Sunday, April 14, 2013

sometimes you make me sad

so while i was being the poster child for productivity, i was avoiding websites and other distractions that i usually get lost on for hours. this limited the things i was allowed to do and look at to pretty much nothing, because i pride myself on my ability to do the same thing for hours at a time, be it reading a book, watching tv, or getting angry at the stupid things people post online. so i started watching webseries(es?) on youtube and taking three minute facebook breaks. (in order to not get stuck hitting next for youtube or staying on facebook too long, i would also have to exercise while not working. we have one of those pedal things that let you "bicycle" from the comfort of your own couch. when i got sick of pedaling, i had to go back to work.)

one of the series(es?) (how do you say that?) that i was watching was the lizzie bennet diaries. if you've never heard of it, this series set out to try and retell a classic through vlogs. the classic, of course, is pride and prejudice, and the story is told through lizzie's vlogs. it is a modern adaptation of the story, though, meaning that most things in it are just not the same as the book. balls are turned into weddings and birthday parties, london is LA, sisters are changed to cousins and cats, marriage proposals are changed into job offers... there are other changes but i don't want to give too many things away to people who may want to watch it. though the plot devices are modernized, the plot itself stays pretty much the same. (except for lydia who they made into an actual character that i kinda love.) so darcy and lizzie hate each other at first, wickham turns out to be a world class jerk, the bennet mom wants her daughters married, and they all (sort of) get together in the end.

a lot of the people who were watching had read the book. not too surprising. so when lizzie was gushing over wickham, for example, comments were talking about how it sucked that he was so "charming" when he ends up being someone you would like to punch in the face repeatedly. we didn't know exactly how he would suck, but we all knew that he would.  other people, the ones that made me lose faith in humanity and future generations for the umpteenth time, commented with the (i suppose should have been) expected "stop writing spoilers!" looking beyond the fact that the story has been around for two hundred years and is so well known that even people who haven't read it know the main parts of the story, there have been countless movie adaptations that non-readers could have watched. i mean, just a few years ago (longer than it feels) there was an adaptation that was huge at the box office. everyone saw it. it still comes on tv a lot. people still talk about it. spoilers should not have been an issue here.

but they were. and the people defending the ones crying out against the spoilers were just as bad. i read things like, "just because you and i have heard of the book doesn't mean that everyone has. it's a cult classic." um... no. it's just a normal classic. nothing cult about it. like i said before, it's everywhere. "the book isn't known world-wide, but this webseries is." what?! the book is translated into a gajillion languages so that people in every country can read it. i'm pretty sure it's a bit more popular than a webseries that started a year ago, even one that does have a pretty large fan base. "i hate hipsters that are always trying to prove that they knew these obscure things before they were popular by ruining it for the rest of us." like i said before, i think the fact that the book has been out for two centuries and is still being read and adapted into other formats makes it pretty popular. if you were going to be "hipster" about it, you'd have to have been jane austen's neighbor.

anyway, aside from losing faith in humanity, i actually liked the series. i know people who didn't, though. (i think reading fanfiction and seeing stories in ways other than the author intended them lets me have an open mind for adaptations that others (like my sister) may not have.) there's also a kickstarter going on for the dvd and future projects if you're into that sort of thing.

*Pale Blue Eyes - David Gray

4 comments:

  1. Hello Sarah,
    I don't follow your blog often. Last time i did was sometime in 2011, when you were writing your novel for NanoWrimo. There's a stark difference between those posts and the posts you write these days. Of course, time changes and life doesn't remains the same for anybody.
    I have followed your engagement and your wedding posts, was extremely happy. Today i learned that you're pregnant and i am very very happy even though i hardly know you. I am going to make Dua for you.
    I observed that your posts show that you are in stress, please don't get mad at me for making this judgement, i hope you have eternal peace and become stronger with whatever occurs in your life.
    Much love, Kashaf.

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    1. i actually am not pregnant. not yet at least. a lot of people think that i am, so i sometimes make jokes about it. sorry for the confusion, but thank you so much for the kind words.

      i have been kind of stressed lately, but i know it will pass. i just have to hold out for the summer. i'll have to go back and check my old posts. i haven't noticed any change, but when you're the one slowly changing you usually don't - something about being the middle of everything makes noticing things hard.

      i'm glad you checked back with the blog, and i'm actually working on editing the novel i wrote that year so maybe if it goes well it might become a real book.

      thanks again for your duaa and well wishes, they are much appreciated.

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  2. anonymous hippopotamusApril 14, 2013 at 11:00 AM

    hahahahahaha someone obviously didn't notice pregnancy SCARE...meaning not pregnant.

    AAANNNNNYYYYYWAAAAAAYS...i didn't hate the lizzie bennet diaries.. i just couldn't get into it. ok i just re read that you didn't say i hated it.. but i wouldn't even go as far as saying i didn't like it. I was indifferent. i didn't like it but i didn't not like it either.

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    1. oh. i thought you said that you didn't like it. maybe if you marathoned it you'd start to like it more. if i ever see you again we can do a lizzie bennet diaries party marathon. you can bring the snacks.

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