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!
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