LBD and “The Book Was Waay Better Than The Movie”
lies:
if you have to completely ignore the source material to enjoy an adaptation
it’s not a very good adaptation…….
This. This sentiment is so true it hurts.
I note that the inability to enjoy an adaptation without having to ignore the source material seems to be an issue only for a relatively small number of people, with those people experiencing that same problem across multiple source/adaptation pairings. Meanwhile, many other people are familiar with those sources yet seem able to enjoy the adaptations just fine.
That makes me wonder if the problem in this case might have more to do with the individuals than with the adaptations. Maybe it’s harder for some people to be open to the idea that a work can be reinterpreted in a different medium without there having to be a competition, a zero-sum game in which only one version of the narrative can be true and correct.
Okay, wow.
I have a real problem with generally saying, “the adaptation is fine because only a few people are complaining about it.”
I actually haven’t seen a lot of people complaining about the fact that they’ve changed things from the book. Most of the people who are having problems with this adaptation are having issues with the presentation of an abusive relationship without (as yet) any pushback or recognition of that abuse from the narrative, and with the narrative’s continuing refusal to acknowledge Lydia as an agent in her own right.
I’ve never seen any serious or lengthy complaints about some of the adaptational changes like Collins offering a job instead of a wedding ring. It’s not “wah, you moved my cheese,” that I see people complaining about. It’s the fact that they feel marginalized and triggered by the adaptation without any strong narrative reason for it. (And since you’re quoting glamaphonic, who is the go-to-person on hunting down P&P adaptations and AU versions, this is a particularly baffling charge.)
Dismissing people’s complaints about feeling marginalized with a, “La, it’s not the narrative; it’s all those oversensitive people who can’t cope with change!” is really missing the point. Marginalized people are usually in the minority. It makes it more problematic if you dismiss their concerns with a, “Well, these marginalized people are few in number, so nothing is wrong.”
I have literally never seen anyone say, “I hate the sex tape! They changed it from an elopement with Wickham! How dare you change Austen’s words!”
I have only seen people saying things like, “This does not sit well with me, because these elements here are X, Y, and Z, and that’s problematic.” I have also seen people saying, “And why is it that a 2012 adaptation manages to be more problematic than the source material?” This is not a complaint about changing and adapting. It’s a complaint about problematic material, and pretending that it isn’t that kind of complaint—and that all the fault rests in those viewers who feel marginalized—really isn’t cool.
I’m not saying you can’t enjoy the adaptation. I do enjoy large parts of the narrative; if I didn’t I wouldn’t watch it anymore. But telling people that their complaints about material being problematic result from their being stodgy and broken and unable to cope with change is not cool.
This isn’t the first time Lies has used that argument to dismiss the opinions of others in fandom. And this isn’t the first time he’s been called out on it. Just a heads up for whenever you are engaging with him.
Not trying to be contentious, but I’d appreciate if you could let me know where I’ve dismissed the opinions of others in the fandom on the grounds that only a few people are complaining about something. I’m not saying I haven’t done it, but I didn’t notice it at the time. If you’d point it out where I did that it may help me avoid it next time.
I don’t think Courtney Milan’s characterization of my comment above was particularly accurate. I didn’t tell anyone that their complaints about LBD resulted from their being stodgy and broken and unable to cope with change. That’s a strawman version of what I actually said.
Casting someone’s remarks in a more-extreme form in order to more easily refute them is a common practice when you’re trying to win an argument; I get that. The thing is, I’m not participating in this fandom in order to have arguments. I realize there are other people who are, and I don’t begrudge them that. But that’s not what I’m here for.
Reposted from http://lies.tumblr.com/post/42612968675.
