Lady Bertram's Pug

Do you want more cake????

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This week's meme is once again a TikTok. In class, we had a brief discussion on the feminism involved in Bridget Jones Diary and if it supports the idea of feminism or instead hurts. This TikTok creator brought attention to a few interesting points about the Bridget Diaries, and in fact, I think her opinion towards it is very indifferent.

  On one side, I agree with the idea that the Bridget Jones Diary hurts the concept of feminism since Bridget is very much entangled with the societal pressure to find a man to be happy and not very career-oriented. Therefore she does not represent the typical girl boss feminist. However, on the other side, Bridget is very (trigger warning) relatable. She represents a very realistic mold of a woman and talks very openly about sometimes taboo subjects such as shaving and sexual urges. Therefore although Bridget does not fit the typical girl boss mold, she still serves as a crucial example to girls to show that we are all not perfect; we sometimes have boy problems or sometimes show up to parties in bunny costumes.

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Unlike last week when I searched Fanny Price and Bridget Jones Diary on TikTok, I was greeted by 12 million videos under the hashtag. I discovered multiple videos with topics ranging from postmodern feminism to Hugh Grant thirst traps. However, this one, in particular, took my attention, especially after the conversation in last week's class. The girl in this TikTok describes "that she does not have an original personality" and insists she stole it from Bridget in Bridget Jones Diary. I thought this was a funny concept given our discussion in class because this implies she is a watered-down version of Bridget which is a watered-down version of Lizzie Bennet. Therefore what is her personality, and how many iterations of this personality can happen until someone is a flat parody. This concept interests me because I wonder if you can ever remake another original content and still have the same amount of roundness as the original. Or if any remake is destined for greater flatness. Moreso, I wonder if a human race ever literature will be intrinsically flatter since every trope, and plot design has been explored. And will this concept create a hard line and distinction of great literature and where it ended in time? This concept made my mind begin working, and I felt like this TikTok was a great representation of that mental cognition.

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This week I wanted to look under the Fanny Price hashtag on TikTok specifically. To my surprise, there are just under a hundred thousand videos with the Fanny price hashtag (however, many of them don't have too many likes and popularity). I feel like both the sound and the so-called storyline fit perfectly, and I had to choose it as my meme of the week. In class, we lightly talked about the obscurity of Fanny Price being romantically involved with her first cousin and the defense that since they don't live in the same house, it isn't that bad? Right? But no. This concept is weird, probably more socially acceptable in the 18th century, but still very weird.   The sound specifically was taken from a moment from Beyoncé's concerts that went viral of a member of the audience claiming to be Beyoncé's husband. For obvious reasons, it became a very meme-able format, and I think its extension was perfect. It was also fascinating that Austen chose Fanny to marry Edmund beyond the apparent familial incest reasons. Honestly, I think both love interests in Mansfield Park were very problematic, and neither Henry nor Edmund were that great of options (and both of them were undoubtedly no Mr.Darcy). I think a much more exciting plot would be if Fanny Price ended up with Mary Crawford because the tension in that acting scene is hard to ignore. I think the weakness of both the protagonist, Fanny Price, and the love interests is one of the reasons why this Austen novel is less popular and loved than others. Overall I thought this meme was entertaining and an excellent explanation of the cousin relationship weirdness brought in the novel.  

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I stumbled upon this week's "meme," or instead of a jane shark-jumping piece of merchandise while scrolling through red bubble. In class, we discussed that Mansfield Park is one of Austen's less popular books and this fact was clear while scrolling through the red bubble. Most of the results that appeared were either about just Jane Austen or a completely different novel. However, there were a few stickers to display someone's open adoration for Mansfield Park. The seller of this sticker has three other Fanny Price quotes; however, this was the one I was most gravitated towards to select as my quote.   I think this quote perfectly sums up Fanny Price in my eyes. Her character often gets disregarded and receives hate due to her highly passive behavior (which can be frustrating at times). However, I think given Fanny's situation, her behavior makes a lot more sense. Fanny had completely changed families at the ripe age of adolescence and a family with a lot of wealth and complexities. I think Fanny struggles with passiveness as she feels she does not have the right to ask for something since the family has already sheltered her (as well as oatmeal). Fanny is an intelligent girl, and although she isn't actively participating in events in the household, she is paying attention to what she is pursuing. If anything, Fanny's passiveness might be her best skill since people often undermine her capabilities while silently observing and creating her accurate perception of those surrounding her. I think Fanny Price is an incredibly underrated character, and I believe her passiveness makes her one of the most intelligent and exciting Austen characters. Also I will be purchasing this sticker.

