Am I the Only One???

I’ve watched the Lizzie Bennet Diaries and I watched them with an open mind…well more than open mind since I actually enjoy the novel it is parodying…and I do find it as a parody… and the OED defines parody as: A literary composition modeled on and imitating another work, especially a composition in which the characteristic style and themes of a particular author or genre are satirized by being applied to inappropriate or unlikely subjects, or are otherwise exaggerated for comic effect. In later use extended to similar imitations in other artistic fields, as music, painting, film, etc.

This vlog seems to be a very exaggerated and comic intended adaptation of P&P… BUT I DON’T LIKE IT!!!

I just don’t find it funny and how Lizzie talks just makes my skin CRAWL! Why does she insist on talking with clenched jaw through just one side of her mouth and doing fake funny voices (and I don’t mean when she is imitating people). It completely distracts me.

I know what some may think… I just don’t “get” it. But I assure you I do; I just don’t like how they’ve modernized it. It takes a trivial and trifle-filled Austen satire novel and turns it into plain drivel…utterly pointless…in my opinion.

Now it does have some good qualities, it’s not all bad…I guess…

I enjoy Lydia’s character so much more in The Diaries. She’s cute and sometimes sweet. She’s a total funny party girl, but has endearing qualities that redeem her in ways that the book didn’t.

And I loved the shirtless Wickham ;)

I did not care for Jane…yes, she’s sweet… yes, she’s caring… yes, she works herself to death for the betterment of others… yes, she’s too good to be true…which screams FAKE! FAKE! FAKE! to me.

I can’t help it—I AM BITTER AND JADED! But I’m trying to work on it.

Oh well.

“Different strokes for different folks” I guess.

For those of you who like it, great. I just do not.

(sorry for straight text and no pics or gifs…)

The Lizzie Bennet Diaries: WoooHooo!

So I have to admit that I hadn't read Pride and Prejudice before this(nor had I ever really wanted to read it.) I, through the course of my time on this Earth as both a reader, an English major and a fan, have made the conscious decision to both seek out and avoid certain things. It's always been one of those books that I put on my "Do Not Read Ever" lists because it came with so much Pomp & Circumstance:

It's all about ball gowns and parties and rich entitled white people stewing in their wealth and privilege. "Hmm, hmm. Look at all our money. Hmm, hmm."

Just by virtue of being an English major, I've been exposed to the genre of "Rich, White People And Their Problems" and it's been one of mutual dislike. All of the things that this genre represents are all things that I have decided I don't care about personally. Taking a step back, I can read into the subtleties and complexities of everything the time offers them.

Just based on my personality, I am all about the snide comments, backhanded compliments and daggers in the back. That's the beautiful part of this for me and it should be enough to sustain me but not really.

But then came the Lizzie Bennet Diaries:

At first I was really skeptical of everything that might be happening with this:

But then I started watching it and it all made sense now. Lizzie Bennet rocks. She's so real and down-to-earth and so snarky. It's a beautiful introduction and experience to take part in even though I am still not a fan of Pride & Prejudice.

The whole time she is doing this (on behalf of Hank Green and the VlogBrothers) she's sucking us into the story (which in spirit is exactly what Austen does) but gives us the ability to put it into perspective and then take this and put it back into a spacial-temporal perspective that Austen gave us.

I AM UPSET AND BETRAYED!

So, I have never read Pride and Prejudice before. I was actually actively avoiding reading it because it has that same aura that The Great Gatsby has. That "stupid wealthy white people doing things that are pointless" aura. I get the point of Great Gatsby and Mrs. Dalloway, they're writing a narrative about how crap these people are and their actions. But my issue is that people eat this universe up. There are Gatsby parties where people dress up and are useless. USELESS!

Okay, so anyway, I wasn't stoked to start this book. And then I started it. And I still hated it.

Hate is a strong word but I'm gonna use it anyway. I really hated these people (expect Mr. Bennet. I will get Mr. Bennet tattooed on my ass I love him so much) and what they didn't do and how they are nothing but useless lumps of flesh. I sat in the English department and told anyone who passed by that I was in pain. 

Reasons why I hated P&P in the beginning:

• Throwing shade
• Obsession with marriage
• Rude behavior
• Regency era stuff that I don't understand and then just got upset about.
• The class system makes me want to spork out my eyes

So, there I am, inspiring English professors on making a class based around useless white people when I decided to ask. Why? Why do people like this book? (Please answer for yourself if you like this book, I want to know!)

Dr. Sandona's answer is that he really likes the way that it's written. The language is really appealing and he appreciates how Austen created this world for readers to escape to during the Napoleonic Wars (Personally, this world sounds like a special ring of hell).

Dr. Mitchell-Buck was all about the narrator. Having a snarky narrator who tells the story but gets punished/chastised for it is refreshing and rewarding. 

I didn't officially ask Dr. Orloff but she digs Jane and hates Mr. Collins and Mrs. Bennet. 

These are good answers. I appreciate them and they have helped me get through the book. Once I was on a roll I kept myself going. With the aid of Mr. Bennet and a pen I marked my way through the book. What super helped me were The Lizzie Bennet Diaries.

I fell in love with the characters, I fell in love with the way the story was crafted, I fell in love with the story changes, and totally fell in love with the LOVE! I was so friggin' stoked for all the little romances and it made me turn to the book with new happiness and excitement.

Then I got to thinking. No one put romance at the top of their list as to why they liked this book. Before reading this book I had seen that Keira Knightley movie so i was expecting some awesome love action in the rain and stuff.

Look at that! Look at that deceleration of love and stuff! That's what I was expecting from the book. Nope. It was not nearly as romantic as I wanted it to be. My romance boner was gone.

 

They take a walk in the garden, go over how they had once perceived each other and how they have not changed, and then they part ways APPARENTLY ENGAGED. WHAT? I SO CLEARLY DON'T UNDERSTAND THIS TIME PERIOD. HE DIDN'T ASK HER TO MARRY HIM! WHAT IS GOING ON!

How did this happen? Someone with a history boner needs to tell me when it was unacceptable to have the spicy-sauce relationships that Shakespeare wrote and replace it with this passive romance. It was such a let down for me that the ending is actually ruined. THEY DON'T EVEN KISS....WHAT?! THAT'S NOT EVEN WHY I'M UPSET. I mean, look at this chemistry!

THAT IS A CUTE SPICY MEATBALL! I was expecting this from the book, and it let me down. 

Don't get me wrong, I am glad that I read the book. I can check it off my list and be in the in crowd of people that 'get' Pride and Prejudice (or fake it at least). I love how Austen does dialogue, Mr. Bennet is my homie, and the book totally wrapped me up in it's dramatics. I was laughing and faux-gasping as I read it which I haven't done in a good long while. I liked it but I probably wouldn't read it again too soon. Like, if I ever have a kid and they have to read it for class I might pick it up again just to keep the neurons firing. 

As far as the feminism in this book goes, I feel like its something that I will need the class to help me understand better. I see little snippets here and there that might be considered feminist but I can't get past that the entire society these people live in revolves around marriage. No matter what personality the men and women may have its all about how they're going to attached themselves to each other. I'm not seeing a who bunch of autonomy here. I mean, I am. The fact that Elizabeth can say no to Mr. Collins and Darcy is pretty impressive and autonomous. I dunno. THIS STUFF IS HARD!! Alright, I should go to sleep now, the cold medicine is hitting me now.