Not So Scary Dracula

I know Dracula is supposed to be considered horror but I see it as more of a mystery and not scary at all. Maybe it’s because I’ve seen so many other non-scary versions of Dracula that it has tainted my reading of the original story as I found myself laughing more than being scared.

Dracula wants to teach you how to count!

I wonder why Jonathan Harker is so accepting of the things that start to happen around him when he arrives in town. I mean people are making crosses when they see him, begging him not to go meet Dracula, and giving him rosaries and he still doesn’t put two and two together that people are afraid of Dracula for a reason. And all this happens before he even gets to the Dracula’s castle! Then when he does get to the castle, even stranger things happen and he still doesn’t back out. If I was him and all of that stuff happened I would have told Dracula I wasn’t going to be able to make it from the safety of my home.

What Harker should have done

He finally gets some sense into him only after he feels like he’s a prisoner in Dracula’s castle and then later sees Dracula crawling down a wall with wings. I would say it’s a little too late at that point. It did make me think of how much this Mr. Hawkins knew before he sent Harker down to meet with Dracula. Did he know all along that Dracula was a vampire??

Dracula seems normal enough  upon first impression to Harker but he should have known that there must be a reason why all of the town people are afraid of him. All of that changes once Harker notices all of the creepy things about him. When he intercepted Harker’s letters I thought that was going to be it for Harker and that he was going to drink his blood right there but he didn’t which was surprising. Is he just keeping Harker around to torture him longer before he kills him? 

Then just when I think there’s no chance for Harker to get out of the castle, Dracula just says he can leave! I’m not sure whether or not Harker was correct in assuming it was just a trap set by Dracula but one things for certain, he’s definitely trapped in the castle for the foreseeable future. 

So So

After reading the novel, I was skeptical of the Lizzie Bennet diaries. I'll admit that watching the you tube series and reading the novel definitely projects different opinions of some of the characters. I was excited to see how the diaries compared to the novel. The Lizzie Bennet diaries definitely helped me visualize the characters and there personalities. While it took me awhile to understand the characters and their personalities while reading Pride and Prejudice.

After a couple episodes the series just seemed a big gossip blog. Although the series was meant too watch two episodes a week and I watch it all within a couple days. I can definitely see why the diaries could have been such a successful show. The first half of the series was dragged out a bit for my tastes. The second half really started to get interesting. When Lizzie started incorporating different locations and setting it didn't seem as repetitive as the first half which really helped a lot.

p&p :-)

Honestly, I was pretty disappointed with the ending of the Elizabeth Bennet Diaries compared to how awesome the ending was in the original Pride and Prejudice. OG Elizabeth Bennet is suppose to be a sassy independent woman that ain't need no man, especially Mr. Darcy! At the end of the book she sees good in him and ends up liking him yadayada… But she never acted like she messed up by not liking him before. I think the diary really made her look like a wimp version rather than a total bad-ass in the book.




Despite the ending, I think they did a great job modernizing the diaries since the book and movie are both a tad outdated. I have a passion for watching movies but this movie made me sleepy. The cast of the diaries (particularly Lizzie) was very energetic and made it exciting and very funny. The one part that really bothered me was the fact that the scenery barely ever changed (understandable considering it's a vlog/diary). I thought the whole Lydia sex-tape disaster was a very modernized edition of her eloption. Again, a big difference from the book that bothered me a little was how she came running back to the family knowing that she was wrong. In the story, although much sadder for the family, she pretty much says F U to the family and runs of with the biggest dingus ever, Wickham. I feel like the whole point of her interaction with Wickham was to ruin the image of the family without any remorse. Instead, she feels bad and isn't a back-stabber.

All in all, this series was freaking cool. I think that it is absolutely incredible how this series was created by a grad student and a few friends who really like Pride and Prejudice. I find that to be very inspiring and should encourage creative people to re-create their favorite book! I think making it a vlog was genius and hilarious for some reason lol. Lizzie had me laughing the whole series.

So the novel Pride and Prejudice I was not a huge fan of but I definitely enjoyed it more than than the Lizzie Bennett Diaries. The fanfics that I read were pretty good too. I think the reason that I enjoyed the book and the fanfics a little bit more than the vlog was because I could put my own spin on things. What I mean by this is, when I read a book I can picture the characters in my head and see them more how I want to. In the vlog videos, I had no say, Lizzie was who she was and I just had to sit and watch. My main complaint with the diaries was with the characters so I think the fact I could not picture them myself made me dislike them more and it wasn't as open to interpretation. If I had seen the diaries before I had read the book then my opinion would be completely different. I think I am biased towards what I experience first. But that kind of makes sense because in my mind that first version worked well and I enjoyed it so why change a good thing?