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  In class discussion, someone commented on what is under the impressively moveable statue of wet Darcy. This comment struck me both in the moment and after class to such an extent that I wanted to encapsulate that thought in my meme of the week. I think this somewhat erotically motivated comment speaks to the more significant phenomenon of Austen novels, the romantic and sexually charged fan base, and how that intersects with Austenites who digests her diction choice and usage of interpolated thought. Please understand me, I think there are interconnections and overlaps between those two people. However, I believe the fandoms are an exciting part of Austen literature to digest.   The comment in class regarding who fantasizes about the hand flex versus the wet darcy encompasses this initial thought. Some readers of Austen's literature prefer the more symbolic moments in her book. For example, Darcy describes his hidden and internalized feelings towards Elizabeth with a hand jolt. Other readers enjoy seeing the image of Mr.Darcy wet. In my opinion, neither is better than the other. Instead, they are both enjoyers of Austen's works (just with different motivations). It is undoubtedly impressive that the fandom could power the creation of a moveable wet darcy, and I think that's something to celebrate

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Today's meme is going back to my handcrafted TikTok Days, as evidently I made this meme. My one-pager followed a similar theme, and I guess I was so immensely moved from the cringe following the Lizzie Bennet Diaries that I decided to make my meme about the topic. The Lizzie Bennet Diaries are a series of video diaries on YouTube from the first-person perspective of Lizzie Bennet. The sound used for the video is relatively popular on TikTok and has over 265,000 videos. The sound took TikTok by storm as its format is easily accessible to make and typically follows a good event becoming destroyed by another event. Therefore this sound was an ideal choice for describing the Lizzie Bennet Diaries.   As mentioned prior, the Lizzie Bennet Diaries is set in the first perspective of Lizzie Bennet; this is a fatal flaw that forced me to have a great distaste for the YouTube series as a whole. I thoroughly enjoyed Pride and Prejudice, and one of the reasons I enjoyed the novel so much was Austen's impressive and unique writing style. Austen intricately writes each character's relationship to perfection, and some dynamics of the relationships and characters are read in between the lines. Therefore I felt much of the significant parts of Pride and Prejudice was left out since the docu-series followed the first-person perspective of Lizzie Bennet, and I felt much was left out due to both Lizzie's bias and Charlotte's "editing" style. Thus this TikTok was a perfect explanation of my opinion on LBD since I felt such a masterpiece as Pride and Prejudice was ruined by the cringe forced upon me through the docuseries.

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Why the Lizzie Bennet Diaries and Other Digital Adaptations of Novels Flop

Pride and Prejudice is a timeless novel that stands as a masterpiece of British Literature. Any remake of such a significant and perfect piece of literature is no easy feat, and many are bold to try to recreate. That is why what the Lizzie Bennet Diaries attempted is by every means brave. The lasting presence of Lizzie Bennet Diaries is best compared to the movie adaptions of Sonic: leaving audiences with dazed cringe and confusion and the lingering question why?

The first mistake of LBD is that Austen intended the novel to be read in the third person from a narration perspective. The Lizzie Bennet Diaries instead follows the first-person view of Lizzie Bennet. This flaw leads the diaries to neglect the interesting undertones and subliminal hints and messages intertwined in Austen's writing. More than that, Catherine and Jane's (as well as sometimes Lydia's inputs) into Lizzie's relations with Darcy were not entirely accurate and displayed bias that otherwise was not apparent in the novel's storytelling. The first-person narration from the perspective of Lizzie Bennet, in general, neglects much of the relationships between other characters (which admittedly is expected from a first-person perspective). However, as previously mentioned, even the relationships discussed from Lizzie Bennet's perspective felt biased and untrue to the novel's narration. Although it's interesting to see events directly from Lizzie's point of view in some parts, it generally left the audience confused with not enough accurate information on the events ensuing. Therefore the first fatal flaw is the choice of narrative perspective as it detracted from the intricate relationship details Austen successfully implemented and forced the story to not be as successfully expressly sufficient as the novel.

