I completely agree with you!

- Josephine

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/images/078513915X/ref=dp_image_z_0?ie=UTF8&n=283155&s=books

as a teacher i clicked on this link to explore the possibility of using this in an english class, sharing with colleagues and such… but when i looked at the cover i soon remembered this post and i had to look at a little more critically…

the fact that i already don’t like the aesthetic of teen magazines had me skeptical from the start yet the ideas that Ms. Diego expressed here aided me to question a little deeper. i have questions about the intended demographic this “modernized” or “POPularized” version of P&P is aimed at? graphic novel adaptations usually catch my educator eye, but then i have to seriously examine the reasons why that is… have i lowered my expectations of students’ ability to enjoy certain “classical” or pivotal literary works? or do i think that the art form of the graphic novel adds another dimension to an already wonderful story?

either way it is becoming a little more clear that these examples and more possess qualities of both embracing AND defacing… publishing houses and marketing firms are embracing this new movement, while certain aspects of the original intent of these wonderful stories are being defaced in the process…

thanks Ms. D!!!

My two cents on this topic. I feel there are two topics.

1- Good “Art” (lit included) is a connection to Universal Truth. I HAVE read Wuthering Heights along with students, and before the Twilight frenzy even. We noticed together the effects passion have on people, the way people do “stupid” things for love, even the universal theme that people should not always get what they think they need to have. And guess what, we read it in El Lay in the 21st century!

2- Just because something is popular, makes money, is appreciated by millions of people instead of just a few hundred “arbiters of taste” doesn’t make a book, music, film, fashion, etc., a sell-out. It would be nice if everyone could support themselves by remaining unnoticed by the masses, and some people can, yet not everyone is happy riding their bike around town, staying at a Motel 6, or eating peanut butter and jelly sandwiches three or four times a month.

So, if a new cover, remix, digital re-master, Dolby 5.0 Blu-ray version opens humanity to our oneness I say it is generally a good thing. Out.

-daye.