because what else am i going to do while at work?

[lirazel]

A random comment by mollivanders gave me an idea for a meme:

Give me a text (book, TV show, movie, etc.) and I will tell you what I would have done differently if I had written it. Not little details, necessarily, but big plot or theme or characterization choices.

Comments

[mollivanders.livejournal.com]

Oh I may as well ask - The Hunger Games?

Okay, never mind. What about a Jane Austen novel of your choice?

[penny-lane-42.livejournal.com]

WHAT IS THIS I DON'T EVEN KNOW.

It's been a long time since I've read any Austen except Emma (which I would change just about nothing about, as sometimes uncomfortable as it makes me), like high school long. So I'll focus on screenplays instead, okay?

What I hate most about the screenplays and the public's perceptions of these stories is that so many of them treat them as straight-up romance where the conflict arises from whether the leads will get together. Whereas in most of her books (Emma aside), the conflict is IF I DON'T GET MARRIED MY FAMILY WILL STARVE. Like, actually be poor. Sure, it's great that the ladies end up with guys they love. But there's some dark undercurrents in these books, that looming poverty lurking in the future, the constant awareness that these women have no control over their lives, have no options. It's heartbreaking. And I feel like so often people gloss over that and treat them just like a lighthearted romantic romp.

[blackfrancine.livejournal.com]

True dat.

This is actually my favorite thing about the Keira Knightly P & P--the scene where Charlotte gives Lizzie what-for about being terrified about being a burden on her parents--about this being her last chance to get married and therefore fulfill her only chance to be considered anything but an utter failure. SO DON'T JUDGE, LIZZIE.

That version fails in plenty of ways, but I really do think it succeeds in capturing the stress around finances and marriage for women. Other versions tend to leave you with the impression that the girls/mother are money-grubbing, looking for wealthy husbands. They don't make it clear that they will all starve when the father dies if the girls don't get married.

[penny-lane-42.livejournal.com]

Other versions tend to leave you with the impression that the girls/mother are money-grubbing, looking for wealthy husbands. They don't make it clear that they will all starve when the father dies if the girls don't get married

SERIOUSLY. The fact that these women have no other options forces them to view marriage as a mercenary thing.