The second mistake is that the lasting portrayal of the web docuseries felt forced and overall cringe. One factor could be that the videos were made eight years ago, and humor, given the internet's rapidness, has evolved and changed a lot over the years, mainly since recording the videos. Another reason was the acting portrayal of the characters felt forced and, unlike the novel, made them seem, well, like characters. A crucial part of Austen's novels is that her writing complexity causes her characters to become people. If anything, the Lizzie Bennet Diaries accomplished the opposite. The characters felt like they were stiff, rigged, and in a sense, flatter than they originally appeared on the page. These factors made many episodes leave the lingering impression of overly intense cringe. All book adaptations follow a script; however, given the diaries were in a Docuseries format, the script took away from the genuinity docuseries typically provide, leading to a more intense cringe sensation.

On the other hand, Lizzie Bennet Diaries flaws are the same reasons why many novels to digital adaptations fail. Books hold so many hidden descriptions in the reader's imagination that many movies ruin that "novel magic." Every book has a different interpretation and perspective, and a director can't include every view and detail the novel holds (especially Austen novels). Even the arguably best book-to-movie adaptations such as Harry Potter and Matilda still lacked the talented authors' incredible detail in their intricate plots. Therefore it was a bold choice of the Lizzie Bennet Diaries to attempt this task; however, it should have never been done (politely).

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While scrolling through TikTok, this video appeared, and I knew it was the meme of the week. In class, we have had brief discussions about Pride and Prejudice movie adaptations, and I think this made a valid argument in support of the 1995 BBC film adaption. This sound is from the movie Borat and was initially used to compare Borat's lifestyle to his disliked neighbor. The sound on TikTok follows a similar format of comparing one thing to another, and the sound is relatively popular and trending with 50,000 videos. This TikTok shows the comparison of the two movies and makes excellent points for the similarities between the two. However, the TikTok user pointed out the critical difference for the 1995 supremacy was when Mr.Darcy is in a wet white shirt. However, on the other hand, one thing the 2005 adaptions has is the infamous hand flex scene, which in my opinion, is better than Darcy's wet white shirt. In my opinion, this scene is better since it proves greater significance to the plot as it shows Mr. Darcy's development of feelings. Moreso, the hand flex scene displays the awkward sexual tension developed later in the plot. Therefore although TikTok made great points towards the 1995 adaptation, I still side with the 2005 Pride and Prejudice.

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Okay, so initially, I was not going to post a meme this week; however, this TikTok appeared on my feed from the apparent TikTok algorithm gods, and I could not resist. Darcy has held a natural spotlight through our class discussion and the pride and prejudice fandom for much attention and thought. One reason for this fascination is his brute nature which allows for great attention when Darcy shows emotion. This TikTok clearly illustrates this point with its 417.5 thousand likes and its 2.6 million views. This trend and sound of Taylor Swift’s wildest dreams are relatively new on TikTok (not to mention this video was posted on the 17th of September), thus proving the still very present fandom surrounding Pride and Prejudice as well as Mr.Darcy. Sometimes I wonder why Mr.Darcy, out of all of Austen’s characters, has garnered so much attention and affection. But who am I kidding? Even I admittedly admire parts of Mr.Darcy, and I think his lack of emotion displays mystery, and this mystery is alluring. You never know what Mr.Darcy is thinking, and that is why when Mr.Darcy does open up about his feelings, there is an admitted honesty and attention-grabbing since occasions like this are rare for his character. Therefore this is why TikToks, like this of Mr.Darcy, briefly smiling at this sister, gains so much virality.

