What the deuce?

I found that phrase incredibly funny for some reason.  I tend to be amused by the small things in life.

So this was my first literary exposure to the Sherlock Holmes series.  I had seen the Robert Downey Junior movie a few years ago, but I honestly remember nothing about it except maybe people riding a train, that’s about it.

I found the first couple short stories to be rather dull but I appreciated that I got to be introduced to the characters and get to know them a little better.  The two stories I liked best were “The Speckled Band” and “The Dancing Men.”  These were the two stories that I felt had the most action and suspense, which I enjoyed a lot.

“The Speckled Band” had me in suspense the entire time and I was dying to know what the band was and how the girl had died.  But I have to say, the ending was a little disappointing.  I mean, it was interesting and a little unexpected that the “band” was actually a snake, but I was expecting some kind of huge scandal or elaborate scheme that led to the girl’s death.  Instead, it was just a snake that was fed through the wall and happened to eventually bite and poison her.  It was kind of a letdown, but I still enjoyed it.

“The Dancing Men” was super interesting.  I really like mystery/suspense stories that involve cryptic symbolism or secret codes, so I really liked the fact that a hieroglyphic alphabet was included.  But again, the ending disappointed me.  I was expecting Abe to get angry that he was caught and cause a big scene.  But instead, he just willingly gave up and conveniently told us exactly what happened.  I don’t know, maybe I’m too used to today’s twist endings on crime shows, but Doyle’s plots aren’t very interesting.  I think the only reason he’s maintained such a strong readership is his ability to maintain suspense.

Also, just a sidebar, Holmes is a total jerk.  Especially in “Charles Augustus Milverton.”  Who gets engaged to a woman just for the sole purpose of solving a case? A jerk, that’s who.

But I must say, I was pleasantly surprised by BBC’s Sherlock.  I wasn’t really sure what I was expecting, but knowing it was something produced by BBC, it had to have been good.  And it really was.

I loved how they managed to convert the series to a modern setting while still maintaining that vintage feel.  For instance, just with Sherlock’s clothing, the trench coat and the scarf made his character seem like he just stepped out of 1878.

The extremely modern touches, like the cell phones, text messaging and GPS tracking devices gave the story exactly what it needed.  I really loved how the viewers could see the text messages throughout the show by having them pop up beside the character as he/she is reading rather than just showing the phone screen with the text on it.  I thought that was very creative and a refreshingly different way of showing something so simple to the audience.

I also liked how the show portrayed Sherlock’s character as finding joy in what he does.  Doyle’s story shows some of this, but it was particularly highlighted in the show.  It was kind of funny watching Sherlock become giddy and jump up and down in excitement after making a breakthrough in a case.

Overall, my second experience with Sherlock Holmes has been a good one and now I’m going to go binge watch more episodes of Sherlock.

Lizzie Bennet Diaries

Whoa, so the end of Lizzie Bennet Diaries…pretty dramatic.  Especially episodes 86 and 87 when Lydia shows her serious side when talking about the sex tape scandal she inadvertently became a part of.

I don’t know how I feel about the scandal though.  It seemed way over the top for Lizzie Bennet Diaries.  I mean, that’s something you hear about in Hollywood—like the whole Kim Kardashian deal—not really what normal people would experience.  But I guess the writers created the scandal to show just how much of an ass Wickham is.

Overall though, I really enjoyed the series.  I think the writing was great and the acting couldn’t have been more spot on.  I especially loved their portrayal of Fitz with the afro and his constant exclamation of “Lizzie 

B!”

I think it was brilliant that the writers chose to modernize the story and its characters to relate to an average 20 something.  The struggle between grad school, friends and family was something that every girl—and guy—could relate to.

I have to be honest though, Lizzie’s character really started to annoy me after a while.  I don’t know if it was just her voice that bothered me or the fact that all she did was talk about everyone else except herself. 

I get that the portrayal of Lizzie in the book is similar to this, but I didn’t find the book Lizzie as annoying as the video Lizzie.  I suppose everything needs to be dramatized for TV though.

Jane and Bing Lee’s characters were perfect in my opinion.  Jane was the quintessential doe-eyed nice girl and Bing was well, Bing.  

Darcy was also a pleasant surprise.  It’s funny that the modern Darcy is exactly how I would have pictured the “original” Darcy to look and behave.  Just transport him back in time a few hundred years and it’s perfect.

The slight changes the writers made to the specific locations were brilliant as well.  From Pemberly Digital to Collins and Collins, the modernization was seamless and really clever.

I really loved the video Diaries and I’m so glad I had an excuse to watch them all!

Feminism in Austen Novels

So after reading the article that was assigned for class tomorrow (“Giving Patriarchy its Due”), I started thinking about the role of females in “Pride and Prejudice” and the significance that they have on the story. 