Some of the changes that were made in the fanfics were interesting, especially the plots (Prom and Canada?) I never take fanfics to seriously because if I start reading and decide I don't like it then I stop and pick a new one. In the Prom fanfic, Kitty and Lydia were not sisters, Lydia was a cousin and Kitty was some girl that went to the school. Since Kitty is not a very important character she usually gets cut or changed. In the diaries, she was an actual cat. Lydia is a bit more important but still not a "main" character so they made her into a family member, just not direct family.

In the fanfic Duty Calls, Lizzy and Darcy are much closer pretty immediately in the story. Lizzy is running from her mom because she doesn't want to marry Mr. Collins and Darcy helps to hide her from her mother. They seem to hit it off right away instead of having the awkward first encounter.

In the stories I read, it is still a very important plot point for Darcy to try to break up Jane and Bingley and of course the romance between Darcy and Lizzy. The only differences are the setting and reasons why.

The Good, the Bad, and the Misunderstood

I was really excited to read Susan Greenfield's article. I think I've always been a bit annoyed by the obsession with Mr.Darcy, and I'm even more puzzled by it after reading the book. I just couldn't
understand why he became this literary heart throb. I'm not really a fan. The reasons I enjoyed this book had nothing to do with the "romance" aspect and everything to do with the snarky commentary and the variety of female characters. In an interesting twist, the men are kind of just objects in this book. So, it was really refreshing to see that Greenfield shared my opinion on this. In addition, I appreciate that she took the time to explain where the Darcy-heartthrob-phenomenon originated from, which is that BBC miniseries, which certainly has its strong points but misses the mark on other topics, like Mr.Darcy.

This brings me to my next point, which is the fan fiction. The pieces of fanfiction that I read are the embodiment of this misunderstanding of Mr.Darcy which was brought about by that miniseries. The Rated R fics and "Mr.Darcy Steals a Kiss" are particularly strong examples of this--I will focus on the latter. While this fan fiction does have some redeeming features in that it does focus on some of Lizzie's inner dialogue. Her mother is still very much in the picture and she is still pretty crazy. She attempts to give her daughters marriage advice which she obviously has never followed herself and Lizzie points this out. However, this is the extent of Lizzie's inward thought. This is the extent of Lizzie interesting dialogue. The rest if ewwy, gooey, gushy, lovey dialogue between Lizzie and Darcy as he tells her that she talks to much and plots to shut her up with a romantic kiss. -gag- This is not what Austen would have ever done with these characters, in my opinion. I wasn't surprised when I got to the bottom of the page to find that this was posted on "Firthness" in reference to Collin Firth who played Mr.Darcy in the miniseries. So we've come full circle to explain why we have Darcy the heartthrob appearing in this fan fiction, because it is not Austen's Darcy, but Firth's Darcy.

I'm very much a "if its not broken, don't fix it" kind of person. I have a lot of very mixed emotions about the Lizzie Bennet Diaries. I think that Pride and Prejudice is a classic, and should stay that way. I don't think it should be adapted anyway, as it has gone down in history as a classic. I felt the same way with all of the adaptations of Romeo and Juliet. I think there is something incredibly powerful and interesting in the original text, and I think that we should all be able to appreciate the historical importance of the original text.


That being said, I also think that the Lizzie Bennet Diaries are important so we can interpret the original text in a new, modernized way. Having the text displayed to viewers in modern English makes understanding the story line so much easier, but also makes understanding Austen's jokes so much easier! One of my favorite moments in this series is when Lizzie is talking about being the middle child. That was so relatable for me because I'm also the middle child, and having the more modern version to tell me "oh Lizzie's the middle child" really made me connect with the story line overall in a better way.


Overall I think I really enjoyed the Lizzie Bennet Diaries. They were very funny and so easy to follow. However I do think that we must regard and appreciate the original text more. Our society is full of sequels and adaptations. There's hardly any regard for originality anymore, and the first versions of things are being set on the back burner. I think as a whole, we must appreciate what came first more

They remind me of my siblings and I

I'm not going to lie. Even though I read the book prior to watching the Lizzie Bennet diaries, I thought I was real. But after two episodes I realized it wasn't. I honestly think that's what made me like it so much. Before actually starting the vlogs I already had my mind made up I'm not going to like this. I didn't actually enjoy the reading. But once I started them, I couldn't stop. But it still baffles me that these videos and the book are so popular. It's like a whole level of fan girl.

I think out of the whole show I enjoyed Lydia the most. Even though I relate more to Lizzie in a sense. Lydia kind of reminds me of my brother, Isaiah. Isiah is the youngest of three kids and he’s charming, much like Lydia. No, I’m not calling my brother a slut nor am I saying he hooks up with multiple people in the corner of a bar. It’s just the way he acts that causes me to think of him as Lydia, the younger annoying sibling. But most times I don’t look at it as annoying. Why? Because he’s been doing this his whole life and he’s simply showing me that he loves me and he wants to be around me.

