What's Your Filter?

[bloodyrosemccoy]

Got four comments on that Halloween photostory over at ag_over_18. Four. Dammitanyway, that was a hilarious album. Nobody gets the sophisticated high comedy of origami fireballs.

Anyway. Last night I went to hang out with Afshan and a few of her buddies, and it was nice to be able to talk with her again. We had a fantastic dinner, then watched Pride and Prejudice—the Keira Knightley version.

I have never read the book and had never seen the film; it didn’t sound like my cup of tea. And really, I was right as far as how absorbing the plot was (not very) and how Mr. Darcy measures up to his fangirls’ image of him (not real well*).

But.

There was something unbelievably intriguing about the intricacies of marriage according to this. The lists of reasons to marry someone, and not to marry them, and the benefits and drawbacks of marriage versus singleness had my attention riveted. I found myself thinking not something like, “Oh, that Mr. Darcy, he is brooding and deep! I hope they live happily ever after!”, but more along the lines of, “So it seems this society prefers marriage, especially for a woman, and it’s an economic arrangement especially beneficial for her so she can, you know, keep all her own money and property. But you’ve got to consider the people you marry for their economic status, class, disposition, oh and if you like them that’s nice but not really necessary. Also you have to get the approval of the family or there’ll be a scandal that reflects on them as well as you, but not as much as if you don’t even get married but just enter into some willy-nilly relationship with whoever because we simply don’t do that, these things have got to be controlled.”

Yes. I am a nerd.

It’s fun to see how what you study colors your perspective. I geeked all over gondolinchick01 tonight about the monkey wrench regeneration must toss into Time Lord kinship terms. Would you have different words for a kid you had during your current incarnation versus your previous incarnation? Would they have different terms for you after you regenerated? What do your kids from two different incarnations call each other—"sibling," or is there another term?

Clearly, I’ve been anthropologizing too long. Somebody stop me before I forget about plots entirely!

(I also get why Douglas Adams, who loved language for its own sake, was such a Jane Austen fan. Plot? Psh. But that dialogue was marvelous.)


*He was boring! I wanted some sort of insight from him. Instead I got:
ELIZABETH: Sup.
MR. DARCY: Word.
ELIZABETH: Sup. (unspoken vitriol)
MR. DARCY: Word. (inscrutable)
MR. DARCY: I LOVE YOU! I AM ACTUALLY A VERY NICE GUY AND WOULD LIKE TO MARRY YOU. LOOK, I PLAY MATCHMAKER FOR YOUR SISTERS.
ELIZABETH: … Oh, fine.

Comments

[ellixis.livejournal.com]

I really enjoy the book, partly for Austen being dryly sarcastic about her characters, partly for the look into the culture, and a tiny bit for the silly-romance-novel plot. I was made to read it in a college course, expected to hate it, and surprised myself by liking it a great deal. You should give it a shot; grab it out of the library or something. Books pwn most book-inspired-movies any day.

[padparadscha.livejournal.com]

Ah, but you see--the movie has converted me TO Jane Austen! I figure if the movie has that kind of dialogue, imagine the BOOK--!

[ellixis.livejournal.com]

That's the spirit! :D

[dormouse-in-tea.livejournal.com]

I adore Pride and Prejudice, I re-read it at least once a year, but I admit it's not many people's cup of tea.

That doesn't stop me from finding your summation of Darcy hysterically amusing. Srsly, tho, I'd try reading the book if what you wanted was insight.

You did good on the marriage bit, tho. And heartmarks for you, for doing that. Hee.

(and thank you for reminding me about your album. I tried the other night but the images wouldn't load right. Don't have time tonight, but now it is Open in a Tab!)

[kadharonon.livejournal.com]

I rather like the BBC 6-hour-long miniseries. Mr. Darcy is brooding and angsty, yes, but there are more hilarious side characters included! It's so much more fun!

[bean-bunny.livejournal.com]

I'm always 100% damn sure you should get more love at AG>18 than you do. I don't know what the issue is. The only thing I can come up with is to post more often and post photos with your albums?

I don't know, honestly. I'm a bit mystified. I'm embarrassed to admit I've actually thought about it a bit.

[padparadscha.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I've started doing teaser photos along with my blurbs and commentaries, and no bites. Go figure. At least the IMPORTANT people comment on them.

Oh, well. I guess at least this means now I can wear a black beret and drape myself on the sofa whining that nobody understands my art, right?

[chairman-wow.livejournal.com]

I always knew the Kiera Knightly version would ruin P&P for people. (It was one of my favourite books in school.) Mainly because it goes "This book has several plots? What? And there is sarcasm and social commentary? What are you talking about I only have an hour and a half to do this in."

I did like the sets, though.

