Pride and Prejudice, and I

Let’s talk about Pride and Prejudice today.

“It is a truth universally acknowledged that a human in possession of the Pride and Prejudice novel must be in a state of obsession. “

Take it from me, I am living proof. Be warned that this post will just be me singing praises and raving about how magnificent a story Pride and Prejudice is. This entire post could just be me going “eeeeee”, for a thousand words and the point of the post would be exactly the same but I’ll spare you and try to put forth in a coherent manner, exactly why this 200-year-old novel is the best book I have read recently and my new favourite book.

I know you don’t believe me. You don’t get it. (Unless you’ve read it, in which case you do, please comment and rave with me) I have been there. I have had some disdain for “classic” literature over the years, so much so that I even wrote a blog post about it many years ago. Although as I grow older, I have slowly been opening my mind to the idea of re-reading classical literature and giving it a proper shot as an adult. I have also always loved the story behind Pride and Prejudice, never actually having read the original novel in its entirety but being in love with the 2005 movie adaptation of the same for as long as I can remember. Then, I happened to get my hands on the most gorgeous collector’s edition of the novel(As seen on my Instagram reels) and it was meant to be. I was reading Pride and Prejudice, wholly, fully and finally.

Surprise surprise, I absolutely devoured the book. As someone who has been struggling with finding a reading groove, that is insane. I couldn’t help it; Austen’s writing is so gripping and so refreshingly modern! She was so talented and her writing style is so engaging, it keeps you interested the whole time despite the subject matter being seemingly mundane. The book was also ridiculously hilarious and witty with the balance between satire, social commentary and the story itself being just perfect. It was so thoughtful, so surprisingly in-depth! There were no loose ends and it was so well written that I understood why it was a classic. I also learnt that Austen was a rare talent, one of the greats and so criminally underrated.

As a testament to the modernity of the novel, I found myself in Elizabeth Bennet and aspects of her personality in so many ways, even though she is a character I should have nothing in common with; she lives in Regency-era England and I’m in 21st-century India. She is also by far, one of the most well-developed female characters and/or protagonists I have found in literature and had the true pleasure of reading about, despite having been written in the 1800s. If that’s not contemporary writing, I don’t know what is.

Another fact in the same vein is the character of Mr Darcy and the wonderfully written relationship between him and Elizabeth Bennet. He is the ultimate male romantic interest: he admits to his faults, corrects them and is happy to be humbled by Lizzy for nothing to return. His transformation is so amazing and is written in such a nuanced manner, a testament to Austen’s genius. Their relationship also checks off all my boxes and absolutely kills me: the slow burn development, the enemies(ish) to lovers transformation, a healthy and lovely relationship built on so much love and respect. It is, without question, the ultimate ship and the inspiration for so many couples in fiction. Also before I move on, I have to give a shout out to Mr Bennet and his dry quips, they’re my exact brand of humour and I loved them and his character so much.

My next point is going to seem very reminiscent of English literature classes and for that, I apologise. However, I’d be remiss if I didn’t acknowledge the sheer genius of the title itself, it’s so so brilliant! It perfectly encompasses the journey the characters take over the course of the story, Darcy viz a viz his pride and Elizabeth with her prejudices while remaining ambiguous enough and not giving the plot away. I am a sucker for a good play of words and even the title of this delightfully written novel is a work of art in and of itself. How rare and special is that?

Now, onto the adaptations; the obvious next step in loving any story. I have seen two and I love both, for different reasons. One is the 2005 movie adaptation by Joe Wright starring Keira Knightley and Matthew Macfadyen, the other the 1995 BBC TV Miniseries with Colin Firth and Jennifer Ehle. The 2005 movie is special to me because it’s how I discovered the story in the first place but I also believe it does a wonderful job for what it is: not a faithful recreation of the novel but a contemporary take on it, to present the story to modern viewers. There are some liberties but I think it manages to remain true to the love story at heart. Plus, the cinematography and the soundtrack of the movie are so utterly beautiful. The 1995 BBC Miniseries is on the other end of the spectrum, the absolute gold standard of book adaptations. It is so authentic, almost exactly word-for-word from the novel and you can see how much effort has gone into making as Austen imagined it. It definitely manages to take you back to that time and place and is as proper as an adaptation can get.

Luckily for me, this book is over 2 centuries old and has been in the public domain long enough to give rise to a plethora of adaptations, recreations, retellings and what not. So as I close this post, know that you can find me binge-watching all the Pride and Prejudice content I can possibly get my hands on, for as long as possible and also diving into more Austenian fiction because Jane has made me a fan for life. (Help a girl out with suggestions please!)

