Jinjer 53: Telework, Teleschool, or Telenothing?

[Topaz]

5 hours ago, neuroticcat said:

YES! My blood pressure rises just thinking about that third one. They put old Anne in WW2 battlefields. Total rubbish.

I’ve never watched any of them because of this. Rilla of Ingleside is one of my all time favourite books and started my interest in WWI and I hated the idea of that being altered.

I went on a battlefield tour last summer and we passed a cemetery where men who died at Courcelette were buried, and visited the Canadian memorial at Vimy Ridge both of which made me think of Anne and co.

[Meggo]

22 hours ago, AussieKrissy said:

 

there is another best friend in between Diana and Anne a male. So I’m off put straight away. You don’t get between bosom Friends. I’m pretty sure from the brief bits I watched he is struggling with his sexuality.
I get that young children would have been struggling with their sexuality back then and been in a worse situation than most kids these days. But I was like omg I turned it on for Anne Shirley, Gilbert and Diana etc. I sighed and turned it off. I just wanted pure Anne stories.  Funnily enough  I didn’t have the same absolute rage feelings I had for this series that I had for the final Anne of green gables movie by that Kevin director guy The war one starring Megan follows and Jonathan crombie, rip his beautifulness. I wanted to fly to Canada and shoot that director for the travesty he made of that movie.. Anne’s “other” love interest in the movie  is Aussie. I have found it hard to look at him since. That is my most rage inducing. That movie was shitness to the high heavens and nothing of the books. I was so upset I cried. Lol 

 

That was HORRIBLE. If it had been two other actors entirely - fine, touching story. But THAT was not Anne & Gilbert (RIP Jonathan Crombie). That's not anywhere close to their own time line (I think their sons went to WW1) and Anne loved Gil deeply. I don't think she would have seriously turned her head. At all. I was angry about that show too. 

6 hours ago, neuroticcat said:

Yes! I am a die hard Anne and LMM fan and loathed Anne with an E. I barely made it through season 1. I wanted to like it because it seemed they were going to explore Anne’s optimism as a coping mechanism for her trauma. Which they kind of did, but then she rallied pretty quickly. It’s like they took the story and said: how can we make this preach with current values? It’s really cringeworthy and IMO full of tokenism and savior-ally-stuff

Gilbert takes off to sea and ends up in the Caribbean where he learns about racism and ends up bringing a Black sailor back to PEI so everyone in Avonlea can learn how to operate by current anti racist values. Of course Gilbert and Anne have somehow managed to not inherit the racism of Avonlea. Also despite all Gilbert’s  world travels he’s still pining for schoolgirl Anne.

Aunt Josephine is a lesbian and throws a magnificent gala that is so anachronistic I could barely stand it. Anne declares Josephine “so brave” and someone at the party tells her she likes Anne’s “pixie cut.” Dianna is stodgy and struggles with homophobia. 
 

There’s also a closeted boy at the Avonlea school who doesn’t fit in because he’s artistic and quiet. And Diana’s parents are Uber rich and snobby and selfish. Stereotypes and preachiness abound but Anne somehow comes through thoroughly modern and woke. 
 

And there’s also a plot line where con men come to Avonlea with some gold digging scheme. I mean, it’s really so bad.  LMM would be rolling in her grave. 

It could have been interesting to explore what a relationship for a lesbian at that time might have actually been like (LMM herself was intensely homophobic and wrote about it in her journals) or to tell some of the stories hinted at in LMM books about the racism with the French speaking hires workers. But instead they made everything so cliche and smug and then went completely off script.

WHY CAN’T ANY ANNE ADAPTATION just tell the stories? The books are amazing but every director decides to spice them up and it’s horrible.

YES! My blood pressure rises just thinking about that third one. They put old Anne in WW2 battlefields. Total rubbish.

What the WHAT?? I didn't watch it - because I am terrified remakes will ruin my favorites. But WHAT? Gilbert travels the world? He's far too busy in school and becoming a doctor. 
Diana's parents weren't rich. I felt like they might be a TINY bit better off that Marilla & Matthew (or certainly more free with their money for puffed sleeves). 

And Matthew - oh sweet Matthew. The man who played him in the Megan Follows version was SPOT on. And I cried when he died. In the book, in the show. All of it. 
What about Davey & Dora - couldn't they cover their stories? 

[seraaa]

2 hours ago, Topaz said:

I’ve never watched any of them because of this. Rilla of Ingleside is one of my all time favourite books and started my interest in WWI and I hated the idea of that being altered.

I went on a battlefield tour last summer and we passed a cemetery where men who died at Courcelette were buried, and visited the Canadian memorial at Vimy Ridge both of which made me think of Anne and co.

WWII! But that would make the character ages all wrong?

I see that John Macarthur of Grace Community Church, Masters Seminary and being a celebrity pastor fame has been having a week.

- he won a court challenge against LA county to allow indoor worship at church 

- He's caused discussion because he was  reportedly on a phone call with Trump, and said that he and the President talked about how Christians "could not vote Democratic" because of all the immoral behaviour they support. The bit that seems to have caused the most ruckus is that he said "any real true believer would be on your [Trump's] side". This was met with mixed reviews.