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It's not even a surprise that this week's meme is a TikTok. In our discussion of Sense and Sensibility, we covered the betrayal of Mr. Willoughby in the book and the hurt he caused Marianne. The scene that particularly caught my attention was when Marianne attended the ball, and Mr. Willoughby completely ignored her presence. While on TikTok, I stumbled upon this video, which quickly went viral. The video is supposed to be the classic heartwarming surprising my long-distance boyfriend; she walks, he gets emotional, they hug, blah blah blah. However, this video did not go this way, and it went viral for the opposite reason. People suspected he no longer liked her. This sound on TikTok is relatively widespread, with 50,000 videos filled with sappy romantic TikTok's, and I think this is one of the reasons this video, in particular, blew up so much. It attempted the assignment but sadly failed. This TikTok brought me back to the scene because although the boyfriend did not completely ghost the girlfriend, he reacted similarly to Mr.Willoughby. After a period of time away from a significant other, they mysteriously one was more distant than the other. Therefore this video shows substantial similarity to the book and, in my opinion, was the perfect meme for this week. The main takeaway from the scene in sense and sensibility was the betrayal and shock factor, and both the TikTok and the scene accomplish this goal. An additional factor for the choice of this TikTok is the so-called "couch guy," who is the boyfriend who goes to UVA. Go, Hoos, I guess.

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Surprise! This week's meme is not made by me (partially due to the embarrassment from last class). But still staying somewhat true to my character, it is a TikTok. In this week's class discussion of Sense and Sensibility, one character, in particular, caught my attention; Fanny. During our discussion, Fanny was portrayed as a somewhat villain and faced quite a lot of opposition and hate in the class. But I will gladly put my neck out and say I AM A FANNY SUPPORTER. While I was scrolling on TikTok, I came across this video and immediately thought of Fanny. This sound is relatively fresh, with only 20,000 videos; however, it seems to grow and become more popular each time I open the app. If you scroll on the original sound by karebearsk8, you will see a variety of videos with a similar template of "when I feel like giving up, I remember why I am working hard." After this title queue, the video normally changes to a montage of a life aspiration or something comedic. In my opinion, this video combines both a life goal and something comedic.

  This video undoubtedly describes Fanny's underlying dreams. Although Fanny never directly mentioned in the book that she would like her husband dead. We can all agree she wouldn’t oppose it. Additionally I think Fanny would agree her life would be a lot easier, and at the end of the day, she would be finally in control of the inheritance. She would no longer have to emotionally manipulate John into doing her deeds. Fanny could complete her deeds by herself like a proper girl boss who no longer needs to gaslight. In my unpopular opinion, Fanny is not a mean character; she is just selfish and wishes to live a lavish life like the TikToker who made the video. Although this intention doesn't make Fanny a good character, I don't think it necessarily makes her an evil one either; instead, I look at her as a human. No human is perfect, and some have different goals in life. For example, one may strive to create world peace, and Fanny might seek inheritance and her husband's death. Good and evil are subjective, and who is really to say which one is better than the other. In other words, Fanny is a girl boss who needs to keep up the excellent work and strive for the goals shown in TikTok.

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No surprise at this point, but I created this meme, and once again, it is a TikTok. However, unlike previous weeks this meme is focused upon Sense and Sensibility and the character Marianne. Austen's choice to typecast in a sense (no pun intended) the Dashwood sisters to one specific theme of Sense and the other Sensibility struck me as inspiration for the weekly meme. Myself leaning more into my sensibility side recently, I chose to do the TikTok from the point of view of Marianne. This sound on TikTok is trending at the current moment and has 70,000 videos. The sound is usually used to describe liking one thing and disliking the next (most of the time ironic). Hence I thought this was a perfect sound to describe the character of Marianne, who uses and embodies the term sensibility and tries to ignore any sense given by her sister Elinor. Marianne embodies the term sensibility since she is impulsive, acts upon emotions, spontaneity, and follows her heart over her head. On the other hand, she ignores all sense her sister Elinor embodies: reason, conservative emotions, a general clear-headed methodical approach to life. A perfect example of this contrast is how others know open and transparent Marianne's love and admiration for John Willoughby. At the same time, Elinor kept her love for Edwards Ferris under wraps and unknown to the public. Therefore, I thought this TikTok was a perfect opportunity to describe this dichotomy and show Marianne's genuine ignorance towards sense and her sole interest in being solely about sensibility.

