Never Let Me Go: Week 5

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

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!

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.