June

Fabulous weather we’re having

• Writing: picking through old stuff and fanfic. At some point I should actually finish something.
• This month has been very social and any relaxation and creativity I had leftover from my holiday is gone *sigh*
• I saw the trailer for the Netflix adaptation of Persuasion and no. Absolutely not. I don’t even want to hatewatch it, but no doubt I’ll be in a mood or drunk or something and end up doing it anyway. To be clear, my issues are:
  • inaccurate hair
  • inaccurate mannerisms
  • inaccurate heroine. Anne Elliot is not Elizabeth Bennett or Emma Woodhouse. In what world would any interpretation of Anne Elliot incorporate knowing glances at the camera and snarky sophisticated flirting!??!
  • making total bullshit up (e.g. yelling someone’s name through an open window then ducking out of sight like a fucking teenager, arsing about with jam on her face) that turns the story and characters into something they’re not
  • Removing all the lovely, nuanced language from Austen and replacing it with trite modern rubbish like, “Now we’re worse than exes. We’re friends.”
    Excuse
    me
    I think you meant, “Now they were as strangers; nay, worse than strangers, for they could never become acquainted. It was a perpetual estrangement.” Not friends. NOT FRIENDS. They are never friends in the novel, they’re too full of regret and awkwardness and anger and stifled passion to do anything except be civil with each other in company. Ugh, this line in the trailer was particularly irksome, it just smacks of someone trying to be clever and missing the entire fucking nature of the relationship.
  • I saw some idiotic thinkpiece or comment that took the stance that this adaptation was “inspired by” the book, so it didn’t have to be accurate. No. The trailer clearly says “Based on the timeless love story by Jane Austen” (HER FINEST NOVEL BTW) and it’s attempting period settings and costumes, so, no. It has a duty to the source material. Is this what Netflix is doing now? Churning out bargain basement adaptations that combine previous successful shows together without any respect for the source material (or the audience that loves it)? Christ on a bike, count me out.
• I think I’m so mad about this in particular because I’m so ready for a new Persuasion. The 2007 Persuasion with Sally Hawkins is largely good, but I didn’t like the camera work and endless blue tone and that kiss, ugh. The 1995 Persuasion is wonderful, and remains IMO the definitive version, but they cut a bit out to accommodate the film runtime and Ciaran Hinds hasn’t the handsomeness I’d want for Wentworth. The 1971 Persuasion is actually very accurate to the novel, but is, uh, quite seventies. The hair and costumes are bit much. I recommend watching it as it’s otherwise a lot of fun and very calming (a distinct lack of music, which is nice). The scene where Louisa falls and cracks her head is hilarious because there are several cuts of the actors standing awkwardly around her just staring. Funny editing aside, is a perfect modern adaptation of Persuasion too much to ask for?!?!
• The USA further cemented itself as the most backwards developed country in the world. I could rant but what’s the point? I’m not American, I don’t live there, and every year that goes by, I count myself all the luckier for it.
• Reading: a bunch of rereads and still working through Emma.
• Watching: Too Hot to Handle, and a few old faves (How to Train Your Dragon, The Mummy, the excellent 1995 version of Persuasion with Amanda Root and Ciaran Hinds).
• Music: nothing new. Kate Bush, Florence and the Machine.