If you follow me on Twitter or are my friend on Facebook, I’m sure you’ve notice I’ve talked about little else the last couple of days. (And if you’re my mom or brother and live with me, I’m extra sorry for all the bursts into your rooms with “OMG, Lizzie just…. and The Ly-di-a just… and OMG, Jane is soooo sweet, and Darcy…” and the guffaws and the yelping! I love you guys!) That’s because I’m in love! And its name is The Lizzie Bennet Diaries.
As you know, I’m not the greatest Jane Austen fan. Not that Jane Austen isn’t amazing. Truly, she is. When it comes to classic literature, she’s the absolute best our there. And as someone who’s a Literature major
by obligation, I know my fair share of Austen. It’s not that I don’t like Pride & Prejudice, the classic story. I do. I think it’s sweet, poignant, and way ahead of its time. I think Elizabeth is smart, mouthy and has ideas that go way beyond the typical girl from her time. Last year, as I took a class on book adaptations, I’ve had the chance of reading Pride & Prejudice in every form, from comics, to Pride & Prejudice and Zombies. I’ve seen two versions of the movie — I actually own the Keira Knighley version, because I got it as a gift, and I really like, I’ve seen it a few times. It’s cute, sweet, funny, smart. What’s not to love about it? Nothing. It’s perfect.
Still, I’m a 00′s kid, technology buff whose fingers twitch if there are no notifications on her phone for over an hour. If my 3G is down? End. Of. The. World. It’s hard for me to truly enjoy something, to truly identify with something without the fast, desperate, hurried pace we live in today. If I read a romance novel with no sex, no cell phones, no women having their own jobs, it’s just so weird to me. I can enjoy it, a lot. But it’s just so hard to love it.
That’s where The Lizzie Bennet Diaries come in. I hadn’t checked it out before, because I’m not a huge Pride & Prejudice fan, and I thought that’s what the webseries was for, right? But how wrong I was. I think it was made for me, really. Why do I say this? Because it has absolutely every awesome element of Jane Austen’s awesome story plus every awesome element of our modern world nowadays.
Lizzie Bennet? She’s a twenty-four year old grad student! And the story? It’s told by her in the format of VLOGS. Can it get any more modern than that? But what’s more awesome about it is that it follows exactly the timeline of the books, as the events unfold in the Jane Austen novel, though, of course, it needs to be adapted to the world nowadays.
(First Lizzie Bennet video — WATCH IT)
That’s the thing, though, as these elements of the story are adapted, the plot gets more… interesting. And it just shows the brilliancy of the writers of the (web)series. I don’t want to give spoilers, though my fingers are itching to do so. But marriage proposals are turned into job offers, illnesses are turned into job opportunities (you know how it is today, all about a career), things like that. And, OMG, I wish I could just tell you, but you have to watch it!
But the best thing about it? The Characters. As someone who actually knows the story to the core — if I didn’t, I’d deserve a good smack — that’s one thing I can talk about. Oh. My. Gosh. So easy to fall in love with. I don’t know who I love more. Lizzie and her sassy mouth, who babbles, babbles, talks about everyone, is always critical, analytical and so loving and caring. Jane, the SWEETEST person in the world, who has me laughing out loud all the time, The Ly-di-a, who’s so full of life, and though she can be annoying, is so refreshing and just jumps off the videos, Bing Lee with his “Are you recoding another video letter to Charlotte?”, Darcy imitating other people, OMG, Gigi being the cutest person ever and setting Lizzie and Darcy up. Maybe Charlotte is the one I never really connected with much. Still… I LOVE THESE PEOPLE!!!
(Introducing her sisters — go watch it. It’s SO GOOD! Why are you still reading me?)
I guess that’s it. My latest and newest obsession! I guess a story is all about how it is told, and I found how I love hearing the story of Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy. My favorite adaptation ever. If I were a literature buff, I’d definitely use this for my Masters dissertation. Not. Even. Kidding.
So, what about you guys? Are you big Pride & Prejudice fans? Have you checked The Lizzie Bennet Diaries yet? Are you totally addicted like me?