want to bore you...
The final sequence, the oh-so-popular "Mrs. Darcy" scene. Jane Austen would never have written nor approved of that scene. Her novels were always stopped at the wedding of her heroine. Never did she attempt to look beyond the happy bride. The final scene betrays her in that. Also, I feel that it betrays the book Darcy's true character for him to be involved in that sort of playful banter with Elizabeth. It says at the end of the novel that she had to train him to enjoy her light attitude, and that he often misinterpreted her, until they found a happy medium.
My objections are so much more than this. They go on and on and on. That is not to say that the directors did a bad job. On the contrary, they made a facinating film. But the fact that they dared to associate it with Jane Austen is, I think, an awful betrayal of her true style. I feel the same about the Narnia films and C.S. Lewis
Saturday, May 23, 2009
Seventeen...Struggling with Submission, Stereotypes, and Self-Image
Today is my seventeenth birthday.
last year I wrote letters to myself in one year and in ten years, So today I read a letter from myself in the past to myself now. And in ten years, I'll be reading a letter to myself from today. (I hope).
I have no idea where I'll be or what I'll do, or how my life at Twenty Seven will be different than my life at Seventeen. But I do know that a friend of mine who is Twenty Seven said "a whole lot can change/happen in ten years." (Thanks Dave!)
So I wrote a letter to myself, talking about who I am now, what I struggle with. Here's some of the thoughts I ran across:
~ The idea of female submission in a relationship is getting more and more prevalent in my mind, and more and more complicated. I personally struggle with the concept of submission, since I have natural leadership tendancies of my own, and have to reconcile that with the fact that God created woman to be a helper to man. Now, I'm no where near a relationship, and don't plan to be for a very long time (my lines are VERY high). But still, I need to get it straight in my mind sometime. I've had great thoughts about it from some people I respect a lot. (Thanks James!) However, I need to find what I think the comprimise is, and stick to that. I'd like to find the biblical back-up for what I think. If you can help, please talk to me and give me your opinion.
~ Stereotypes bother me. A lot. I've been stereotyped as Presbyterian, Homeschooled, Asian, etc. While all of those have an effect on my personality, none of those make me who I am. And being defined by the general opinion makes me mad. Great example of breaking sterotypes I just saw in a movie, Chris in "Stand by me" grows up in a criminal family outlives the stereotype of his life, and is a great friend. (I highly suggest this movie. Lots of curses, but a good film. Funnily, It's R rated, the first one I've ever seen, and I saw it on my 17th birthday!)
~ Finally, Self-Image. Last year's letter to myself revealed how much I struggled with this at 15, since I started my letter at age 16 saying something about how I should always remember that I was a beautiful, self confident young woman. I still struggle with that, and don't believe in myself, but I have some great friends who help me boost my confidence. (Thanks Ginkgo, <3) However, I think this is something I will struggle with the rest of my teenage years, possibly the rest of my life. I see such a needy person in myself, a person that, were I cloned, I would not like. So I struggle with not putting myself down, something that, in ten years, I would like to have conquered.
I also asked myself from last year if anything significant had happened. In a way, yes, because I am a year older, with a year's worth of experiences to record and consider, and I learned a lot from Navs, and High School(I had some GREAT teachers this year). But I also didn't really get hit with an amazing BOOM thought this past year. I just grew, spiritually and physically, like I do every year. Hopefully a year from now, I'll post on my blog again with thoughts from an eighteen year old. thanks for listening to me!
Oh, and today is also my friend Zach's birthday. Happy birthday Zach!
last year I wrote letters to myself in one year and in ten years, So today I read a letter from myself in the past to myself now. And in ten years, I'll be reading a letter to myself from today. (I hope).
I have no idea where I'll be or what I'll do, or how my life at Twenty Seven will be different than my life at Seventeen. But I do know that a friend of mine who is Twenty Seven said "a whole lot can change/happen in ten years." (Thanks Dave!)
So I wrote a letter to myself, talking about who I am now, what I struggle with. Here's some of the thoughts I ran across:
~ The idea of female submission in a relationship is getting more and more prevalent in my mind, and more and more complicated. I personally struggle with the concept of submission, since I have natural leadership tendancies of my own, and have to reconcile that with the fact that God created woman to be a helper to man. Now, I'm no where near a relationship, and don't plan to be for a very long time (my lines are VERY high). But still, I need to get it straight in my mind sometime. I've had great thoughts about it from some people I respect a lot. (Thanks James!) However, I need to find what I think the comprimise is, and stick to that. I'd like to find the biblical back-up for what I think. If you can help, please talk to me and give me your opinion.
