Pride and Prejudice and Zombies vs. Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters

Q: On what factors do we judge this year’s new adaptations of classic Jane Austen? Could it be as simple as personal preference for zombies versus sea monsters? Or perhaps personal preference of Pride and Prejudice versus Sense and Sensibility? Think on that a spell while I tell you two reasons why I loved them both:

Reason #1 for embracing Pride and Prejudice and Zombies (additions by Seth Grahame-Smith) and Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters (additions by Ben H. Winters): Using the awesome drawing power of zombies and sea monsters (who can possibly resist the exuberant charm of Frankenstein’s or Loch Ness’s monsters? Not me!) brings a whole new audience for these classics. People are reading Austen for the first time; people, like me, who may never have read these Victorian fiction gems without the lure of aforementioned ghouls and sea slimeys. New Austen converts? Can I get a “Heck yes!”?

Reason #2 for devouring these books anew like you’ve never read them before: Um, they now have zombies and sea monsters: hello! Sure, you’ve seen all the movie versions and read your grandmother’s battered old copies dozens of times, but you’ve never seen Elizabeth sword-fight the undead while worrying about whether or not she secretly loves Darcy. The protagonist and supporting female cast are respected warriors in this new version of Pride and Prejudice. I can’t imagine Ms. Jane Austen herself being anything but pleased to see our 21^st century reimagining turn her main characters into feminist icons.

A: If you have to choose just one of these new classics to read, choose not based on your love of reanimated flesh versus murderous cephalopods, as both are sensationally represented. Choose not even based on the characters or storylines of your favorite Jane Austen, as, let’s face it, both novels are reminiscent of the other. Choose Pride and Prejudice and Zombies because of the aforementioned feminist manifesta excitement, the promise of unique transformation-into-zombie folklore (in this mythology, it takes months to turn once you’re bitten), and the superior marriage of authors the writing displays.

Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters boasts a vast array of surly sea-beasts, to be sure, but the writing isn’t as seamless in this one. The sea-beast plotline can easily be told from the original storyline (and as I said above, I’ve never read the originals of either novel, so I shouldn’t be able to tell…) and the sea monsters seem like an almost trivial afterthought to both the modern writer and the characters in the story. Perhaps Mr. Winters wasn’t confident enough to really dig into the story and find its new purpose with the addition of the Loch Ness monster family, or maybe Pride and Prejudice and Zombies was just too good by comparison. In either case, read Pride and Prejudice and Zombies first to whet your appetite for what might be an exciting new trend in reimagining classic novels.

Social events influence movies during filming

This review will focus on three movies that, while completely unrelated, share a certain unifying characteristic: They were all filmed in locations with actual social events occurring in and around the film production.

The resulting products are filled with a refreshing spontaneity and sense of being “alive” that was achieved both because of, and in spite of, the remarkable situations surrounding their production.

“Black Orpheus” (not rated)

This is the classic Greek story of Orpheus and Eurydice, as retold in a modern context and set in Brazil, during the time of the annual Carnaval. The story is simple and fairly straight-forward (although I won’t spoil the ending), but the movie positively shines with music and raw energy.

I tried to think of another movie that featured such a persistent beat and so many ecstatically dancing extras, but I simply couldn’t do it.

Sumptuously photographed in color, the movie lavishes attention on the Brazilian locales in which it is set. Everything in the movie seems beautiful, even the ramshackle homes the characters share with their chickens and goats.

They go to work, earn a little money, play music and dance into the night. In the world of “Black Orpheus,” such a life is paradise.

An utterly unique movie experience, masterfully directed (or perhaps “reined-in” would be a better term) by legendary French director Marcel Camus, Black Orpheus was the winner of the 1960 Oscar for best foreign language film.

“Medium Cool” (rated R)

Of the three movies featured in this column, perhaps “Medium Cool” had the most at risk during its production.

Unlike the guarantee of frenzied madness during Carnaval or a rock concert, “Medium Cool” was based partially on an assumption that something dramatic was going to occur during the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago. Luckily for the production, something dramatic happened there — in a big way.

