I just watched the Never Let Me Go trailer. I usually don't like film/television adaptations of novels, especially ones I really like. I think the only exception is Dexter, which is an amazing TV show but just a so-so series in my opinion. Anyways, I'm always that person who picks on all the details and inaccuracies, even though I know they can't always include every part of the book because then all movies would be ten hours long. I don't know if I want to see the Never Let Me Go movie, I really loved the book. I thought it was beautifully written, and I even liked how it ended. It doesn't help that I strongly dislike Keira Knightly and don't feel like she's anything like the Ruth that I imagined in my head. This dislike probably stems from her terrible display in the Pride and Prejudice adaptation (I love that book, and really like the BBC version of the movie), but that's not really the point. I just feel like the narration throughout Never Let Me Go is so important to the story and how you see the characters, and I don't know how that will translate to film. I'll probably see it and then walk out of the theatre talking like a big book snob and listing all the things that were wrong like after Lord of the Rings came out.
Here would be my ideal cast for interests sake (I tried to keep everyone British):
Ruth: Lily Cole or Sienna Miller 10 years ago
Kathy: Bonnie Wright
Tommy: Thomas Sangster
Madame: Emily Blunt
Miss Emily: Helena Bonham Carter
Miss Lucy: Eva Green
Monday, June 21, 2010
Monday, June 14, 2010
Never Let Me Go: Week 4
Well I'm about to go to bed and hopefully finish the book before I get to sleep, so I'll just write about what I've read so far. This book already has me hooked. The first parts of Nights at the Circus were hard to get through, but this one is so easy to read. I find the characters likeable right away, I already can see Ruth in about a hundred people I've known.
So far for me, the most moving part of the book has been the baby part, where Kathy dances around her room pretending to have a baby. I find it interesting that she hardly addresses the fact that she was later told she was unable to have babies. She kind of just brushes over that fact, even though one of her most potent memories was this song that she thought was about motherhood. It's also interesting how she relates these events that happened as just stories, when some of them are really life changing. I would expect more bitterness or some kind of emotion other than nostalgia, but Kathy seems so content with her past.
I know this is a short entry, but I really want to get back to the book!
So far for me, the most moving part of the book has been the baby part, where Kathy dances around her room pretending to have a baby. I find it interesting that she hardly addresses the fact that she was later told she was unable to have babies. She kind of just brushes over that fact, even though one of her most potent memories was this song that she thought was about motherhood. It's also interesting how she relates these events that happened as just stories, when some of them are really life changing. I would expect more bitterness or some kind of emotion other than nostalgia, but Kathy seems so content with her past.
I know this is a short entry, but I really want to get back to the book!
Monday, June 7, 2010
Freaks: Week 3
Reading the article about the movie "Freaks" drew a lot of parallels to the novels we've already read. Immediately I was reminded of Fevvers when the article described Cleopatra. The ambiguous gender of the performer as well as her gargantuan stature were what reminded me of Fevvers most. I was also reminded of Olympia when the article described Hans. They both were treated more or less as servants by someone they loved, and they were both infantalized instead of sexualized, despite being adults. Hans was treated as a child by Cleo, even at their wedding; and Olympia was impregnated not through sex but with Chick's powers.
Gender theories seem to be very important to the concept of freaks and geeks. People having ambiguous gender or challenging gender roles seems to leave people feeling unsettled, one of the main characteristics of the grotesque. Also abnormal sexuality is an unsettling phenomenon used to "freak" people out. Childlike actors acting as adults, or adults being child-like in nature despite participating in adult activities (i.e. sex) are a recurring theme in what we've read.
Gender theories seem to be very important to the concept of freaks and geeks. People having ambiguous gender or challenging gender roles seems to leave people feeling unsettled, one of the main characteristics of the grotesque. Also abnormal sexuality is an unsettling phenomenon used to "freak" people out. Childlike actors acting as adults, or adults being child-like in nature despite participating in adult activities (i.e. sex) are a recurring theme in what we've read.
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Geek Love: Week 2
When I began reading Geek Love I really wasn't into it. I found it almost too grotesque, which revealed one of my own flaws as holding true to the old phrase "ignorance is bliss". As I got further into the book though I really began to enjoy it. I began to relate to the character, as we all can with our "freaky" parts of ourselves I'm sure, and when the story would drift to the narration of another character, I would crave to see the events from Oly's perspective.
