Om Nom

Alright so I have really mixed emotions about vampires. Part of me think that they're super cool and Halloween is lit and stuff, and another part of me thinks their super cheesy and glitter and all that disaster. However, I absolutely love Dracula. He's so scary and creepy and I love it! I love Halloween and creepy stuff so I'm not gonna lie, I nerded out a little bit when I found out that we were reading a book about creepy stuff.
In regards to the actual writing style of Dracula, Bram Stoker outdid  himself. In my opinion, I think his descriptive writing is the best we've read thus far. It is so easy for the reader to visualize exactly what is happening, which is part of the reason why I think that this book goes down in history. One of my favorite lines is "The Castle of Dracula now stood out against the red sky, and every stone of its broken battlements was articulated against the light of the setting sun" It's so descriptive and beautiful. I think that this book is a work of art, which also makes sense as to why this book has resonated for so long,

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

I'm actually really enjoying Pride and Prejudice. I will say that I have a bit of a hard time keeping all of the characters straight because they tend to get mixed up in my brain, but in regards to the actual characters, Austen does a great job developing them. I really like Charlotte. She seems just so sweet and innocent, and seems as though she would never hurt a fly.
I totally and completely admire Lizzy. In the early 1800s, as we had mentioned in class, you don't deny potential spouses. Lizzy doesn't give a shit. Around page 130 (it may vary for each book), she basically just gives Mr. Darcy a piece of her mind and totally shuts him down. She literally lists off all the reasons he's an asshole. She calls him out for calling her ugly at the dance! Women did not speak to men like that in the 1800s, and if Lizzy's mother found out that that's how she was speaking to a man interested in her, Mrs. Bennet probably would have keeled over. Lizzy would rather be totally alone and happy than unhappy and married. I find Lizzy standing up for herself really admirable because women never did that. If I was alive during the 1800s, I probably would have been a Charlotte, just looking for a husband and going about my way. I wouldn't have half the guts that Lizzy did.
I think it's really interesting to see how Austen made Lizzy have all the guts, but can totally see why this book is a classic. If I was living in the 1800s and read this, I would have been absolutely fascinated because so much of the plot line goes against the societal norms.

Sherlock doesn't entirely suck

Prior to enrolling in this course, I had never read Sherlock Holmes. Which, having looked back upon it, is kind of surprising. While yes, some of the things Holmes says can be considered narcissistic and  taboo for certain audiences, it's really well written. The language is great, and I'm really enjoying the blend between more modern english while still holding true to the Shakespearean style of saying things like "Pray" instead of "Please". I think it makes the story easier to read because it's the language we're most used to, while also reflecting on the age of the story, because no one speaks like that anymore. 

Also, the stories are really interesting. I mean yeah it's not like it's a Criminal Minds episode where there's like 100 different MO's and 30 people involved, but for the late 1800s, I think that Sir Arthur Conan Doyle did a pretty good job of coming up with some original content. Although we haven't read a ton of Holmes yet, I can totally see why people consider this a classic. It's a fairly easy read, while also challenging the mind to not only get through the bits and pieces of  the older english, but also, the reader wants to know what happened! While I was reading the Speckled Band, I personally didn't pick up on all the clues, as it was the first time I had ever read the story, and found it really interesting that Doyle chose to make the killer a snake. I also loved that The Dancing Man was a code. I thought that was so interesting and creative! Yes it has been done before, but these stories are really old I think Doyle deserves some credit for coming up with such a creative concept!

I'm really excited and looking forward to continuing to read these stories, and also to hear what everyone else has to say about them. I really like that Doyle chose to make everything short stories. It makes it easier to read, and doesn't feel like you need to sit down and read forty pages of just straight words. Breaking it apart more makes it easier to follow, and I think more enjoyable, because it feels like less work. I'm really enjoying this so far, and look forward to continuing reading the stories

This post was going to have a cool title, but basically here's 400 words on why I hate West Side Story.

Alright, I just watched West Side Story for the second time, and I have a lot of feelings. I grew up in a very musical household, and although I had never seen the movie until I got to high school, I heard some of the music and even seven-year-old me was like "nah man". I really don't like the music to this show, which I think makes it so hard for me to enjoy it. No matter how hard I try, I just can't make it past the music, it almost ruins the whole movie for me. The only good songs that I actually enjoy from this show are "Tonight" and "America", and even then, I still wouldn't go out of my way to listen to them.

Secondly, while I'm not trying to take away from Sondheim's talent or ability to write music, (Because that's really freaking hard), I still think some of his stuff is unoriginal. Yes, I know, this is an adapatation of Romeo and Juliet, it's not supposed to be original, but for those of you who don't know, Sondheim also wrote the music to Sweeney Todd, after it became a movie. I personally, completely agree with "if it's not broken, don't fix it", and I feel like that's exactly what Sondheim didn't do. Romeo and Juliet wasn't broken, but he fixed it anyways. I feel like it takes away from the authenticity and actual "rawness" (for lack of a better word) of Romeo and Juliet because it was set to music and (actually, exceptional) choreography. While I understand that R&J is very much well loved and cherished by many people and Sondheim was probably just trying to do a tribute to it, I feel like music and lyrics took away from it.

In addition, while yes, Bernstein and Sondheim did a great job following the plot line of Romeo and Juliet, (Maria goes to the dance, meets Tony, etc., etc., etc.) I feel like a lot of other musicals follow a really similar plot line, even without going "oh yeah, this is a tribute to Romeo and Juliet". Mimi & Roger fall in love in RENT even though they shouldn't be together because they both have AIDS. Eponine falls in love with Marius in Les Miserable even though he's rich and she's poor. Elphaba falls in love with Fieyro even though he's royalty and she's the wicked witch of the west. Belle falls in love with a monster. Ariel falls in love with a guy with legs. Cinderella falls in love with a prince. While yes, all of these movies have different endings, and different composers, it's all basically the same story. People fall in love with people they can't have, and shit goes down.

Moral of the story, I still hate West Side Story.

Romeo and Juliet: Acts 1 & 2

Like many of my classmates have already mentioned, Romeo and Juliet, although arguably Shakespeare's most famous play, is ridiculous and unrealistic. The entire plot line is filled with teen angst taken to the farthest of extremes, and the outcome is (spoiler) Romeo and Juliet offing themselves because their parents don't want them to be together.

The play starts off with Romeo whining that he met this girl and she's the most beautiful woman he has ever seen and realizes that they can't be together because he's from one family and she's from another. Juliet realizes the same thing and then dramatically stares out into the abyss, complaining that she wants to be with Romeo. If I was dramatically standing out on a balcony talking to myself, I would hope someone would be like "What are you doing, why are you talking to yourself? Get down" Also, if I knew that being with someone that my parents made BLATANTLY CLEAR that they didn't like, I would probably find someone else to marry so that 1. My parents respected me and my spouse. 2. I could keep close ties with my family and my spouses, and 3. Oh yeah, no one would die. 

The amount of total disregard that Romeo and Juliet have for their parents and the people around them is completely mind boggling. Did it ever occur to them that maybe they aren't supposed to be together for a reason? Did it ever occur to them that maybe their parents might actually know what's best for them? Juliet's like thirteen! I brought home a boy that my parents didn't like at like sixteen and my parents were like "nah man that kid's bad news" and guess what, no one died (and my parents still like me). They both knew that they weren't supposed to be together but instead decided to rebel against the people closest to them for their own selfish reasons and surprise! It doesn't end well. Go figure.