The first “fiction” film directed by legendary cinematographer Haskell Wexler (look him up online for a list of movies he has shot — it’s mighty impressive), “Medium Cool” frames a dramatic, fictional narrative around real (and uncontrollable) events. The results are not completely successful, but the conceit is compelling and fascinating to watch.

“Medium Cool” is a time capsule, no doubt about it. The music and styles are painfully outdated, but this trait could also be the movie’s greatest strength.

It’s must-see viewing for those interested in the ’60s, fans of documentary movies, those interested in politics or those just looking for a movie pretty “far-out” of the ordinary.

“Gimme Shelter” (rated R)

If that great social phenomenon known as “The ’60s” unofficially began in Haight-Ashbury during 1967’s “Summer of Love,” and reached its zenith two years later at Woodstock, it unofficially came crashing down at the infamous free Rolling Stones concert at Altamont Speedway on Dec. 6, 1969.

Where “Gimme Shelter” differs from the other two movies in this column is that it was always intended as a documentary, with no addition of a fictitious storyline. But, like “Medium Cool,” it “benefits” from a real situation that spins utterly, violently out of control.

The movie takes for granted that audiences were already aware of the happenings at Altamont, and skillfully weaves a tapestry of foreboding from the outset. Footage of the Stones listening to radio coverage of the tragedy is interspersed between raucous footage of the earlier shows in the Stones’ 1969 tour, of which the film was originally supposed to be a straight-forward document.

By the time we get to Altamont, the suspense is at a fever pitch, and the stage is set for one of the great rock and roll tragedies. The Stones hired local Hell’s Angels as security, and as the day wore on, the Angels’ tempers grew short, and things began to get ugly.

As the day wore into night, the atmosphere got more dangerous until, partway through the Stones’ set, a concertgoer pulled a gun on Mick Jagger and was promptly knifed to death (on film) by a Hell’s Angel.

The film remains harrowing today, not just for capturing the death of a young man, but for capturing the death of an era.

~Mark- Assistant Circulation Supervisor

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Fiction titles with historical bent make fascinating reads

"The Help"

By Kathryn Stockett

Adult fiction?

In 1962, 22-year-old Eugenia “Skeeter” Phelan returns home to Jackson, Miss., after graduating from Ole Miss only to find that her mother refuses to be sated because she lacks a boyfriend and, more importantly, an engagement ring. On top of that, she no longer fits in with her childhood friends Hilly and Elizabeth, despite her best efforts to participate in their weekly bridge game and edit the Junior League newsletter.

Ordinarily she would solicit comfort and wisdom from her childhood maid, Constantine, but she disappeared while Skeeter was in her final semester at Ole Miss and no one will tell her what transpired.

Despite Skeeter’s desire to satisfy everyone, she must admit that her life is flawed. After receiving some advice from an editor in New York City, she endeavors to write a book about the lives of African-American maids in Jackson.

In researching the book, she secretly collaborates with two maids: Aibileen, a strong-willed maid who is raising her 17th white child and is doing her best to hold it together since her son died in a tragic workplace accident, and Minny, a sassy, to-die-for cook, who cannot hold a job because she is always running off at the mouth to her white employers.

The three seemingly different women have no idea how their courageous partnership will alter their lives and their community.

Kathryn Stockett is an extraordinary storyteller whose debut novel begs to be opened. Through the voices of Skeeter, Aibileen and Minny, readers will find themselves transported to the segregated South during the beginning stages of the civil rights movement and will be turning pages long into the night. Stockett’s theme may be familiar, but thanks to her commendable job of bringing history and characters to life, this book is a standout.

"Sarah’s Key"

By Tatiana de Rosnay

Adult fiction

In 1942, when the French police come to arrest 10-year-old Sarah Starzynski’s family, she locks her 4-year-old brother Michael in a secret cupboard thinking that he will be safe.

Little does she know that the French police are collaborating with the Nazis and that she, her parents and thousands of Jewish families are going to be detained in the Vélodrome d’Hiver for days without food, water or medical attention. Later, they will be transported to concentration camps outside Paris.

Sixty years later, 45-year-old American journalist Julia Jarmond is assigned a magazine article about the commemoration of the anniversary. Though she has lived in France for nearly 25 years, has a French husband and an 11-year-old daughter, she is unfamiliar with the event.

