Writing Wednesday: Darkly Dreaming Dexter, a TV show better than the original book? MADNESS.

"Another beautiful Miami day.

 Mutilated corpses with a chance of afternoon showers."

- Darkly Dreaming Dexter, Jeff Lindsay

As any aspiring writer should, I try to always read the original book of a movie/TV adaption. The only book I refuse to do this for is Big Fish because I'm too scared of the possibly of not liking it. But everything else, I want to read the original, I want to support the author. 

So naturally, as a fan of the Dexter television series I needed to read the book. I finished it Tuesday afternoon, and it took me far too long to read a book that short. I had a hard time feeling compelled to read it since I knew the outcome, at least until the book took a weird turn that didn't occur in the first season of the show. Now that I'm done, I feel weird writing a review of this book because I've never truly and completely liked a TV/movie more than the original book. Live-action and even cartoon adaptions never do the author's words justice. But that's not the case with this book. 

I could tell he was a newbie writer. Things were repetitive. For example, Dexter had to keep telling us he was an unfeeling monster. And we got it after the first chapter. It didn't need to be spelled out for us, after he murders someone. The book also felt rushed, and not thought out until the end. It was as though, Jeff Lindsay knew the beginning and ending but didn't know how to connect the two. 

The best difference is Deb. Even LaGuerta. I'm glad they get more screen time in the series, but they are better characters in the book. Rita too! Oh my gosh, she's in the book so little I almost forgot about her. There's stuff about each of the women that I love in the show, but things I love just as much (if not more) in the book that they changed. One thing I realized during the last season of the show is that it's pseudo-feminist. They try to tell us the women are strong and independent but the women all rely on the men for just about everything. The men rely on no one, not even each other. Deb is like that in the book, but LaGuerta isn't. She's more sexualized in the book, but a slight bit more badass. 

Overall, I would give the book a 2.5. Feel free to voice your opinions in the comments!

Also, I'm excited for the new season even though some think it should have ended early. What do you think?

No Trash to Talk Tuesday: Jay Gatsby says 'old sport' at least 40 times. I counted.

I saw The Great Gatsby on Monday, and the music was the best part. The music made that movie. I don't even like Lana Del Rey but I love "Young and Beautiful" and I loved all the music. I've always loved Jay-Z but now I love him even more. I understand people finding the music random, but the music really did capture the craziness of the party, and it showed the timelessness of the story.

Jay Gatsby in the movie, is more likeable to me than he ever was in the book. In the book, he seemed emotionless and more obsessed with the idea of winning Daisy than actually in love with her. I never trusted his love of her in the book. But Leo's face in the movie proved his love of her. I'm a little smitten with Leonardo DiCaprio though... I might be biased.

Apparently, some think whether you like Daisy in the movie makes or breaks whether you like the movie at all. I don't agree. I didn't love or hate Daisy. Carey Mulligan did a very faithful job to who Daisy is in the books. A beautiful, little fool.

Overall, I would give The Great Gatsby a 4. Judge me all you want for that score, but Jay-Z deserves an Oscar.

Feminist Friday: Emotionless Elena Gilbert

You used to not be weak!

Am I the only person who liked soulless, emotionless Elena Gilbert?

Normally, I kind of hate Elena. I think she's gorgeous and I sort of get why the characters all love her but I find her annoying. She's always crying and causing herself more problems. The girl has a lot of problems, and her life is a little shitty. I think that's why I had a lot of respect for the intense Elena that finally gave into her emotions.

I never fully saw her as emotionless, I just saw her as finally stopping caring about all the people and things in her life that made her life worse. It doesn't make sense to me that everyone judged her for behaving that way. Her brother died. Her entire family died. She's a vampire. She never wanted to be a vampire.

Emotionless Elena was finally standing up for herself, and wasn't allowing her heart to tossed around by two asshole brothers. She was making decisions for herself and taking control of her life. That meant she was being a bitch, but after all the shit her friends put her through I think she deserved to be free of them.

I hated everyone saying, "We need to fix, Elena." She wasn't broken. She was depressed and empty from losing everyone in  her life that she could count on 100% of the time. Only Jeremy, her aunt, and I'm assuming her parents were ever consistent with her. The rest of her love interests, and her best friends have hurt her and betrayed her multiple times.

I love the Vampire Diaries as a guilty pleasure show, but Elena reverting back to her old self might make me stop watching. What do other people think? Evil emotionless Elena too much for you?

Trash Talk Tuesday: Review of The House of the Scorpion

"Very dark indeed is his majesty when he wants to be. 

When he was young he made a choice, 

like a tree does when it decides to grow one way or the other. 

He grew large and green until he shadowed over the whole forest, 

but most of his branches are twisted."

