An easier question to answer would be Why Am I Writing an Essay on This When I Should Be Writing My Psychology Essay and that answer is Because I Want A Poster More Than An A on An Assignment That’s Only Worth Like 5% of My Final Grade.
But I digress.
Here is my Comprehensive List of Reasons Why I Love Poe Party and by comprehensive list of reasons I mean a fraction of the reasons but there are only so many hours in the day so bear with me
As an amateur writer, I really appreciate well-written dialogue. Witty, rapid-fire, and realistic and true to the characters–– that’s what you see in Poe Party. Improvised lines, wordplays, puns, and references to other literary characters, authors, and works.
2. In A Word: Cinematography. As a film minor, I have a deep love of cinematography, including camera angles, lighting, editing, and so on and so forth (I’m very early in my minor so I don’t know all the terms yet but you catch my drift). The setting, the old and very huge mansion, is reminiscent of the extremely influential 1921 German silent film Nosferatu (can I get an amen for that reference please and thank you yes I caught those similarities y’all ain’t slick) which is basically set in an enormous abandoned castle. Unlike Nosferatu, Poe Party manages to have incredible lighting–– just enough so we can see what they’re up to, but not so much that it ruins the creepy ambiance. So many props for the seamless editing and camera angles that don’t nauseate me. The costumes alone are enough to convince me this is really happening and not just a web series.
3. The. Plot. For. Good. Ness’s. Sake. I want to be in that meeting the first time somebody was like, hey, what if Edgar Allan Poe tried to have a party? It’s such a unique and original idea. The twists aren’t predictable, the mystery isn’t easily solved, you leave us guessing, but you don’t overly frustrate us ahem Moffat I’m talking to you directly sir good heavens Nothing is extra, every moment matters and there’s nothing that doesn’t serve to move the plot forward in some way or another. I’m so excited to see the rest of it I can’t contain myself oh my good gracious.
4. The Characters. I love how all the relationships between the authors are portrayed with such accuracy, like I can totally see Poe having second thoughts about inviting Oscar, and I absolutely love Charlotte’s bitchiness towards Fyodor (but a bitchiness that’s not overdone, thank goodness). Honestly I could talk about Lenore and H.G. Wells’s relationship in a whole ‘nother little number but I won’t because if I did, I’m afraid this post would break tumblr.
I love the incorporation of every author’s story into the plot itself, and I love the little mannerisms each character has that just absolutely enhances the realism of the web series. I’ve watched the Lizzie Bennet Diaries and I’ve seen A Very Potter Musical two hundred times but I don’t have that feeling of only being able to see the characters the actors have played before, if that makes sense? Like, with some actors like Orlando Bloom, it’s hard to see past the Orlando. But with these guys, it’s like you become your character, truly. I forget that you’re all actors. And that’s amazing. Like, if I were ever to see a blooper reel of Poe Party, I would absolutely wig out that Joey Richter is not Ernest Hemingway 100% of his life and that Sinéad Persaud is alive and not a ghost.
I’m serious, I think I would have some kind of a crisis. Y’all’re doing the Lord’s Work. [x]
5. The Mix of Humor and Horror. I’m currently trying to write a murder mystery that’s also a comedy, so this is giving me all kinds of inspiration to create my own stuff, which is amazing in and of itself and will be discussed later on in the list so I’m moving on to how well you all balance the mystery and the wit. It’s just enough mystery and murder that seeing Fyodor’s dead body made me jump out of my seat and everyone in the library stared at me thanks guysand that watching Agatha fall to the ground, dead, made me literally inhale sharply, and I cried over Mary Ann but not so much murder that I’m like what is this, Stranger Things come on. And the humor isn’t so much that I can’t take the murders seriously, but just enough that it keeps the whole mood light and airy and keeps the story moving and prevents stagnation. It’s the healthiest mix of funny and scary that I’ve seen in a long, long time.
6. In Another Word: Inspirational. I’m also acting in my friend’s webseries, and seeing other people do this gives me the inspiration I need to perform well on camera, which is not something I’m used to. It gives me inspiration to write, which I don’t do often enough, but to write without judgment, the way the writers portrayed in Poe Party probably did. This web series gives me the courage I need to put myself out in the fiction writing sphere again, because I see these writers and I’m reminded that they were human. As an english major, studying all these people, it’s like the community deifies them. It’s refreshing to watch them get humanized and to see that they were people like me, with fears and flaws and failures, even if that’s not what we remember them for. [stares off into the middle distance]
7. Warning: Super Cheesy Personal Reason Okay, so I didn’t want to write about this for the contest cause I don’t want to use mental illness as like a sympathy weapon just to get a poster. I’m being real for a second, poster or not, I think it’s important for you guys to know that you’re really helping me cope with some stuff. I got out of a borderline abusive relationship months ago and I’m still dealing with a lot of depression and anxiety surrounding it. I’m in therapy, but what really helps is having something to look forward to, something to keep me going throughout the day. You guys might not think what you’re doing is having that large of an effect, but I’m telling you, you’re really helping people like me just get through the day-to-day struggle. When I’m in a Bad Place, and I can’t think of a reason to get up out of bed, I can either: A) think about all the writers in Poe Party that dealt with the same stuff I am and overcame it through their writing, or B) think about how it’s almost Monday or it is Monday and Poe Party will update, or C) think about how I can connect directly with the creators and actors I admire by posting about Poe Party on tumblr which is absolutely incredible to me, you have no idea.
8. Connecting With You. Warning: this is also cheesy, but I just think it’s fantastic that we can post about Poe Party, and have the creators or the actors actually respond to what we do and pay attention to what we’re saying. It feels like I belong to a community that I can rely on when the community I’m living in doesn’t deliver, if that makes sense. You guys have created this space for us to flock to and talk about something that we love and can share with each other, and that’s magic.
9. We’re All Nerds. I hope you don’t mind my saying, but we’re all nerds in the best way and I feel like I’ve found nerds that are using their nerdiness to bring joy and heaven to other nerds like me, who are in turn perpetuating that nerdy joy in a safe space. I love not having to worry about being made fun of for loving the bejesus out of Emily Dickinson, because hey so does everyone else in this communityI mean just look at Sarah Grace Hart come on.
So that kinda goes along with the previous reason, but I thought it had to be restated. [x]
Anyway. I really can’t avoid work anymore. Thank you for reading this enormous thing. Have a great day, spread love, and I’ll watch y’all on Monday. #ILovePoeParty