She is appalled at her own ignorance and immediately begins researching the event. In her research, she makes a discovery that causes her to reevaluate her marriage and her life.

In this fictionalized account of an event that is virtually unknown to Americans, author Tatiana De Rosnay does an extraordinary job captivating the reader. Her use of alternating chapters, told from Julia’s and Sarah’s viewpoints, is brilliant and makes this a hard book to stop reading.

~Jeana- Children's Librarian

Database lets you become a Global Road Warrior

The Vancouver 2010 Olympic Torch Relay began on Oct. 22 in Olympia, Greece, with a lighting ceremony. After a journey across Greece and the Atlantic Ocean, the torch landed in Victoria, British Columbia, and on Friday began its 45,000-kilometer (27,962-mile) journey across Canada.

If I was lucky enough to be able to accompany the torch, I might need some travel information on both Greece and Canada. Global Road Warrior can answer just about any question I might have on Greece, Canada or 173 other countries and territories around the world.

To prepare for my imaginary trip, I accessed this database from home with my library card and computer. I went to www.joplinpubliclibrary.org, moused over the “Reference” tab at the top and chose “Business.” From there I scrolled down to “Global Road Warrior” and clicked the picture of the house right by it.

I entered in my library card number at the bottom of the page. On the next page, I chose Greece from the drop-down menu on “Select a Country.”

On the left side of the screen is a list of categories containing all kinds of information on the demographics, government, culture and society of Greece.

Since I need to pack, I determined what clothes were needed by clicking on “Climate.” I saw for October we could expect 50- to 70-degree temperatures with 65 percent humidity. Under “Money and Banking,” I found that the currency in Greece is the euro; I also found images of the bank notes and the coinage.

The “Travel Essentials” category addressed visa and passport (I’d need a passport and a short-stay visa, plus a return ticket), immunizations needed (yellow fever), tipping (not expected but rounded up is appreciated) and emergency numbers.

Because I’d travel cross country with the torch, I checked out the “Transportation” category on how I’d move about the country. The “Communications” and “Technical/Internet” categories gave me information on telephone and Internet access. I also looked under the “Electrical” link to find out what adapter I may need for a hair dryer.

Under the “Businesswoman” category I found that I should travel with a companion, or face some form of verbal harassment — plenty of the more than 10,000,000 men and women in Greece consider a lone female traveler fair game.

I would probably need to communicate in Greek sometime during our travels, so the “Essential Terms” category is, well, essential. We can find “good morning” (kalimera), “please” (parakalo), “thank you” (efcharisto), hotel (xenodhokheion) and many other words and phrases that would be useful.

Once I’ve said “chérete” (goodbye) to Greece and made my way with the torch to Canada, I would need to consult a map. The relay starts in Victoria and ends in Vancouver, which is only 69 kilometers away. So I need a map to figure out how to stretch that journey to 45,000 kilometers.

Global Road Warrior has several maps for each country, including political, population, physical and outline maps. Use the “Zoomify” feature to enlarge and navigate around the maps. You can also download and print the maps as PDF files.

I checked out the “Points of Interest” category because I would tour much of the country with the torch. Places include cultural and historic sites, museums, architectural wonders, parks, zoos and natural sites. The Photo Gallery gave a preview of some of the sites I would visit.

Since I’d spend 106 days traveling with the torch, I checked out the “Society and Culture” category to see what we may be eating and how Canadians feel about punctuality, religions, holidays and festivals — I could watch hockey and lacrosse.

I also looked at “Superstitions and Folklore” because I don’t want to commit a faux pas (French is one of the official languages of Canada). For instance, you wouldn’t want to shoo a black cat away at a wedding — that’s considered good luck.

On the same note of not offending our hosts, I looked at “Stereotypes,” both what foreigners think and what Canadians accept about themselves and their county. For example, even though the world may think lumberjacks and outdoorsmen comprise the population, the reality is that modern Canada is a high-tech service economy.

There is much more to explore in the Global Road Warrior database on both these countries and many others. Even though I probably won’t get to travel with the Olympic torch, I might go to some exotic locale or need country information for a homework assignment.

~Patty - Reference Librarian