~ Stereotypes bother me. A lot. I've been stereotyped as Presbyterian, Homeschooled, Asian, etc. While all of those have an effect on my personality, none of those make me who I am. And being defined by the general opinion makes me mad. Great example of breaking sterotypes I just saw in a movie, Chris in "Stand by me" grows up in a criminal family outlives the stereotype of his life, and is a great friend. (I highly suggest this movie. Lots of curses, but a good film. Funnily, It's R rated, the first one I've ever seen, and I saw it on my 17th birthday!)
~ Finally, Self-Image. Last year's letter to myself revealed how much I struggled with this at 15, since I started my letter at age 16 saying something about how I should always remember that I was a beautiful, self confident young woman. I still struggle with that, and don't believe in myself, but I have some great friends who help me boost my confidence. (Thanks Ginkgo, <3) However, I think this is something I will struggle with the rest of my teenage years, possibly the rest of my life. I see such a needy person in myself, a person that, were I cloned, I would not like. So I struggle with not putting myself down, something that, in ten years, I would like to have conquered.
I also asked myself from last year if anything significant had happened. In a way, yes, because I am a year older, with a year's worth of experiences to record and consider, and I learned a lot from Navs, and High School(I had some GREAT teachers this year). But I also didn't really get hit with an amazing BOOM thought this past year. I just grew, spiritually and physically, like I do every year. Hopefully a year from now, I'll post on my blog again with thoughts from an eighteen year old. thanks for listening to me!
Oh, and today is also my friend Zach's birthday. Happy birthday Zach!
Thursday, May 7, 2009
just some thoughts
~ Josh Harris recently had a "can you twitter the gospel?" post on his blog. I thought it was interesting, but i don't think you can fully capture the value of the gospel in a 140 word Twitter post.
~ This past week the baby has started sleeping in my room. I have been woken up every night. But I'm still getting sleep, because I get up, take her to Mom and fall back asleep. Still, it's an experience.
~ Time magazine comes to our house, and on the cover is the 100 most influential people. (see it in the side bar). My little sister (she's 3) goes "look Mommy it's the President!" When I asked her how she knew that, she said "I just know that name, the President!" congratulations President Obama, you're on the list of about 10 people(outside of our family) that my little sister can recognize!
~ This past week the baby has started sleeping in my room. I have been woken up every night. But I'm still getting sleep, because I get up, take her to Mom and fall back asleep. Still, it's an experience.
~ Time magazine comes to our house, and on the cover is the 100 most influential people. (see it in the side bar). My little sister (she's 3) goes "look Mommy it's the President!" When I asked her how she knew that, she said "I just know that name, the President!" congratulations President Obama, you're on the list of about 10 people(outside of our family) that my little sister can recognize!
Saturday, May 2, 2009
Read this one! (a test)
my friend Jimmy (who, by the way, is absolutely AMAZING) says that if you title a post with "Read this!" people are more likely to read and respond. Anyways, recently I have been coming upon little jewels of wisdom on the internet from my friends. Things they don't say in normal conversation, but things that they think about. And I'm constantly amazed by it!
There are lots of people I don't know who also have some great thoughts out there. The wealth of wisdom you can glean from the internet is incredible. I suggest you try it. Go online, and read someone's facebook notes(other than mine) or someone's blog (other than mine).
You will probably have to wade through online ipod shuffle quizzes, how well do you know me quizzes, etc, but there will be some real nuggets of gold there! (in fact, if you look between the lines of the quizzes, you can find gold there also, you just have to dig harder).
The point is, there are so many people in this world, each with individual thoughts and opinions. Look into them! Not to change what you think, but to give yourself a better understanding of our society. That's one of the wonders of the internet, that everyone can be heard!
There are lots of people I don't know who also have some great thoughts out there. The wealth of wisdom you can glean from the internet is incredible. I suggest you try it. Go online, and read someone's facebook notes(other than mine) or someone's blog (other than mine).
You will probably have to wade through online ipod shuffle quizzes, how well do you know me quizzes, etc, but there will be some real nuggets of gold there! (in fact, if you look between the lines of the quizzes, you can find gold there also, you just have to dig harder).
The point is, there are so many people in this world, each with individual thoughts and opinions. Look into them! Not to change what you think, but to give yourself a better understanding of our society. That's one of the wonders of the internet, that everyone can be heard!
Friday, May 1, 2009
I am Self centered. Very Very self centered.
