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. 

Lizzie's a YouTube Star!

     I found The Lizzie Bennet Diaries to be very entertaining. It was more enjoyable than reading the book in the sense that since it was visual, it was easier to keep track of what was happening in the story, as well as being better able to hold my attention.

     I was most surprised by how different my opinions of book Lizzie and vlog Lizzie are. When reading Pride and Prejudice, I always felt Lizzie’s personality came across as strong and independent especially in a time where it was against the norm for women to be strong and independent. Going into the vlogs, I assumed that I would have the same reaction to Lizzie’s character and still like her which I still kind of do, but a little bit less now. I don’t know if it was the actress who played her, all of the “editing”, or what, but in this version Lizzie came off as mean at times, especially when Lydia would want to spend time with her.  It could also be that putting Lizzie into modern times, where women aren’t as oppressed, took away that feeling of sympathy I had for her.

     Jane was just as I imagined her to be! She was the super sweet character I had known from the book, always looking out for her sisters and parents. She reminded me of a baby deer half of the time, always so sweet and innocent. Even the clothes she wore played into the wholesome role.

Jane in animal form

     I looked forward the most to the episodes that had Lydia in them! She made the vlogs so much more entertaining and funny. She is the wild child in the vlogs, just like she is in the book.  Whenever she sprung up in the vlogs, Lizzie would seem to take it as her just being the annoying little sister, but to me it seemed like Lydia really just admired Lizzie and wanted to spend time with her. It was really sad how when Jane left to go to L.A. and Lydia came in to comfort Lizzie, she recognized that she was only second best to Jane in Lizzie’s eyes.

     One part of the vlog that I thought they did really well was Mr. Collins’ proposal to Lizzie to be his business partner. While watching it, I thought it was crazy for Lizzie not to accept Mr. Collins’ proposal, especially because she doesn’t have a job and is drowning in student debt. Even if he is super annoying, I thought it would still be wise for her to take his offer. I like how the creators of the series changed his marriage proposal to a business proposal because it better helps to illustrate the feeling people had in the book about her not accepting the marriage proposal, in that she was crazy to turn down such a good deal. 

What I was thinking as Lizzie turned down the proposal.

Love is Complicated

I found this story to be a lot more entertaining than I thought it would be. In my mind I was picturing a story that would be stuffy and boring but I was pleasantly surprised.

Marriage is a theme that carries on throughout the chapters. Mrs. Bennet seems all but obsessed with the idea of having her daughters married off. I found it a bit sad how this has essentially become her life’s purpose. It was kind of funny but also kind of sad when Mrs. Bennet was happy that her daughter Jane was sick because it meant that she would get to spend extra time with Mr. Bingely. She is very dedicated to the cause.

"Now you have more time with him!"-Mrs. Bennet

When Mr. Bingely comes to town, I found it funny how everyone (at least the parents) were excited to go over and visit him to see if he would make a good match for one of their daughters. It created a funny scene in my mind where there’s a line of people standing outside of his door, just waiting for their chance to get in. It also seemed kind of cut throat in the sense that there is only one Mr. Bingely so the families have to present their daughter as the best of them all. It also reminded me of a Black Friday sale how everyone lines up outside of the store to hopefully get the best deal on that new toaster. In that sense, I guess the scene ends up kind of sad. 

I really like Elizabeth as a character. I thought it was smart when she was discussing how Jane barely knows Mr. Bingely and therefore doesn’t (and really shouldn’t) know how to feel about him for sure. It’s definitely a change from Romeo and Juliet. It seems like so many of the adults in this story are just pushing their daughters into marrying these potential suitors just for a sense of security, and not actual love. I also liked Elizabeth’s initial apprehensiveness toward the Bingely family. It shows that she doesn’t just jump into unknown situations without thinking it through first.

On a side note, I know how it was common to describe women as handsome during these times, but when (or why) exactly did people stop using that term?

Feelings? What are those?

I enjoyed watching this episode of Elementary. It always helps me to watch something than to only have the chance to read about it. I also find it to be a lot more entertaining. The humor was much easier for me to pick up as well, which is always helpful and makes the experience more enjoyable. 

I like that the show stayed true to Holmes’ character for the most part. In the show, he still doesn’t take others feelings into account, although I don’t think he does it on purpose, I think that’s just the way he is. It was funny how when Watson asked him to get her a bag of chips and he ends up eating it instead. I don’t think he did it to be mean, he probably just got bored waiting for her to get back. Also, when he accused Rebecca of putting on a disguise to look like her sister to put the blame for the murders on her, I thought it was really insensitive considering all Rebecca had just gone through, but for Holmes, he was just trying to figure out who the murderer was no matter what it took.

I also like how they inserted some of the smaller details from the Holmes stories into the show. I liked how at the beginning they kept in the part where Holmes talks about there only being a finite of space in everyone’s brain. Again, it helped to keep Holmes’ character true.

