Rabbit Hole #39: The Classics Book Tag

THE CLASSICS BOOK TAG: (I couldn't find the originator of this tag; if you know, please tell me!)

1. An over-hyped classic you really didn't like: Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
I went in to this thinking it was going to be solely about Anna and Vronsky and the love triangle; I should have known that being a Russian novel, it was going to have a much wider scope than that. I felt bogged down in the agricultural discussions and found myself not really caring about any of the characters. 

2. Favorite time period to read about: 1920s

American and British Modernism and the Harlem Renaissance are my favorite areas to read and study (my master's thesis was on Virginia Woolf). Even though the 1920s had a lot of faults, there is something about that era of change and decadence that appeals to me. 

3. Favorite fairy-tale: Little Red Riding Hood
There is so much more to this tale than simply warning children to not talk to "wolves." It has layers of rape culture, feminism, sexual politics and much more. It also proves that fairy tales are often not for children.

4. What is the classic you're most embarrassed about having not read
I'm not really embarrassed about books I haven't read yet. I've read a lot of classics, and it's impossible to read them all (unless that's all you're reading, and there's just too much good stuff out there!)

5. Top 5 classics you would like to read (soon): Giovanni's Room by James Baldwin, Passing by Nella Larsen, Lady Susan by Jane Austen, The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde, and Middlemarch by George Eliot

6. Favorite modern book/series based on a classic: Wicked by Gregory Maguire

I love backstories to well-known characters, especially villains. No one is ever completely good or evil, and our circumstances can put us into situations that require drastic measures. And sometimes the villain is actually less evil than the hero. 

7. Favorite movie version/tv-series based on a classic: Sleepy Hollow is my current favorite. 
I love the mix of the original tale with amped up paranormal events, connections to history, and a diverse cast. I also love Once Upon a Time for its twists and connections of all types of classic stories. 

8. Worst classic to movie adaptation: Beowulf (with Ray Winstone and Angelina Jolie)
This strayed so far from the original, creating a romance between Hrothgar and Grendel's mother and then between Beowulf and Grendel's mother. I'm all for leaving details out, but when you create scenes and conflicts that weren't in the original, that bothers me. (Especially since Neil Gaiman, whom I love, wrote the screenplay.)

9. Favorite edition(s) you'd like to collect more classics from:I don't really collect editions, although I'm seeing some really beautiful ones that might tempt me to change my mind!

10. An underhyped classic you'd recommend to everyone: The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Bronte

Anne is by far the most underrated of the Bronte sisters--some people don't even know she exists--and probably the most radical. Tenant is a decidedly feminist book, and it was so far ahead of its time that even Charlotte didn't approve of its themes and "coarseness."

It's a bird...It's a plane...

Xena the Warrior Princess: 1995-2001

Buffy the Vampire Slayer: 1997-2003

The Halliwell Sisters (Charmed): 1998-2006

When I was in college and my early twenties, kickass women were the norm on television. While they all had their faults, and yes, sometimes had cheesy romances, they fought for the greater good and weren't afraid to get their hands dirty or have a few punches thrown their way. They were smart, strong, vibrant women who were role models for an entire generation.

And then, they disappeared.

For the past decade, there has a been a void in the realm of female "superheroes" for all people to look up to. Fans have been clamoring for a Wonder Woman movie, or a Black Widow movie, only to be told, essentially, that female action heroes don't sell tickets. But a third reboot of Spiderman, or a second reboot of The Hulk or Superman, or another Avengers movie? No problem.

I'm not saying anything against those movies; I know they have a very avid fan base, but representation is important.

All women have a right to see themselves on the small and large screen. In all aspects, including superheroes. To say that those stories aren't important or worthwhile is to say women aren't important.

Which is why I'm glad, on the small screen at least, we're starting to see those stories again. Sleepy Hollow, Agent Carter, Once Upon a Time, and the new Supergirl series are intelligent, fun, popular shows with strong female leads. I would love to see those shows, or new shows, branch out to include more women of color (Sleepy Hollow is leading the way on this!) or LGBTQIA characters, to break the white privilege that is evident. But it's a start.

Women are superheroes every day. It's time to end here the all-boys superhero club.


**Note: Obviously, I'm talking strictly about shows with an action hero/superhero basis to them. There are a lot of other shows out there with tough, smart, and fabulous women leads!