THIS POST’S QUESTION: Have you read Pride and Prejudice or any other of Austen’s works? How did you like it/them? Comment below with what you think about it, I’d love to hear from you!

 

The Thing with Book to Movie Adaptations

Let’s talk about Book to Movie(and TV show) adaptations today.

Imagine this. You read a great book and it is now one of your favourites. Once you’re done with it, you looked it up. You find that there’s a movie(or TV show, just assume I said TV show even if I don’t say it explicitly here on out) based on it and excitedly you clear your schedule and decide to watch it. Things can only go two ways from here.

The first scenario is this: You watch the movie, it rocks your world and it was the best thing ever to see what was, till now, in your imagination come alive. It was exactly as you imagined and you were crying-laughing after. You recommend it to everyone you know and thank whoever you believe in for its existence.

The second scenario is this: You watch the movie and it is such a travesty to watch what you love and cherish so much be tarnished this badly. It is devastating and you swear off the movie and let everyone who will hear you know that the movie does not count.

And in case you’re wondering, there is no middle ground. If you’re passionate enough about a book, you’re either obsessed with the movie or hate it, there is no in-between. The polarizing nature of the subject that is Book to Movie/TV adaptations is what makes them a bit of a controversial topic. It is also why we’ll discuss both the case for and the case against Book to Movie adaptations today and maybe if all goes well, you’ll at least have an understanding of the other point of view. Let’s begin with the case for Book to Movie adaptations and talk about why they such are a great thing.

The case for them is easy to get. You have a story, which is already written, already loved, already structured and broken down and already has a fanbase. All you have to do is adapt it to your medium. Not everyone likes to read or can read in the language of the original book, but movies and TV shows are a universal medium and subtitles can solve all those problems. If done well, it brings new fans to the books and brings a resurgence and major growth to the fanbase of the series. It allows for sequels and if you put in the effort, the people making it can earn a lot of money and fame and the fans can find a lot of gratification and joy, so everyone’s happy. If you make a great adaptation, the fans will keep the movies alive, elevate them to ‘cult’ status and make them a part of the ‘pop culture.’

I think the best example of a book to movie adaptation that has achieved this is the Harry Potter movies, which are not perfect but made people realise how lucrative this could be and paved the way for many future book adaptations. Other great movie adaptations are The Hunger Games movies, the Maze Runner movies, The Chronicles of Narnia and in a bit of an unpopular opinion, the Twilight movies. (I think they were great adaptations, I just don’t think they were that great books, Sorry Stephenie) The best TV adaptation that I have to mention is of the Song of Ice and Fire books,i.e Game of Thrones. (but only the initial seasons when they were actually adapting from the books, not what happened after)

The case against might either be very obvious to you or not obvious at all. (Depending on what adaptation you have watched, oops.) Adapting a story for celluloid or for a TV show is hard. You might have to modify structuring, add scenes or delete scenes and it is effort. There is also quite a lot of pressure because the books already have fans and those fans have certain expectations. If you do it wrong, those fans will let you know. it will be rejected, will tank and will earn hate and notoriety. It might even drive away fans; the movie might be so bad that people develop the wrong opinion that the books too, are not good and might end up missing out on what was a perfectly good book. Also as a reader, you develop a very personal relationship with a book and sometimes there’s a bit of possessiveness in that. You don’t want the book to become a ‘mainstream’ fanbase because it is yours and almost too sacred to be touched so you don’t want it to be adapted.

I think the prime example of a book to movie adaptation that has proved this is the movie adaptation of the Percy Jackson books, which was an utter and complete tragedy and only ever gave us Logan Lerman. (Thank god, they’re making a new TV show for the books now because the movies were just disrespectful) Other such movie adaptations are the Divergent books and the Mortal Instruments books. (I’ve heard the show is better but I’ve outgrown the series honestly, so haven’t watched it myself) The best (or rather actually worst) TV adaptation that I can think of is Thirteen Reasons Why. It was a thought-provoking, decent book which spoke of mental health and it ended up as a very dramatic social issue exposé which was just traumatising and attention-seeking.

So, by now, either you’ve picked a side or found more material to fuel your already set opinion, or hopefully, just understood both sides better. The bottom line with adaptations is this; if you do it well, a Book to Movie adaptation is a great, amazing thing but if you do it badly, it is disrespectful and sad. It’s all about finding the balance and bringing great stories to more people because stories are important and wonderful and in the words of Joan Didion, “We tell ourselves stories in order to live”.

THIS POST’S QUESTION: Are you for or against Book to Movie/TV show adaptations? Comment below with what you think about it,I’d love to hear from you!