All of Austen’s novels are set in the Regency Period (1811-1820) of England, a time when women were rendered voiceless under the hand of societal rules.  Women weren’t permitted to own or inherit land, travel alone, be in company of a man without a chaperone, or correspond via letters with a man for an extended period of time (unless engaged or married to him).

So basically, women were allowed to do nothing besides minding their own business and looking pretty.  Oh, and finding a suitable husband with a large fortune, of course.  But there was one thing women had the power to do.

They could say no.

That is what gives Austen characters their power and shapes their overall personalities, especially Elizabeth Bennett.  The fact that they are completely free to form their own opinions of men and to reject them at the drop of a hat allows the women of Austen’s world to subtly determine their otherwise predetermined future. 

In a word where women have no rights, Austen manages to give them a kernel of feminism in a male-dominated society.  The simple act of saying “no” is just the beginning of the feminist movement to come.

I believe that Austen knew exactly what she was doing when she gave her female characters this power and exploited their use of it in her novels.  In “Pride and Prejudice,” for instance, Lizzie doesn’t hesitate to loath Darcy, adore Wickham, and judge Caroline.  She voices her opinions and questions the motives of others.  And it’s interesting to see that most of her long harbored impressions of people turn out to be completely wrong. 

Though Lizzie does represent the female power in Austen’s novel, she is still human and makes mistakes.  Austen exactly pinpoints the various imperfections of women while maintaining their subtle power within society. 

Zombie Love

This was my first time seeing Warm Bodies and I was definitely a little more than just skeptical.  I honestly thought it was just going to be another one of those million zombie movies out there.

But I was pleasantly surprised.

I actually really enjoyed the movie a lot.  I liked the fact that the plot focused more on the development of the characters rather than just the action, which is extremely uncommon for zombie movies today.

This movie is a testament to how far you can stretch the Romeo and Juliet story while keeping the integrity of the classic play.  I thought it was hilarious that they decided to incorporate the iconic balcony scene but put a twist on it by having Julie and “R” be interrupted.

Even though I’m not really on the whole zombie apocalypse bandwagon, I really liked the story that was created around Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet.  Seeing the slow transformation that “R” made in the beginning from zombie to human was really moving.  Not only this, but the fact that the other zombies banded together to change for the better was actually very inspiring. 

They were the dead literally fighting for their lives.

Though the movie was riddled with some action and humor, the true message was never lost—that is, you can heal all things with love. 

I found this to be an amazing (and ironic) contrast to the classic Romeo and Juliet story because their love benefited no one.  It resulted in the deaths of several people including themselves.  But the love between “R” and Julie was completely selfless.  They broke boundaries to help the misunderstood and succeeded.  Now that’s inspirational.  

Tropes on Tropes on Tropes

So I’m a little embarrassed to admit it, but this was the first time I had ever seen Star Wars.  Honestly, if it wasn’t for this assignment, I probably would have gone my whole life without seeing it.

All I have to say is thank goodness for Dr. MB because this movie has filled a void in my life I didn’t even know existed.  That might be a little over dramatic, but still!

Granted, some parts were a little strange to me.  Like Storm Troopers riding weird dinosaurs through the desert.  But overall I was really impressed with the special effects considering the movie was filmed in ’77.

As I was watching, the one thing that kept running through my head was why this movie has become such an icon in pop culture.  What makes it so timeless and beloved decades after it was released?  And I think I figured it out.  The movie is composed of nothing but tropes.  But in the best of ways.

While watching the movie I took the liberty of listing all the major clichés that I found and came to a grand total of eight tropes used in the film.

1.       In the beginning credits the audience is told that there is a galactic civil war occurring, fulfilling the classic good vs. evil cliché. 
2.       Luke Skywalker is the classic young man who is bored with his simple life and wants to find adventure.
3.      As with most movies, there always has to be the cute “pet” figure that everyone loves.  In this case it’s a droid named R2D2.
4.       C-3PO plays the classic comedic relief, adding that much needed sense of humor to an otherwise heavily action-filled movie.
5.       There is the standard tension/struggle between the teen (Luke) and his parents (his aunt and uncle).  For instance, Luke wants to go to the academy while his uncle needs him to stay at the farm.
6.       There is the wise man (Obi-Wan Kenobi) with a white beard and a robe who aids the young hero in his journey. 
7.       The hero (Luke) loses his entire family to the “bad guys” and leaves to start a new life and seek revenge.
8.       The hero rescues the damsel in distress (Princess Leia).  Though Luke rescued her in that one instance, it’s pretty safe to say that Leia is the most badass princess I know.

So with all of these classic clichés going on in the movie, it’s no wonder Star Wars is so beloved.  Though on the surface the story line is futuristic, the meat of the plot is composed of stories that we are all extremely familiar with.  Lucas takes the commonplace and puts a much needed spin on it, resulting in one of the most iconic movies of our time.