[Topaz]

6 minutes ago, seraaa said:

WWII! But that would make the character ages all wrong?

From a quick google it looks like they did strange things to the ages in the later films. It should be Anne’s grandsons fighting in WWII not her husband.

[seraaa]

15 minutes ago, Topaz said:

From a quick google it looks like they did strange things to the ages in the later films. It should be Anne’s grandsons fighting in WWII not her husband.

Ahh I see! That is a total warp of the timeline

[neuroticcat]

10 hours ago, Topaz said:

From a quick google it looks like they did strange things to the ages in the later films. It should be Anne’s grandsons fighting in WWII not her husband.

Yes they don’t follow the story line at all. As in at. All. Gilbert and Anne have a war wedding and Gilbert goes MIA. Green Gables is run down and abandoned for some reason. Anne is tempted to an affair and then runs off to the battlefields to find him. I vaguely remember she dresses up as a nun at some point. She comes home with a war orphan whom they adopt. It’s truly terrible.

13 hours ago, Topaz said:

I’ve never watched any of them because of this. Rilla of Ingleside is one of my all time favourite books and started my interest in WWI and I hated the idea of that being altered.

I went on a battlefield tour last summer and we passed a cemetery where men who died at Courcelette were buried, and visited the Canadian memorial at Vimy Ridge both of which made me think of Anne and co.

Yes! Rilla is fantastic historical fiction and I don’t think gets enough cred. 
 

Have you read Vera Britain’s Testament of Youth? 

Edited August 25, 2020 by neuroticcat

[tabitha2]

LM Montgomery was a pretty prolific writer and I would say the Emily Books are better written and more thoughtful and more realistic than the Anne Series. If simply you read the first 2 Anne books like most Casual readers you are denying yourself a treat. I say the same for Alcott. 
 

If you must watch an adaptation with much creative licensing Watch Road to Avonlea. At least it charming and not usually cringeworthy, preachy and anachronistic. 

Edited August 25, 2020 by tabitha2

[Tenyari]

Anne with an E is a good show with a big heart, imho. Maybe it was just not made for your generations?

[AmericanRose]

I'm a big L.M. Montgomery fan - so much so I trekked out to PEI. I wasn't too keen on the Anne movies (didn't even bother with the 3rd or 4th, because... um, that wasn't Anne. Her kids fought in WWI, and her grandkids in WWII), but then, I'm more of an Emily person - I also recommend the short story collections.

That said, I did watch Anne with an E, and I liked it - it felt like a more realistic portrayal of the time period in PEI. However, it wasn't Anne. I understand why they did it - name recognition - but I feel it's a bad idea and in poor taste (at least, when the author isn't able to be part of it) to take a classic and re-work it into something totally different. It's better to just create a new show entirely.

Now I'm off to google immigration to PEI.

Edited August 25, 2020 by AmericanRose

[Topaz]

@neuroticcat Testament of Youth is another of my favourite books. Glad to meet another Rilla fan, most people either have no idea that the series was that long or much prefer the books when  Anne is younger and more central. I love those too, apart from Windy Poplars/Willows - I never really got into that one since there were so many new characters that only appeared in the one book. Anne of Ingleside was a good reterospective fill in IMO, I was surprised when I found out that it wasn’t written in order but for Windy Poplars finding that out made the book make much more sense to me.

[ScorpiousMalfoy]

4 hours ago, tabitha2 said:

LM Montgomery was a pretty prolific writer and I would say the Emily Books are better written and more thoughtful and more realistic than the Anne Series. If simply you read the first 2 Anne books like most Casual readers you are denying yourself a treat. I say the same for Alcott. 
 

If you must watch an adaptation with much creative licensing Watch Road to Avonlea. At least it charming and not usually cringeworthy, preachy and anachronistic. 

Emily is my favorite too! The first book especially. I love Anne, but I identify with Emily much more. I just started rereading it and it hits much different when you're an adult.

And I love The Blue Castle. But this is a totally different type then both Emily and Anne.

All in all the rereading of LM Montgomery books and Jane Austen (I adore Persuasions!!!) helped me so much in getting through all that COVID stuff. 

[Glasgowghirl]

On 8/23/2020 at 4:49 PM, Honey Beach said:

Yes! Absolutely! I even thought of looking up that BBT episode to see if they listed the artist, but decided I wasn't that interested.

Glad I wasn't the only one thinking that. 

[Tiny Bubbles]

Another Vera Britain fan here (she also wrote Testament of Experience) , as well as the Emily of New Moon series by LM Montgomery!  Such good reads! 

[tabitha2]

I read somewhere awhile back if  Emily Starr and Laura Ingall's  ever met Anne Shirley they would find her incredibly annoying  and flakey  and Chew her up. LIW was tough and definitely not sentimental.  Anyway I just got a kick out of that.

[nolongerIFBx]

9 hours ago, Tenyari said:

Anne with an E is a good show with a big heart, imho. Maybe it was just not made for your generations?

Burn.?

 

5 hours ago, ScorpiousMalfoy said:

. . .

