Bit of Ivory

Heh. Seems like I make a post like this at the end of every semester, but dude, I am done DONE DONE!!!

In the past week, I have written 33 pages worth of papers– research papers, response papers, research proposal papers, annotated bibliographies, the works. The majority of those pages have been within the past 48 hours.

I rock.

Of course, if I hadn’t put off writing most of those papers until the very last minute, I wouldn’t have had to do it, but– an accomplishment is an accomplishment.

So if anyone wants to read my (a bit shorter than the subject really called for, but I wasn’t about to go over when I still had 13 more pages to write) essay on the mystery elements of HP, or my report on why Dorothy L. Sayers was way cooler than any of her contemporaries, or the research proposal for studying whether or not the beta-reading-getting-feedback process of writing fanfic affects writing skill in other areas (especially academics), tell me and I’ll post them.

In the meantime, I’m going to watch White Christmas, salute Jane Austen’s 230th birthday with some hot chocolate and Pecan Sandies, and VEG.

‘Cause the semester’s OVER, BABY!!

Hopefully I’ll be around here more often now.

Have been sick the past few days. Skipped work and school. It hasn’t really been *terrible*, but bad enough that the thought of trying to concentrate on either editing or school work made me want to lose my lunch. Or perhaps that was all just the sickness. Anyway. It hasn’t helped that I kind of scratched my eye the same night I started to feel oogy (Tuesday night), and therefore my eye has been watering and exploding into pain at odd moments. Not fun.

I do want to thank all of you who have been commenting on my P&P posts. It’s nice to have some new readers (especially those of you who agreed with me ). I hope you stick around. I’m a pretty cool person, if I do say so myself.

I know, I know. Shocking! Emily’s posting about HP!

Seeing GoF has reawakened my love for HP. Not that it was ever particularly asleep. Anyway, I’ve been re-reading canon. Sometimes I forget how truly delightful canon is. JKR is a friggin’ genius, no matter what some people say. On almost every page is a reminder of why I love this series so much– the whimsy of Dumbledore, the antics of Fred and George, the swottiness of Hermione, the Ron-ness of Ron, the mixture of sweetness and archness that is Ginny, and above all, the adorableness of Harry.

So I’m rereading HBP, and I just read chapter 9, The Half-Blood Prince. And something struck me.

Harry doesn’t really have an unfair advantage, in using Snape’s old book. Rather, everyone else has an unfair disadvantage, with Slughorn.

Now, now, hear me out.

What Harry has is the same advantage he and the rest of the school has been enjoying for the past 14 years– the guidance of Severus Snape. Harry has an advantage, yes, but only because the rest of the students are now at a disadvantage.

You see, even though Harry, in his first year, bought Magical Drafts and Potions by Arsenius Jigger, we never actually see him using any recipes from it. In fact, in OotP, Snape explicity puts the recipe on the chalkboard:

“Today we will be mixing a potion that often comes up at Ordinary Wizarding Level: the Draught of Peace, a potion to calm anxiety and soothe agitation. Be warned: if you are too heavy-handed with the ingredients you will put the drinker into a heavy and sometimes irreversible sleep, so you will need to pay close attention to what you are doing.” On Harry’s left, Hermione sat up a little straighter, her expression one of utmost attention. “The ingredients and method ???” Snape flicked his wand “??? are on the blackboard ???” (they appeared there) “??? you will find everything you need ???” he flicked his wand again “??? in the store cupboard ???” (the door of the said cupboard sprang open) “??? you have an hour and a half???. Start.” (OotP, 232-233, emphasis mine)

On the other hand, Slughorn works exlusively from Advanced Potion Making. The recipe and the method are Libatius Borage’s, not Severus Snape’s. But Harry’s using Snape’s recipe, just like he’s been using for the first 5 years. Hermione’s still doing better than most of the class, but not as well as she used to when Snape was teaching. Harry, on the other hand, is doing much better–not only because he’s using the Half-Blood Prince’s book, because he’s been using Snape’s recipes and methods forever– but because Snape himself isn’t there. It’s a combination of the two.

