Friday 8 March 2013

The Lizzie Bennet Diaries- 'It was illuminating'.

A couple of weeks ago I stumbled across something that I would never have guessed would evolve into one of the major highlights to my week.
That something was the Lizzie Bennet Diaries.
The Lizzie Bennet Diaries is a web show based around the classic novel Pride and Prejudice written by Jane Austen.
 The show, styled as a series of vlog entries by the character Elizabeth 'Lizzie' Bennet is a modernised adaptation of the book and each week two videos are uploaded onto Lizzie's channel in which she spills the beans on events such as her sister Jane's romantic entanglement with the handsome Bing Lee to her own encounters with the mysterious figure that is William Darcy.

Firstly, I have to applaud the writers, actors, directors and anyone else who was involved in the making of such a wonderful adaptation of Austen's novel. The series is truly a fantastic creation that I am sure has made many people more susceptible to Austen's works and the growing world that is online web series.
I for one am one of those people.

Originally, and as much as I hate to admit it, I probably would have looked at Pride and Prejudice gingerly, fearful that I wouldn't be able to understand what was happening because I mean come on its like 200 years old and the language would be far too complicated for me to understand. I can honestly say however that was probably one of the stupidest things I have ever said in my life.
I read the book, it was awesome and probably one of the best books I've read in ages (aside from TFIOS by John Green which is one of those rare books that has managed to make me both laugh and cry), and I think I owe a HUGE thank you to the Lizzie Bennet Diaries for getting me there. 
The series,which by the way consumed my entire Saturday night as you can imagine kept me glued to my computer screen hugging a pillow and gasping each time a new revelation to the story was revealed.
I grew to love the characters, each and every one of them and they made my previous reading experience of the book even more enjoyable as an entire new dimension was added to the story.

Lizzie is every bit of the complex character that she is in the book, even more so perhaps due to the seemingly direct relationship we as the audience have with her character. With social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter playing their part alongside the weekly vlogs you genuinely feel as though these characters are real people that exist as they interact on these formats and with the audience.
Hank Green and Bernie Su you really are geniuses! You've brought us something new and unique that I am sure will long be remembered, watched and loved after the series comes to a close on the 28th March 2013. I for one, am extremely grateful that you took the chance in making the series happen and making me aware not only of how great web series can be but how one book can interact on so many levels with so many people in a way I never imagined it could.
I could probably talk/write for ages on the details of each character but I want to leave this post with one final note.
Hopefully we will see more online book adaptations from you and others in the future but I just wanted to say, before the series finishes, a huge thank you for bringing the Lizzie Bennet Diaries to life...It definitely was illuminating.  ;)

Many thanks,
 A Lizzie Bennet Diaries Fan.



     For those that haven't seen the show before, I highly recommend it to you! But be      warned they're addictive :D




3 comments:

  1. I LOVE THE LIZZIE BENNET DIARIES! I love the vlogbrothers! I started watching the LBD over the summer before I read the books. I soon realized that I should read the book before watching the videos. I love the book and the videos!

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  2. I love the LBD! I've been watching since it started, I think it is fantastic :)

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  3. I'm so glad that you posted about this. I watched episode one and am hooked. Thanks!

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