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Once again, this meme evidently was made by myself. Like last week, I chose to make a TikTok focused on Isabella Thorpe's; however, this time, I was inspired by her decision to pursue Fredrick Tilley over James Morland. While reading the scene where engaged Isabella chose to dance with Fredrick in front of Catherine, I remember thinking Isabella is incredibly bold and knew this was the subject for the following meme. The sound itself on TikTok is old (relative to the fast-paced nature of TikTok). The sound typically describes situations where the answer is ironically apparent, yet the dubbed voice cannot distinguish between clear, correct decisions. This sound was relatively popular at its peak, with over 100,000 videos posted, with the original video amounting to almost half a million likes.

Therefore I thought this sound was a perfect choice to describe Ms. Thorpe's actions as her decision to pursue Fredrick Tilley was ironically comical given many reasons. First of all, Isabella chose to openly dance with Fredrick in front of Isabella, who is her fiancé's sister and her best friend. Additionally, in this scene, Catherine's naive disbelief shows how shocked Catherine was by her "best friend's" actions. Isabella was freshly engaged; she wasn't just "talking" to James but was engaged: a contractual promise of an everlasting romantic relationship that she immediately threw away at the opportunity for more money. Furthermore, Isabella openly tells Catherine there are "multiple ways" to become sisters following her dancing with Mr.Tilley, adding to the irony overall. This scene was comical from multiple perspectives, and I think this meme perfectly fits the ironic comedic undertones of the scene.

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      First off (if it wasn't already evident), I made this meme. This scene in Northanger Abbey grabbed my attention following the class discussion last Wednesday, and I knew I had to meme it. Immediately. This sound on TikTok is relatively new; however, I knew it was the perfect sound to fit this scene of a minor accomplishment. If you visit this sound on TikTok, you will find by relatively large 80,000 videos with content similar to this: very minute and peculiar accomplishments others have achieved (most commonly relationship-related). For example, one video underneath this sound says, "when I only stalk his mom's Facebook and not his dad's." Therefore this sound is used for comedy and commonly to display weird romantic accomplishments.     Jane Austen is a brilliantly snarky comedic writer, and this scene where the girls are chasing in front of the boys is an excellent example of her snarky talent. Austen's hyperbolic use of "only" makes this joke clear while also developing the boy crazy character, which is Isabella. Moreover, this scene contrasts the protagonists' character by displaying her general lack of interest towards boys compared to her close friend Isabella who is the total opposite. Given this context, the scene where Isabella "only" looks back three times at the two boys fits perfectly.

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First off, with all honesty, I did not find this meme myself. However, my friend stumbled upon it, chuckled, and decided to send it to me with free will. This meme (similarly to the video shown in first class) pokes fun at the contrast between the prim and proper asteria of pride and prejudice and the violent cartoon nature of knuckles. Unlike the fight club comparison, the knuckle parallel accomplishes all the tasks for a successful meme. One of Pride and Prejudice's themes in the novel is the uptight English society and the strict gender norms. One of the central norms of regency English societies is that the women's role is to serve their male counter apart and act with politeness and decency. Jane Austen commonly emphasizes this status quo in her books and reveals her distaste for such norms.

  Knuckles' placement serves as the complete opposite of these Victorian norms and originates from the virtual universe of Sonic. Knuckle serves a special place in that community as the manic and violent fox. This stark parallel creates humor not only in the character contrast but the format. The movie format of fight club is closer to the book format of pride and prejudice. Knuckles' cartoon video game environment creates a starker contrast to Jane Austen's novel. Thus, the meme becomes even more humorous than the video comparison of fight club and Jane Austen while still keeping the primary contrast of prim and proper regency England with violence and manic spirits such as those shown in fight club.