Sherlock on the Screen

Sherlock Holmes has definitely been a character that people have connected with or at least been intrigued by. Through his actions, behavior, and characteristics he follows the cliche of a man you love to hate. Sherlock's character has been transported from books to television and movies, and has been done and redone, adapted, and modernized over time.

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Looking at the different screen versions we looked into in class, it's interesting to see how creative teams each portray Sherlock as a different type of character, but still highlight his intelligence and sarcasm.

BBC Sherlock-

This had to be my favorite version of Sherlock. I really liked Sherlock's confidence (even though he's a jerk). He's completely assured in his abilities and how smart he is, so the behavior of those around him does not seem to surprise him. Out of version of Sherlock, he does seem to be the most unaware of how to interact with other people. I do not believe he's uncomfortable with others, but rather he believe that he's superior to them. He's socially awkward, but content to be that way.

                                      http://youtu.be/Rl41VkyXUmk- Sherlock-Arch Enemy
This clip does a good job showing Sherlocks relationships with others. He knows he arrogant and knows his flaws, he just doesn't care. He seems surprised by the idea that he would have a friend, but it's personally understandable to him that he would have an enemy.

Sherlock Holmes (movie) -
We talked in class about what makes Sherlock Holmes a British story vs an American one. I feel like the movie is more American just placed in Britain. The movie being more focused on action than anything makes me first think of it as an American movie. I also think Sherlock's character is very different from the BBC portrayal. While he's confident and rude, Sherlock in the movie is so (knowingly) dependent on Watson. He is focused on sabotage, so not to lose his friend, and in the movie I believe that Holmes really considered Watson his friend. The two have an interesting dynamic because of Holmes' dependency, which is different because I had always felt that Sherlock was independent and Watson was more of a sidekick.

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Elementary (Television Show)

This depiction of Sherlock was pretty surprising to me. Forget the fact that Watson is a Woman named Joan who plays a role resembling a social worker, but it's kind of strange to think that Sherlock is using a social worker. This version of Holmes had him coming out of rehab and attending support groups. The show was smart to make all of that involuntary rather than voluntary because I do not believe that Sherlock's character would have gone to rehab or support groups willingly. This version of Sherlock humanized the most. He was fragile in the tv show than in other renditions of Sherlock stories. He still was incredible smart and sarcastic, but he needed a lot more emotional support.

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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.

The Pride and Prejudice AU Craze!

So, looking back on our conversation of the novel and the way it seems to permeate popular culture even if some of us (myself included) had not actually read it before I started to think that maybe I had read it before and then it came to me: The Pride and Prejudice AU craze:

For those of you still confused by this term, AU is an abbreviation of Alternate Universe. In Fanfiction terms, you take your fandom and place them in a different setting, like the future, or the Middle Ages or even more popular the Pride and Prejudice era.

So why do fans care enough about this book/era/idea to transplate their ships there?

I honestly have no idea.

Realistically, it's not a lovey-dovey romance story, filled with all of the picnics and promises girls are supposed to dream of and boys are supposed to inherently offer.

But, as can be seen, fandoms, particularly well-established ones have their examples of this AU:

Supernatural: Destiel

Glee: Klaine

 Merlin: Merthur

 BBC Sherlock: Johnlock

Teen Wolf: Sterek

 Naruto: Sasukura

This is just the bare bones of what I could find given ten minutes and a basic Google search but there's so much more Fanfiction, fanvideos and fan appreciation for this period that ones has to wonder why it is.

One way to look at it is that Lizzie and Darcy offer a more combative, fighting relationship that heightens sexual tension and allows our favorite character to duke it out with sarcasm and dance cards. It might also be the edge of titillation we get from seeing our beloved couples: most of whom are in a homosexual relationship, profess their love in a time where it means naught but danger and death.

Neither of those reasons really mean anything though. A Regency area romance, deemed trashy dollar books by polite/upper society, has all of that and more (actual sex) in a much faster read.