And I love The Blue Castle. But this is a totally different type then both Emily and Anne.

All in all the rereading of LM Montgomery books and Jane Austen (I adore Persuasions!!!) helped me so much in getting through all that COVID stuff. 

The Blue Castle makes me cry my eyes out. So does Persuasion. Probably because I relate to both of the heroines.

[princessmahina]

12 hours ago, Tenyari said:

Anne with an E is a good show with a big heart, imho. Maybe it was just not made for your generations?

What generations is it not made for? 

[Ever]

You know..... I notice Jinger is SO much better at interacting with Felicity than Jessa. Jinger is always encouraging Felicity to talk and it seems like Jessa doesn’t work w her kids at all. Has anyone seen Jessa really working w her kids? 
 

Re: Anne if Green Gables....I used to be obsessed with the books and the movie(S) when it came out. I tried Anne with an E and got ten to 20 mins in and hated it. I really want to read those books again.

[mpheels]

24 minutes ago, Ever said:

You know..... I notice Jinger is SO much better at interacting with Felicity than Jessa. Jinger is always encouraging Felicity to talk and it seems like Jessa doesn’t work w her kids at all. Has anyone seen Jessa really working w her kids? 

You mean other than the multiple times Jessa has explicitly talked about noting Henry’s delayed speech, seeking an assessment, working with him to improve his speech, and getting reassessed? We see what the producers want us to see, based on the story line they want to drive. Other than Jill sending her kids to public school, I don’t see any evidence that any Duggar kidults are doing more/less than the others to teach their toddlers. It just happens that story time and sing-song chats with Felicity fits the narrative for Jinger, while Jessa’s story is always harried mom of rambunctious toddler boys.

[AussieKrissy]

11 hours ago, tabitha2 said:

I read somewhere awhile back if  Emily Starr and Laura Ingall's  ever met Anne Shirley they would find her incredibly annoying  and flakey  and Chew her up. LIW was tough and definitely not sentimental.  Anyway I just got a kick out of that.

oh I don't know, I think Anne could win anyone over.....

[Tenyari]

14 hours ago, nolongerIFBx said:

Burn.?

 

I definitely didn't mean it as a burn. I am a 90s kid and a lot of my friends and people younger than us who I know liked it.

12 hours ago, princessmahina said:

What generations is it not made for? 

Maybe the ones who lived to see other adaptations or grew up on them? Either way, I didn't mean it in a negative way, I was just trying to piece together why everyone younger who I know liked it, and mostly older people were not fans and said it strayed away from tradition or something like that. For example, I read a few of the books as a kid because my grandma bought them for me, but a lot of the people who I know that watched the show recently have never even heard of Green Gables, because it was not big in our country while we grew up, so it was a reset, so to say for them and they came into it not knowing much about the original and liking this version. Hope that answered you.

[just_ordinary]

On 8/25/2020 at 7:36 AM, Tenyari said:

Anne with an E is a good show with a big heart, imho. Maybe it was just not made for your generations?

I don’t know? I am in my early thirties. I think it might be more of a who read the books as young girls/teenager or read and loved the book series first thing?

Just saw your answer. So it is a book first thing. If they never heard of Anne of Green Gables before, I can definitely see why they might think the show is endearing and like all the new plots. But what do they think about Anne? Because I found her character utterly annoying. Especially because in the book her annoying tendencies were balanced out more, while the show just pushed it to the brink of insufferably. Did they like her? Or were other characters their favourites? Did they realise that the plot lines regarding modern diverse characters were mostly unrealistic?

Edited August 26, 2020 by just_ordinary

[LilMissMetaphor]

I liked Anne with an E for what it was, fairly entertaining TV, but it didn't really maintain the spirit of the novels.  Anne wasn't a social justice warrior.  You could really feel the showrunners saying, "And now, let's have a plotline about residential schools", and plunking stuff like that in there.

[allthegoodnamesrgone]

On 8/23/2020 at 11:43 AM, IsmeWeatherwax said:

@Tatar-tot I love the teletubbies! When the first episode came out, its was about 10am on a weekday, my eldest was sat in her walker at 3 months old, and she laughed and cried the whole way thru and she loved it ever since ?

My son loved Teletubbies too, it was magical. It came on at 8:30 am during the week, I could put him in his bouncy chair turn on the Tubbies and go take a shower, get dressed and start the day off. And I didn't feel the least big guilty about letting my 2 month old and older baby watch 20 minutes of TV everyday. 

[tabitha2]

Like it for what it is, it’s entertaining enough but don’t ever confuse it for Anything in the LM Montgomery spirit or anything she ever wrote  or meant to say.  

[AussieKrissy]

14 hours ago, tabitha2 said:

Like it for what it is, it’s entertaining enough but don’t ever confuse it for Anything in the LM Montgomery spirit or anything she ever wrote  or meant to say.  

I have to disagree, If you are going to use the fan base and the reputation of a very famous series, show it some respect. If you wanna make something that is nothing like the original, then don't use its name or imply its name to get viewers. 

Edited August 27, 2020 by AussieKrissy
add clarification