Also, I am convinced people only like Darcy so much these days because of Colin Firth (who isn't that good-looking to begin with).



As for filter, I don;t really know, to be honest. I've always simultaneously paid attention to the plot and gone off on tangents with small little details.

[padparadscha.livejournal.com]

It depends on how engaging the plot is, I suppose. Hence the Time Lord nerdery.

Also, the movie actually made me want to read Austen--the thinking being, "Hey, if the dialogue is that good in a MOVIE ..."

Colin Firth would probably sway me, actually. Clearly, I have watched the wrong version.

[nobleplatypus]

Oh, Jane Austen. I've loved so many screen adaptations of her work, but I will be damned if I can get more than two or three paragraphs into any of her books before falling asleep.

[agenttrojie.livejournal.com]

Pride and Prejudice ... it's up there with Wuthering Heights as one of those books where people assure me I'll love it and I end up ... not loving it, and in the case of those two books, not even coming close to finishing it. Perhaps it's because I find it almost impossible to empathise with any of the characters...

As for the Keira Knightley version ... I watched it, failed AGAIN to empathise, and spent most of the time peering at her onscreen and going 'gosh, she's funny looking ...'

But then I am a heathen, totally bereft of culture :P

And cos I never remembered to comment on the album post you made; LAVA FLOOR FTW. We used to pretend it was a swamp, too. And that there were pirhana. Sometimes in the swamp, sometimes in the lava. They were pretty tough pirhana ...

[padparadscha.livejournal.com]

I often refuse to read books or watch things where I can't summon any empathy for the characters. Or if I hate them. I know sometimes you're SUPPOSED to hate characters, but if I REALLY hate them, I can't see the point of reading it.

[agenttrojie.livejournal.com]

Ditto. And Elizabeth really irritated me for some reason. I just ... didn't understand her at all.

[annotated_em]

I am convinced that Elizabeth didn't fall in love with Darcy. She fell in love with his house.

[padparadscha.livejournal.com]

That was an odd scene ... I was waiting for Mr. Darcy to get home and notice the lipstick all over his bust.

(I also loved how STUPID she was in that scene. "Oh, and I have a sister. My sister's name is Georgiana. You know my sister, Georgiana? She plays the piano. I hate that guy because he broke my sister's heart." Then she hears someone playing the piano in his house and sees the girl hug him and she's all, "WHO'S THAT BITCH?!")

[crazykawaii.livejournal.com]

We actually watched part of that movie in my "Women, Men, and Social Change" class for exactly that reason!

Not about P&P

[biomekanic.livejournal.com]

but Timelords.

According to the information I read, which is based on official sources, but unofficially ( you should check out the Faction Paradox "novel", "The Book of the War" - it's a non-linear novel in the form of an enyclopedia, there's about 4 stories going on ), Timelords don't have children.

At least not as we understand them.

DNA is a nice concept, for linear beings.

Timelords aren't linear though. Their "Genes" incorporate probability as well as information. "Children" are created in the whole cloth, as needed. In effect, "Clan 1" decides they need some new blood... so, Timelord Abe springs into being.
He has a history with the Clan, and with the other Timelords. And the space time continium.
He's always been there.

The Faction Paradox stuff is one helluva read, and it's a shame they stopped work on the line.

One of the novels I've yet to read has all the timelines where Rome endures waging a cross time war against all the timelines where the Nazi's won.

Re: Not about P&P

[gwalla.livejournal.com]

Except then how is Susan the Doctor's granddaughter? Also, remember that Gallifreyans were as linear as anyone else until Rassilon made time travel possible, making them into Time Lords.

Remember, everything but the show is officially non-canon.

Re: Not about P&P

[padparadscha.livejournal.com]

*grin* I expected more comments about Time Lords, given the people who read this blog. Oh well ...

Yeah, that had me wondering about Susan, too. I definitely need to learn more about old school Time Lordiness ...

Re: Not about P&P

[biomekanic.livejournal.com]

They don't really bring her up much later on, do they?

[gwalla.livejournal.com]

I'm not sure if kinship terms would be affected. The Time Lords seem to have some sort of "identity sense" that allows them to recognize other Time Lords they've met before even after regenerations (though sometimes it doesn't work), and they definitely seem to consider all of a Time Lord's regenerations to be "the same person", regardless of changing personality quirks (the Valeyard is sort of an exception, but he's a special case anyway).

[padparadscha.livejournal.com]

I suppose it depends on how important it is to specify which regeneration it was--if regeneration is a huge change beyond anything humans have, a right of passage, or a change on par with getting a haircut or something.

This is not helping me defend myself against the accusations of grand acts of nerdery, by the way ...

[dgm-allenwalker.livejournal.com]

AHAHAHAHAHA I loved that film :D