I’m not sure how to feel about the fact that the show is essentially a police procedural. While I enjoy shows like that, I feel that it doesn’t really feel true to the original stories, even perhaps taking something away from it. In the original stories, Holmes and Watson were more like the “police” that people went to. As a team, they were more like independent detectives who had their own crime solving business.

I like Watson’s character more in the show than the stories. She seems to be a lot more involved in this version, offering input that helps Holmes and/or keeps him in check. The characters isn’t as much a bystander who is just there to support Holmes by following whatever Holmes tells him to do.

I think making Holmes’ a recovering addict is perhaps an attempt to explain why Holmes’ acts the way he does. During this episode, he seemed really irrational at times like when he insisted that he could smell the deodorant on the chair and therefore the second killer had to be a woman, only to find out that the person he suspected was in a coma. For those who are unfamiliar with the Holmes’ stories, who are going into the show with absolutely no knowledge, I think it makes the audience have to work harder to figure out what’s going on. Does Holmes really know what he’s doing, or is he just an irrational addict?

Congratulations, You Played Yourself.

          I enjoyed reading the stories much more than I thought I would, especially A Scandal in Bohemia. I found the stories reminiscent of TV police procedurals, much like the show Lie to Me. In Lie to Me the main character was a man who was trained to figure out if someone was lying, just by looking at a person’s facial movements, just like Holmes.

          At first, I was not sure if I liked Holmes. In Lie to Me, the main character, while often knowing much more than the other characters, is a dad which I think makes his character more likable. Holmes is by himself for the most part, which is why at the beginning he came across not so much as a know it all, but very matter of fact and cold. Towards the end of A Scandal in Bohemia, I began to like him more as a character, after getting to know him a bit better.

          Of the many interesting conversations Watson and Holmes have, I have to say that the most interesting to me, was when Watson learns that Holmes did not know that the earth revolved around the sun and not the other way around. His explanation that the info was not important to him really exemplifies his character, in that he takes in the information that is only pertinent to his work. It made me begin to think about just how much information we take in and how much of it we actually end up using. Although, l do think it is a bit ridiculous for Holmes to suggest that the brain has a finite amount of space in it. 

Watson trying to process what Holmes says

          In a Scandal in Bohemia, I really enjoyed the character of Irene. At first, I thought that she was just going to be another person that Holmes could outsmart. The best part of the story came at the end when Holmes was so sure that he had outsmarted her, but instead received her letter and realized he had not. I find it interesting that Holmes was not super angry that he had been wrong. I think part of it was that he kind of found it attractive that she was essentially on his level, that she beat him at his own game. Maybe Holmes had just been getting tired of always being smarter and found the situation to be refreshing. 

What Irene basically wrote in her letter

And Then Everyone Dies

          We’ve finally made it to the inevitable end of the play where pretty much everyone has died. First, I think that it was ridiculous for Romeo and Juliet to kill themselves for each other after only knowing one another for a couple of days at the most. How much can you really know about a person after only a couple of days?? It reminds me of reality TV shows like Married at First Sight where literally the first time they are seeing their spouse is when they are at the altar. Not surprisingly, a lot of these marriages don’t end well because they are complete strangers, pretty much just like Romeo and Juliet. At least on the TV show they have a bunch of professionals to help guide them through the process. Romeo and Juliet pretty much just had Friar Lawrence. I don’t think their marriage had high chances of making it that long had they actually managed to stay alive, simply because they didn’t know each other. For all Juliet knew, Romeo could have been a serial killer.   

What Romeo could have been 

          So much heartache could have been avoided had Romeo and Juliet just listened to their parents in the first place and also if it weren’t for Friar Lawrence. In the face of crippling parental control over their lives, Romeo and Juliet turned to Friar Lawrence who I have come to see as the well-meaning cool uncle. You know, the one who lets you do stuff your parents would normally never let you do. He also kind of reminds of Regina George's mom in Mean Girls just a little more grounded.

Despite his good intentions, he had a direct role in Romeo and Juliet’s deaths. When coming up with such an elaborate plan that deals with “death” it’s probably best that both parties are made a
ware of the plan at the same exact time. He should have known that Romeo’s dramatic reaction to everything probably would have made this plan a horrible idea if the tiniest thing went wrong. I get that he was trying to be sympathetic to their cause but as the only adult they really trusted in the situation, I think he could have come up with a better plan or at least have given better advice.

It’s kind of ridiculous how easily the Capulet’s and Montague’s long family feud is remedied in just 10 lines of dialogue. It took their children DYING to finally come to their senses?? If they could forgive each other that easily, why didn’t they just forgive each other a long time ago? Absolutely ridiculous.

The Montague's and Capulet's today