So yes I have to do proclaim that I am still not OK with this. Austen told a story with interesting people in a not so interesting time and yet still remains.

In the end, it's probably all of the English majors finding an outlet for their degrees while they work menial jobs to support themselves. "I may not have any valuable skills to offer society but I sure know my Austen!"

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…)

Backing up a Couple Weeks

I wanted to go back a couple of weeks and write about West Side Story because I was I was disappointed that I missed that class. When we watched Romeo and Juliet I had pretty strong feelings about my dislike for the movie, and how I felt like taking the play and moving it to a modern setting distorted the story too much for my liking.

West Side Story however, has always been one of my favorite musicals, and I really like the story. I think it has to do with the fact that the movie took the story of Romeo and Juliet and adapted it to fit a modern setting, not just by reciting the play over. I actually felt that I got more from the story watching the musical than I did from watching the movie.

There were certain parts of West Side Story that stuck out to me this time because it reflected ideas of the play more then I had noticed before.

The moment that stuck out to me was the song Officer Krupke. I think this scene shows the mockery that the young men have for authority, and the disrespect they have for the law even if they are a little foolish about it.

The second moment is the war meeting between the Sharks and the Jets at Docs. This is similar to the idea that they are making a mockery out of the law system shown by them pretending to get along, but what really is striking to me about this scene is how easy it looks for them all to get along. They are in this battle with each other, but in a strange way protective of each other against the law.

Lastly is the image after Bernardo kills Riff. The shock that he actually has taken his life is upsetting. He reminds me of Tybalt killing Mercutio. It looks like he never believes that their action would have gone that far, and everything before was just talk.

All the images were from West Side Story

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!

I am Going to Try to Compare Mr. Darcy and Mr. Collins

           As I said in class, I love Pride and Prejudice and am glad to have an excuse to read it again. This was one of the first books I read in college and I give it credit for playing a major part in making me an English major. Maybe the plot is nothing new (perhaps even when it was written) but it just seems so well crafted in its characters and language that, whatever its predictability or use of that cold society, I can thoroughly enjoy it. Actually I think the subtlety in many ways enhances the romance and through it we get some of what seems missing. This book makes me feel both smart and really dumb every time I read it. Every time there seems to be a new aspect to Elizabeth and Darcy’s back and forth. But they said all of this in real time conversation; it took me how many readings and long stares into space to get it? Anyway that’s enough of that; that’s my bit, I can stop now.

            In class we were talking about how this novel both broke and worked within the established norms of the time. Looking at the pattern of where it break and where it keeps, it seems that Austen is trying to point out a quality that is for the most part independent of the system. It seems like she is trying to redefine what it means to have a good character. Charlotte says Mr. Collins has a good character, in that he is reliable and won’t throw her out. She marries him because he provides a secure place within that society. So it appears that being a secure part of that culture was Charlotte’s definition of character. Yet, despite his “character” Elizabeth despises Mr. Collins, “disgust” is the word used when she contemplates going to see them. At first, Darcy is surprisingly like Mr. Collins in that respect. Fitzwilliam defends Darcy on the ground that he could be relied on. Darcy would look out for his friends. In a strange way so does Mr. Collins. The most notable change in Darcy when the reader and Elizabeth see him at Pemberley is that he is nice to the Gardiners, people he would before have looked down upon. But niceness is not the ultimate virtue either. Wickham is perfectly charming to everybody when he first meets them but certainly has no character and is by no means a positive character. Where am I going with this? Not 100% sure yet, but it seems that there is a combination of character and niceness that both Darcy and Elizabeth need to adopt and, because it is not based on that societie’s structure, it involves breaking certain norms (ridged class boundaries for example) while recognizing that not all the present norms are bad (the men being held to provide for their families whatever they feel about them).

          This is not a very strong argument; I am still making it up. I may post more on it later. It would be interesting to hear you guys’ thoughts on it. Looking forward to talking about the Lizzy Bennet Diaries!