I think that I'm smart. But I can continually be proved how people in my environment are smarter than me.
I think I'm a good, encouraging friend. But I can continually be proved how I'm less of a loyal, good friend than others.
I think I'm a good Christian, most of the time. But I can continually be proved how there are so many stronger Christians out there than me, people who are actually learning the wisdom that I cheaply spout.
That's not to say that I'm a 'bad' person. But I'm learning that I am not the best out there. Personal example: There's this girl I know, we can call her, um, Ruth (I don't want to put anyone online who doesn't want to be online, so hence the false name). Anyways, Ruth is really smart, and beautiful, and athletic, and musical, and everything I could ever aspire to be rolled into one, inquisitive, wonderful, nice girl.
Needless to say, I'm jealous of Ruth. She's plenty nice to me, and it's not like she looks down on me, but I like to find reasons to look down on Ruth, to affirm myself and make myself feel better.
Tuesday I led Bible Study, and it was about Success, and not making success the most important thing in my life, and one of the verses in the study was Philippians 2:3, but I suggest reading verses 1-4. It's printed below:
1If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, 2then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. 3Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. 4Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.
I think that if statement applies to me, at least the part where I gain comfort from Christ's love, and hopefully the rest as well. So, I am to then have the same love?!? Whoa! do you realize what that really means? That means I have to love Ruth the way Christ loved me! That means I have to love the kid I absolutely can't stand in school. Consider others better than myself?!?!? UH, Impossible! There are clearly some people who are NOT better than ME.
*Ding Ding Ding*
Hello, this is the Bible! This is exactly what the passage is talking about! The conceit that I have, the feeling that I'm better than others!
So, back to my narrative (I promise I will at least try to tie this all back together, I have a plan but my mind moves faster than my typing). At Bible Study, everyone else reacted the same way I did, with the 'Uh, no, I don't want to follow that verse, it's too hard!" So we ended that night praying that God would change out hearts and make us willing to accept this mindset and accept the people that we think we are better than them.
Well, OH Boy, God listened and I can almost hear him rubbing his hands in anticipation, ready to teach me how much I put myself above others, make me eat humble pie, and use that weakness to show his grace and power elsewhere. I've been hit by the beauty and wisdom of those I previously thought poorly of!
That was God's little lesson for me this week.
I think I'm a good, encouraging friend. But I can continually be proved how I'm less of a loyal, good friend than others.
I think I'm a good Christian, most of the time. But I can continually be proved how there are so many stronger Christians out there than me, people who are actually learning the wisdom that I cheaply spout.
That's not to say that I'm a 'bad' person. But I'm learning that I am not the best out there. Personal example: There's this girl I know, we can call her, um, Ruth (I don't want to put anyone online who doesn't want to be online, so hence the false name). Anyways, Ruth is really smart, and beautiful, and athletic, and musical, and everything I could ever aspire to be rolled into one, inquisitive, wonderful, nice girl.
Needless to say, I'm jealous of Ruth. She's plenty nice to me, and it's not like she looks down on me, but I like to find reasons to look down on Ruth, to affirm myself and make myself feel better.
Tuesday I led Bible Study, and it was about Success, and not making success the most important thing in my life, and one of the verses in the study was Philippians 2:3, but I suggest reading verses 1-4. It's printed below:
1If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, 2then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. 3Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. 4Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.
I think that if statement applies to me, at least the part where I gain comfort from Christ's love, and hopefully the rest as well. So, I am to then have the same love?!? Whoa! do you realize what that really means? That means I have to love Ruth the way Christ loved me! That means I have to love the kid I absolutely can't stand in school. Consider others better than myself?!?!? UH, Impossible! There are clearly some people who are NOT better than ME.
*Ding Ding Ding*
Hello, this is the Bible! This is exactly what the passage is talking about! The conceit that I have, the feeling that I'm better than others!
So, back to my narrative (I promise I will at least try to tie this all back together, I have a plan but my mind moves faster than my typing). At Bible Study, everyone else reacted the same way I did, with the 'Uh, no, I don't want to follow that verse, it's too hard!" So we ended that night praying that God would change out hearts and make us willing to accept this mindset and accept the people that we think we are better than them.
Well, OH Boy, God listened and I can almost hear him rubbing his hands in anticipation, ready to teach me how much I put myself above others, make me eat humble pie, and use that weakness to show his grace and power elsewhere. I've been hit by the beauty and wisdom of those I previously thought poorly of!
That was God's little lesson for me this week.
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