Jane reminded me of my older brother, Lennard. Mostly because he’s the only Jackson sibling that’s on tract to get married in the near future. He’s also the perfect child who could possibly do no wrong. Setting the standard for the next siblings to follow. It can either be a good or bad thing. Most times it’s a bad thing, simply because every child has their own personalities. Jane and Lennard remind me of each other because they both have a quiet nature about them. Whenever Jane appeared on the videos, she always seemed to be a quiet individual.

I related to Lizzie a lot. I’m blunt, I tell it like it is most times. I’m also my dad’s favorite but that’s mostly because I’m the only girl. But much like her, I don’t always see the good in people right away. Like her whole situation with Darcy, she didn’t see that he was a nice guy. When she first met him, he was snobby and that kind of threw her off. I do the exact same thing. If I meet someone and they are a bit rude towards me I will immediately brush them off, failing to see the good in them. 

FAN GIRL!

Who would have thought that Pride and Prejudice would have been so popular? I mean think about it! People have become so invested into the characters and writing adaptations. Through my search on the internet of popular fan fiction, I came across a short story adaptation that told the story from the point of view of high schoolers. This was personally my favorite piece of fanfiction that I came across because it was an easy read that fit well with the modern times. The prom is such a huge event for teenagers, and to see Pride and Prejudice told from that point of view from a high school teenager while also including elements of a typical love story that any average teen would enjoy. My favorite part about this story is that it included all elements from the novel but simply applied it to a prom. For instance, Lizzy turns down Darcy’s request to go to prom, which caused him to take a sophomore to prom mainly because they looked good as a couple. It is interesting how an element of pride was illustrated in this fan fiction adaptation because since Darcy is the popular guy, it is important that he bring a date to the prom who would reflect his popular image that he had at his school.

            In addition to the prom story adaptation, I really enjoyed the short story where Darcy and Lizzy were coincidentally on the same plane. This was actually my favorite fan fiction story because it really highlighted Darcy and Lizzy’s relationship rather than focusing on all of the other characters. The main thing that I liked about this was that the story did not have a “picture perfect ending”, but it instead had me wondering what was next. I began to wonder how the plane ride was going to be and what they did when they arrived in London. Although the short stories were brief, those two modern adaptations were very well written, and the stories were effective in grasping the audience of its readers. On the other hand, not all Pride and Prejudice is necessary. For instance, there is an entire website that is dedicated to clothing that was worn around the time period that this novel was published. But then again, if people like the book that much, then who am I to judge? Just know that you will not catch me in any classical Pride and Prejudice classical clothing. I’d much rather be wearing Lizzy’s blue prom dress and heels that she wears in the modern adaptation.

I pledge that I have neither given nor received unauthorized aid on this assignment.

Barf

Although there were many opinions on The Lizzie Bennet Diaries, I wonder if we could agree on some points made in the article "Pride and Prejudice at 200: Stop Looking for Mr. Darcy". The point that stood out for me the most was the very last sentence: "The romance plot is secondary."
As I said in class, the only part of the Lizzie Bennet Dairies that did not work for me was the fact that Lizzie's character made too much of a dramatic switch to a swooning romantic, when every video prior to the 95th she was the cool hard to please girl... what some of you perceive as bitchy. Given, this I am only talking about the last five videos...but isn't that the part WE HAVE ALL BEEN WAITING FOR! This just did not work for me. The adaptations up until this point did not lead me to believe the ending would be based on romance, but rather I would have focused on Lizzie's development of her relationship with Lydia, focusing on her approval of her best friend's success, maybe something in her career, or even keep the ending as her approval of Darcy, but tone it down please. 
I know this is fiction, and it does not have to be realistic. Because the sourced text is set in a very unrelatable time to us I found this adaptation much more relatable, and it ended with a cheesy unrelateable swoon of puppy love. Barf.

Cool Lizzie

ew Lizzie

As for the other fanfics I looked into....
These stories did not grab me at all. All of the ones I looked into under the modern era had nothing to do with the original story other than the character names and personalities. At least with the Regency era the situations were "more appropriate" to me....I mean common prom story? I know this makes me sound like a hypocrite after saying I like an adaptation such as the Lizzie Bennet Diaries, but modern written stories did not do it for me. I feel it is some what juvenile, but I could not explain why I feel that way, because I know many of these are well written. 
I also find it very strange that people buy clothes and accessories of that time. I understand if you want to dress up for a convention or event, but these costumes are not cheap! The etsy link has dresses as expensive as $350! How many times will you wear that dress? If any! I guess some people just like collecting. 

This is the $350 dress custom dress.... NOT IMPRESSED....tbh looks like shit

Folks sure do love this novel!!