#A modern retelling of a classic

[shesamreads]

Is Rupert a vampire that turns into a mosquito? Is someone going to die in the bread oven?

I lost my dad to cancer. I know that everyone grieves differently, and losing a spouse is different that losing a parent, but Rupert is being absolutely awful. Even using that as an "explanation, not an excuse" is bullshit.

Also, this is how I'm picturing Rupert

(Colin Robinson from What We Do in the Shadows) (I'm woefully behind on this show)

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OH DAMN. GET FUCKED, RUPERT

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Ok, but you haven't bought the house and you haven't paid for the house and you have even PUT AN OFFER IN ON THE HOUSE. How do you figure it's yours, Rupert?

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oh shit

OH SHIT

did Michael kill Rupert? Is he going to cook Rupert in the bread oven? Will anyone miss him, since he works for himself and he's a widower and he "wants to leave the UK"?

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Ok, Michael. Make your lies believable.

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This novella has a lot of Lamb to the Slaughter vibes.

[swordsandflowercrowns]

there are two wolves inside of me. one is yelling that authors have a duty to accurately depict classical cultures in their retellings and not impose modern expectations onto the stories. the other is yelling for them to completely twist the focus and narratives and morals to better convey the current cultural zeitgeist because reception of myths is not only fascinating but actively creating material for me to study. both wolves are historians.

[cannibalistic-vampirefag]

romeo and juliet modern retelling where instead of poison juliet jumps off a cliff and then romeo follows her but she actually had a hidden parachute so there's the split second where they're looking at each other and then she opens the parachute while he keeps falling. and post.

[sukibenders]

Me, when I see modern retellings of Greek myths that are actually worse than the original---- from woobifying some gods and making them innocent meow meows to demonizing and villainizing others (eg. Demeter and, yes, even Hera), ignoring how they are morally grey and can't just be lumped in with a modern viewpoint at all times, making the goddess and other female figures "girlboss" but also riddled with undertones of misogyny/internalized misogyny and victim blaming (you see this a lot with retellings for Medusa, especially regarding Andromeda because if they aren't making her a girlboss than they hate on her for being a damsel, which isn't even bad, or even make her the "other woman" 😭), or make characters like Perseus the bad guy, even though he was literally sent/went on a dangerous, life threatening quest to save his mother (and himself lowkey) from an abuser and then went to save Andromeda, who he loved even though these retellings try to say otherwise, from death:

[wuntrum]

bro last night was a sims 2 machinima

[pink-inthenights-blog]

I could only wish that modern retellings of greek or classic literature of feminism doesn't center around the stereotypical girlboss mentality, being quirky for the sake of being different, and always complaining rather than embracing.

I understand the message, really I do but I'm so sick of reading stories with female protags either passing up a perfectly good opportunity for them just for some guy or acting as if a parrot, a puppet of the author to voice their frustration rather than building the character.

[oidheadh-con-culainn]

i have a note in my phone that was meant to be for keeping track of my opinions about various retellings so i could eventually do a round up and recommend them but is PURELY just me bitching about them at this point

it's fun to see the common threads in my bitchiness tho. "why the fuck is merlin ENGLISH" being one that shows up a few times

[samglyph]

Hadestown… good

[francesderwent]

I can’t take it anymore.

you realize, don’t you, that they haven’t made a good muppet retelling since 1996? I understand that Jim Henson had already died at that point, but a lot of the old guard was still deeply involved. and his son directed both A Muppet Christmas Carol and Muppet Treasure Island, and he hasn’t been involved in anything since, except in an executive producer role.

the Muppets themselves--the characters, the puppets--have a kind of magic. sure. but the fact that I haven’t seen anyone on here mention Muppets Most Wanted ever, let alone the NBC series or the Disney+ “improv” show, means that their magic has a limit. the story has to be told by somebody who gets it. the Muppet properties that we all know and love were made by a group of friends, many of whom had been working together for literal decades. you can’t just expect whoever’s calling the shots at Disney to throw Kermit and Gonzo into your favorite classic novel and create something of the same caliber, let alone with the same heart.

[eoneill18]

I want a modern retelling of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, where Dr Jekyll is just a chill dude, with some issues. And Mr Hyde is a snobby, Victorian era Gentleman, who struggles to keep his disgust in check.

basically,

Jekyll: Sup

Hyde: Unhand me you peasant!