It’s a testament to what could have been, I think, had Snape been able to set aside his feelings about James Potter and actually bothered to evaluate what Harry was really like. Harry was kept from suceeding by Snape’s teaching methods, not by any lack of ability in Potions. Of course, with Slughorn he would have failed because of inferior instructions. Harry’s success with the combination of an encouraging environment and superior instructions proves that had Harry and Snape been able to have a positive relationship rather than a negative one, great things could have happened.

Anyway. Food for thought.

It’s interesting. In some ways, I feel like I’ve come full circle. You see, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire was my first real “fan” type experience. I read the first three books in late May of 2000. So Goblet was the first HP book I waited for. I attended my first midnight party (I stupidly didn’t pre-order, and didn’t show up until 11:00, so I had to wait until 1:00AM to get the book) on July 8, 2000. I stayed up late and read (not all night, because I had to work the next day). I managed the refreshments at my bookstore’s HP launch party, then came home and read. I lay on my living room couch, trembling, as I read about Cedric’s death, Voldemort’s return, and Fake!Moody’s true identity.

When I actually entered the fandom about a year later, Goblet was the most recent canon. I dissected that book for 3 years, trying to guess what would happen next, debating ships, and rereading it in anticipation of Order of the Phoenix. It’s always been special, even though it wasn’t my favorite.

So, it’s gratifying to see it made into such a good movie. Finally see these things on screen. I think the discussion between me, Katy, Krista, Kelley, and her family is representative. We spent the entire time talking about things we liked. Contrast that to the after-PoA discussion at Wahleecon: we did almost nothing but nitpick.

I can’t find very many things to nitpick about this movie. So I’m going to gush instead.
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I want to wait for my full review until I see it again (tonight!!), but–

So. Good. Far and away, best HP movie EVER.

Harry. Ron. Hermione. Ginny. Cedric. Snape. Rita Skeeter. Voldemort. All PERFECT.

*sigh*

Okay. I’ve had a while to think it over, to determine just exactly what it was I liked and disliked about this film. It wasn’t all dislike. There were plenty of good moments, things that were done well, things it was fun to see on screen that hadn’t necessarily been included in P&P2. It is entirely possible that I am simply too picky. There may be something in what my sister said this morning: that being so familiar with the book could be detrimental, because I notice every little detail, can tell when one person’s dialogue has been altered, or given to someone else. It could be that any of you (even die-hard Austen fans) would like it very well. But in the end, for me, there was more to dislike than to like.

As an aside, I must say that it was cruel and unusual punishment to play a preview for Colin Firth’s upcoming film with Emma Thompson, Nanny McPhee. It simply served to remind me of what I wouldn’t be getting.

So, lest I become run away with my feelings on the subject, I shall start with the good points. What follows will, of course, be spoilerific.
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I’m too tired to do an extensive review tonight, so I shall leave that until in the morning. Suffice it to say:

It could have been much worse. But then again, it also could have been much better.

My friend Tanya and I vented our feelings on the way back by listening to my P&P Audiobook.

Details tomorrow.

So. Full disclosure here: I have not seen the new Pride and Prejudice adaptation. I hope to see it this weekend. I am trying desperately to keep an open mind. I expect to enjoy parts of it, at least, if not all. I will attempt to take it on its own terms. I have been pleasantly surprised by an adaptation of Pride and Prejudice before. I have also thrown things at the screen while watching another adaptation (no offense to Sir Laurence Olivier or Greer Garson, but the 1940 version SUX). In any case, I plan on seeing this version and posting my honest opinion afterwards.

But.

I’ve been keeping up with the press on the new adaptation, mostly via Austenblog, but other places as well. Today BYU’s college newspaper reprinted an article that appeared in the Los Angeles Times. It’s mostly positive, but this made me see red.

He also wanted a much earthier “Pride & Prejudice.” This film doesn’t sugarcoat the Bennets’ meager existence ??? pigs and chickens run freely in the unkempt, mud-soaked yard. (The movie, written by Deborah Moggach, was shot in a variety of locations in England.)

