Trashy? ...Or AWESOME?
POSTED BY: Bytemite
UPDATED: Sunday, May 15, 2011 14:49
VIEWED: 3869
PAGE 3 of 3
Quote:
Originally posted by Bytemite:
I have been thinking about the potential for rewrite of some classic novels, though feel free to post some of your own ideas about things that might skirt the boundaries of good taste, but also be potentially really amazing.
First exhibit.
I know you're all familiar with Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. Putting aside that Jane Austen found the gothic novels of her time dreadful and would totally hate this:
Pride and Prejudice, where Mr. Darcy and Mr. Wickham are competing vampires.
DISCUSS.
(You'll never see the original story the same way again after thinking about this, I kid you not)
The idea of rewriting/retelling a classic isn't trashy. That's how we got WEST SIDE STORY and CLUELESS and a dozen other great ideas (generally movies, though) that I can't think of right now because it's too early on Sunday morning for me to be talking literature.
Heck, if I were a movie-maker, one of my vanity projects would be to retell a number of Shakespeare's plays in the Star Wars Universe (KING LEAR with droids, McBETH with Force witches and lightsabers, etc).
Aside from noting that what most of the better re-tellings have in common seems to be that they are movies/TV shows (and therefore able to access the essense of the story and put it in a new shell without feeling like you're cheating the original), the problem with PRIDE AND PEJUDICE AND VAMPIRES isn't that it's trashy or now awesome (although I think it's not) but that it is, as pointed out, derivative.
Not only does it seem too close to the idea of P&P&Z, but it's derivative of the whole current "let's stick vampires in everything" craze. If you're idea is to stick vampires in a bunch of classics, then I implore you in the name of all that is holy to come up with a different (and more original) plan. There are enough vampires in the world. More than enough.
Unless maybe you're talking about VAMPIRE MOBY DICK, which would explain both the pale coloration and the difficulty in killing Moby.
But, no, seriously, there are already more than enough vampires. No more please.
www.stillflying.net: "Here's how it might have been..."
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In my defense, when I originally came up with the idea, I wasn't even thinking about PP & Z.
I was however discussing the loads of vampire romances and pointing out how mass-marketed and, IMO, tasteless they generally are. I then used Pride and Prejudice with vampires as an example, but then realized it sounded pretty cool.
I thought it might be fun to discuss other tasteless but awesome ideas, as opposed to everyone pointing out how unoriginal I am. And, BTW, zombies and vampires aren't actually the same thing. If you're telling me to go look for grounds that HAVEN'T been adapted in some way or another, it's slim pickings. It's also true that if someone wrote a sufficiently good adaptation, it could stand on it's own merits without comparison to many, many other adaptations that came before.
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