[shesamreads]

For a 4 hour book, this took me a long time to finish. Which is unfortunate, because these books, and this universe, and Seanan's voice is lovely. Not knocking the book, just my brain and my time management, and my life.

This was a bittersweet story, since we know what happens in Jack and Jill's future. It was an interesting look into what made them them. Coming home, such as it was, was cruel, but lets you see how they got set on their courses.

"This, you see, is the true danger of children. They are ambushes, each and every one of them."

It's true, though. I love my ambush, but dammit. I wasn't ready.

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"It can be easy, when looking at children from the outside, to believe that they are things. Dolls designed and programed by their parents to behave in one manner, following one set of rules.

It can be easy, when standing on the lofty shores of adulthood, not to remember that every adult was once a child, with ideas and ambitions of their own.

It can be easy, in the end, to forget that children are people, and that people will do what people will do, the consequences be damned."

A lot of people need to read this, and then reread this.

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"He couldn't imagine a circumstance under which he would touch her ever again."

I want to hit Chester so fucking bad. I had an easy birth with a caring husband (who almost passed out), I can't imagine this life, this relationship.

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"...before they got to be too much trouble, and she [Gemma Lou] forgot how to love them. That was what their mother said, anyway."

Jesus Christ. These people don't deserve kids. No wonder they find a door.

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It's interesting that Jill is the one that fell on the steps down to their door, when, in the rhyme, Jack is the one that fall first.

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Where the Wild Things Are reference! (my favorite book.)

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"The moon is the friendliest of the celestial bodies, after all. Glowing warm and white and welcoming, like a friend who wants only to know that all of us are safe in our narrow worlds, our narrow yards, our narrow, well considered lives.

The moon worries. We may not know how we know that, but we know it all the same. The moon watches, and the moon worries, and the moon will always love us, no matter what."

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So, I know the story of these men, to an extent.

But I have to say, with the descriptions provided in this book, I'm with Jack.

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Jack is gay! I thought for sure Jack was going to fall in love with the Doctor, but she's in love with Alexis! I have chills!

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After a brief break, and a library renewal, we're back at it!

And Jill is still The Worst.

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Goddammit, Jill. Leave your sister alone. Leave your sister's people alone.

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"We will leave them there. There are some things that do not need to be seen to be understood."

Damn, Seanan. You have a way with words.

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"If our sympathy is more for the first of them, well, we are only human. We can only look on the scene with human eyes, and judge in our own ways."

Harsh, but true. We probably do feel more sympathy for Jack. But Jill needs sympathy, or pity, too. She was let down by every adult, just like Jack. She was let down by a monster that pretended to love her, and then thrown aside at an inconvenience.

And, at the end of the first book, Jack and Jill go back to their home. And Jill will be resurrected, and will still have lost everything there, too. She can't become a vampire after she's been brought back.

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What a way to start a book. What a way to bring life into the world! To have kids for the clout, because it will make you look better to coworkers and peers. No wonder jack and Jil turned out like they did.

Also, this is read by the author, and I like her voice. (the author who is also Mira Grant! No wonder I like these books, I like her other books, too.)

[tooturtly]

Everyday I live with the knowledge of my greatest sin: unintentionally getting one of the Classics professors to read Lore Olympus.

[aidenwaites]

The tragedy of watching two very good video essays only to discover its the only two video essays the creator has made so far

[thebaronmunchausen]

will file under "beacon of hope for Philippine cinema"

[virginwithasthma]

First off, this post was mainly about the Dorian Gray Netflix situation (and other unfortunate instances).

Secondly a retelling, while being a new version of a story that can be different in one or two ways, still has a duty to be faithful to the original. If you change the central tenets of the story, that's a whole different story . Creatives are allowed to be inspired by and create new stories that draw from already existing work. The problem comes when people brand completely different stories as retellings.

"Modern retelling" and it's a blatant misinterpretation of the original text

[thoodleoo]

>looking for a new retelling of ancient myth

>ask the reviewers if the book is classical reception or modern tropification

>they don't understand

>i pull out a diagram explaining the difference between what engages with ancient sources and depictions of the story and what relies on reduction of the story to its most marketable aspects

>they laugh and say "it's a good retelling"

>read the book

>its tropification