“I did a lot of research and discovered that people did live ??? especially with the income the Bennets would have ??? in a close proximately to their rural environment,” Wright said. “I felt it was important [to show that]. Aesthetically, I like mess. I don’t like tidiness.”

I can only assume that “a lot of research” equalled “I Googled it, and ignored anything that I didn’t agree with,” because as far as historical accuracy goes, this is horrible. First of all: meager existence? Mr. Bennet has an income of 2,000 pounds per year. A quick Google search provided me with a few rough estimates for how that translates to today’s money. Cliff’s notes estimates that Mr. Bennet’s income would be roughly $180,000 today. Others estimate more like $150,000, while some think it might be around $200,000. In any case, that does not, to me, equal a “meager” existence. True, Darcy’s 10,000 pounds (anywhere from $700,000 to $1,000,000 per year) is such that Mr. Bennet’s fortune pales in comparison, but 2,000 pounds a year does not a pauper equal. Even a much smaller income, such as the 500 pounds a year the Dashwood women are left with, is enough to rent a comfortable cottage and employ at least two servants, one of whom was a man and therefore subject to a luxury tax. 400 pounds per year is considered sufficent to marry on, and to still be considered a member of the gentry. The Bennet girls are “penniless” not because their father has an insufficient income, but because they will inherit no more than 1,000 pounds each. It is their dowry, not their father’s income, which is the problem when it comes to matrimony.

Second, it is very true that most of Mr. Bennet’s income came from rents paid to him from his estate, and from the home farm. His horses are often wanted in the farm, and are therefore unavailable for the carriage. It may be that the farm was not as far away from the house as we generally see, as in P&P2. However. Mr. Bennet may be a lot of things, but a bad manager of his estates he most certainly is not. Mrs. Bennet may be a lot of things, but she prides herself on the superiority of her housekeeping every bit as much as the beauty of her daughters. Longbourn would be neither unkempt not untidy. Chickens and pigs would not be allowed free reign of the house. The idea is unthinkable.

It’s things like these that make me fear for this adaptation. Add in the badly-made costumes, the lack of wearing bonnets in public (sorry, but no. no.), and the fact that the most frequently applied adjective to the new adaptation is “Bronteish”– gah. My resolve to wait and see becomes weaker by the minute.

*turns lovingly to shiny new Oxford Illustrated Austen volumes*

Also: Elizabeth Bennet’s nickname is spelled “Lizzy,” not “Lizzie.” Stop. Spelling. It. Wrong. It’s almost as bad as calling our beloved Jane “Miss Austin.”

You buy yet another edition of a set of books you already own several editons of.

Yes, my friends, I just ordered the Oxford Illustrated Jane Austen.

My reasons are very good, though. First, it includes some works which I don’t have yet– her Juvenalia, Sanditon, and The Watsons. Second, whenever you write scholarly criticism on Austen (which I’d like to do), they prefer that you cite R.W. Chapman’s editions. Which I don’t didn’t own.

And third, they were way on sale, and I just got the second part of my student loan, so I’m feeling rich.

Now I just need a nice edition of her letters. . .

So, we decided at the last minute to go see this movie tonight. By the time we got to the theater, the only available seats were on the front row.

This was not a bad thing. Not a bad thing at all. Oh, how I loved those Orlando closeups. And there were lots of them. Lots.

*coughs*

Anyway. I really, really liked this movie, and not just because of teh hawtness of Orlando (and he is quite scrumptious). The story is a good one, and I personally think it was told charmingly. Not everything in the movie always has to do with the main story line. Sometimes it’s just about life, and people–and that’s a good thing. I can see why some people wouldn’t like it, but I thought it was great. Sometimes you just need to see life from a different perspective. In the end, that’s what this movie is about– it’s a celebration of life.

And did you know that Orlando Bloom can act? I mean, really. Emotion and everything. It was gratifying for me to see, because I always suspected he could. I’ve been waiting for him to have a role like this. So glad he got one.

Watching him dance like an idiot was good, too.

I suspect that I could say more about Elizabethtown tomorrow, when it’s had a chance to sink in.

I do want to see it again, though.