-Nancy Farmer, The House of the Scorpion

There are some children's books that I read and my brain screams "How is this for children!?" Some people argue that children aren't capable of grasping the concept they are reading. I don't agree with that. I believe that children understand the horrors and sadness they are reading/watching/hearing but they don't have the words yet to explain their grief. I thought about this a lot throughout the course of reading Nancy Farmer's The House of the Scorpion.

I wish I had read this book as a child. It is a shocking and intense introduction to science fiction. I wanted to cry so many times throughout reading it. 

My only "trash talk" about this book is that I wouldn't call it feminist. The women were mostly bad mothers because they cared about political issues or evil or cute little girls who want to save kittens. Only Celia was a feminist character but even that could be argued. 

This was a great coming of age novel that dealt with too much for one child. Which is why I wanted to cry so often. I suggest this book for people who love science fiction and children's stories. You should also read it if you want to read a story about a character of color. 

The House of the Scorpion is about science, corruption, power, and what it means to be human. Strangely, it is both a celebration of the will to live and the acceptance of death. My overall score would be a 3.5.

Feminist Friday: Naked Women in Video Games

"What's an appropriate way to ask about all the boobs?"

- Emily McGreevy

I'm not what one would call a "gamer" but I enjoy video games, and I love them as a new medium for story telling. What I don't love is the need for women to constantly be naked and large-breasted in the games.

Over the weekend I went to an art school in LA to meet the concept artists for the game God of War: Ascension. My boyfriend loves the God of War games, and in preparation for GOW:A which came out in March I sat through (sometimes slept through) his replaying of all the games. All the women are naked. Nipples out and everything. There is one sex scene in every game where the sex you have gives you experience or health points. That's ridiculous as much as it's hilarious. In the gallery of the art show there was one painting showing the progression of a character, and in each she just gets more and more naked. Its like the art director was like "Maybe show a little more boob in the next version." 

I asked one of the character artists about the use of boob, and his response was along the lines of:  "We just draw the character and leave that space open." I think the games are awesome, but something about the need to show nipple bothers me. 

Soon after my boyfriend posted this article The Real Problem With That Controversial Sexy Video Game Sorceress to one of our best friends, with whom we talk about this subject often. It got me thinking about the subject even more. This woman's breasts look like they each have their own heart beat as she moves! 

What do you think? Am I a crazy straw feminist for being bothered or should the video game industry evaluate its boob usage?

Trash Talk Tuesday: Watchmen and Philosophy

"All we ever see of stars are their old photographs."

- Dr. Manhattan, Watchmen

 

Over the summer between my sophomore year and junior year of college I took a Graphic Novel class (perks of being a Creative Writing major), and one of the comics we read was Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons' Watchmen and it blew my mind. I then watched the movie, and was intrigued but as usual disappointed by changes made in the adaption from book to movie. 

I also discussed the comic with several people, including my class. I was struck to find that not everyone loved Dr. Manhattan. He is my favorite character, and probably my favorite superhero. Quickly, I was taught about the theory that of the characters in Watchmen whichever one you side with, or call your favorite states a lot about your personality and outlook on life. I was told to read Watchmen and Philosophy: A Rorschach Test edited by Mark D. White. I finally read it, and while reading it I also re-read the comic and then upon completion re-watched the movie. 

Review of Watchmen and Philosophy: A Rorschach Test edited by Mark D. White:

Genius and thought provoking. I drunkenly talked about the philosophy of being stoic for hours (apparently). At first I felt as though the articles were hating on Dr.Manhattan but that changed. I wish women in relation to the comic were discussed more, there is a lot to say about both Silk Spectre's. But the philosophy was easy to understand and it gave my brain an exhausting but exciting run. I loved it. I love Alan Moore as well, and I hope to read more of his work. In response to one of the articles I have this to say: Watchmen IS literature. How is that a question?

Best articles:

J. Keeping, Superheroes and Supermen: Finding Nietzche's Ubermensch in Watchmen

Christopher M. Drohan, A Timely Encounter: Dr. Manhattan and Henri Bergson

Andrew Terjesen, I'm Just a Puppet Who Can See the Strings: Dr. Manhattan as a Stoic Sage

 Sarah Donovan and Nick Richardson, Watchwomen

For the movie, I have this to say:

Zack Snyder or whoever had the decision making power to do so, ruined the ending. I did not like or approve of the change. BUT: The music of the film was genius. If the comic could have music in it, then it would be pure perfection. The scene of Bob Dylan's Times They Are a-Changin' was an inventive way of showing the influence the Minutemen had on history, and the way we see the world today. And Adrian Vedit saying "War is obsolete" with the Twin Towers in the background was intense for anyone who was in America on 9/11.  

 I would give this book a 4.5, Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons' a 5, and the movie I would give a 3.5. 

Now what should I read next?