One thing I wish the novel had addressed more is Miranda's story. Miranda was a very complex character and I felt like she was sort of abandoned by Oly's mission to befriend and destroy Ms. Lick. I kept wanting to know more about Miranda; why did she draw the way she did, did she ever really wonder about her parents?
Perhaps some of the mystery surrounding Miranda served the purpose of forcing the reader to share Oly's obsession with revenge instead of seeing an alternative to murder in simply speaking to her daughter. In the end however, I liked this novel. The ending was tragic, but comforting in a way, leaving the reader to know Oly did all she had left to do: protect her daughter.
One thing I wish the novel had addressed more is Miranda's story. Miranda was a very complex character and I felt like she was sort of abandoned by Oly's mission to befriend and destroy Ms. Lick. I kept wanting to know more about Miranda; why did she draw the way she did, did she ever really wonder about her parents?
Perhaps some of the mystery surrounding Miranda served the purpose of forcing the reader to share Oly's obsession with revenge instead of seeing an alternative to murder in simply speaking to her daughter. In the end however, I liked this novel. The ending was tragic, but comforting in a way, leaving the reader to know Oly did all she had left to do: protect her daughter.
Monday, May 24, 2010
Geek Love: Week 1
As a psychology major I have a bad habit of constantly diagnosing and assessing things (and characters in books) in the way that I've been taught in the last four years. The Arturans in Geek Love made me think of a disorder I recently studied called Body Integrity Identity Disorder in which a person will identify so strongly with an amputee that they begin to feel as though their limbs don't belong on them. These patients will often attempt self-amputation and the main debate with this disorder revolves around whether or not surgeons amputating the limb is helping the patient or giving in to a delusion.
Geek Love focuses mainly on physical freaks, the Binewski children are considered an accomplishment because they were born as freaks. Many of the acts mentioned that accompany the Binewski's are also quite obviously "freaks" (the human pin cushion, the babies in the "Chute", the Redheads). One of my main interests in psychology is the stigma that mental illness has even today in our culture. The reader is expected to see the Arturans as freaks, more so even than Artie because they are choosing to be freaks. A common misconception about mental illness is the factor of choice. Obviously the religious connotations of the Arturans differentiates them from any BIID patient, but it's interesting that as a reader you accept the Binewski children as "freaks" because they didn't have much of a choice, but the Arturans are a different type of freak, perhaps more looked down upon, because their brand of freak is unimaginable to most readers. Geek Love doesn't really focus on mental illness, although it would be easy to attribute many disorders to members of the Binewski family. Al and Lil could be seen as being parents suffering from Munchausen by Proxy Syndrome in which a parent will inflict injury on a child in order to gain attention for his or her self. Artie could be seen as having narcissistic personality disorder, and Chick obviously has some anxiety issues (for good reason). As bad as this habit of diagnosing is, I feel like it gives me a different perspective than most people, because I almost felt as though Artie was less evil than he appeared because his personality wasn't his choice.
I guess you can take the girl out of psych, but you can't take the psych out of the girl.
Geek Love focuses mainly on physical freaks, the Binewski children are considered an accomplishment because they were born as freaks. Many of the acts mentioned that accompany the Binewski's are also quite obviously "freaks" (the human pin cushion, the babies in the "Chute", the Redheads). One of my main interests in psychology is the stigma that mental illness has even today in our culture. The reader is expected to see the Arturans as freaks, more so even than Artie because they are choosing to be freaks. A common misconception about mental illness is the factor of choice. Obviously the religious connotations of the Arturans differentiates them from any BIID patient, but it's interesting that as a reader you accept the Binewski children as "freaks" because they didn't have much of a choice, but the Arturans are a different type of freak, perhaps more looked down upon, because their brand of freak is unimaginable to most readers. Geek Love doesn't really focus on mental illness, although it would be easy to attribute many disorders to members of the Binewski family. Al and Lil could be seen as being parents suffering from Munchausen by Proxy Syndrome in which a parent will inflict injury on a child in order to gain attention for his or her self. Artie could be seen as having narcissistic personality disorder, and Chick obviously has some anxiety issues (for good reason). As bad as this habit of diagnosing is, I feel like it gives me a different perspective than most people, because I almost felt as though Artie was less evil than he appeared because his personality wasn't his choice.
I guess you can take the girl out of psych, but you can't take the psych out of the girl.
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