#netflix adaptations

[hottoepecker]

[xinambercladx]

A gentle character is not weak.

I came across a video discussing "Why does Hollywood hate gentle characters?" Honestly, I wonder the same thing. Fanfiction writers and readers have a love/hate relationship with the "Mary Sue", an overly perfect, strong female (or male) character that is a sassy extrovert who always gets the upper hand if not in battle, but definitely in conversations. Does anyone else feel like Hollywood is currently obsessed with Mary Sues? There's very few female leads or supporting characters I can actually relate to anymore, since I am definitely not an extrovert. Where's the meek ones? Or the ones who are comfortable not being dramatic af? It IS possible to write a softer person that doesn't get walked on. Heck, even if they are, the ones who have to grow into a stronger version of themselves makes for a great character arc. If the character written has already completed their growth, that makes for some very boring storytelling. I think the one existing example of a gentle character off the top of my head is the love interest in the new Top Gun. Jennifer Connelly's character does have the bartender trope, and can be considered independent simply because she's a business owner, but she doesn't carry a crown on her head gloating about it. I love that. She's also encouraging, kind, and wise. She's afraid of her heart being broken again by the main character, but still longs for him. The mutual pining and flirtation is just *chef's kiss*. They do end up together, but it's organic after he earns her trust. Again, I love that. Btw, fantastic movie. You all need to see it. Here's the youtube video if you'd like to watch. She's complaining about the Netflix adaptation of Persuasion. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xqhq66EwLg0

[nanbaka-82]

aAAAAaaaASAAAAAA ITS MY FAVORITE FUCKING BOOK SERIES GETTING ADAPTED AHA AHA AHA OH YEAH IM GONNA FUCKIN DIE

LITTLE LEMONY GONNA FUCK ME UP

JSIDNDIDHJDD DONT THINK IMA SURVIVE THIS

[marchlione]

Netflix Adaptations

I know a lot of people rag on about how dark netflix adaptations are amongst the other shitty things they do (white washing, colourism, etc). But making a story dark and grim isn’t really the problem (seriously, focus on the actual issues like racism, tokenism, etc). You want to make a show dark and gritty? Sure, go ahead. The mistake netflix makes is actually poor writing.

I believe that if you are going to make an adaptation dark and gritty, it means you are taking established, existing characters and putting them in a grim situation or a dark plot line. You do not change the characters themselves. Otherwise you end up with original content, with the name of the source material slapped on.

If you change the characters themselves, then you are exaggerating the darker qualities they already have without forgetting their good qualities. If they have no good qualities for the sake of grit, then they’re just bad characters. At best they’re caricatures, at worst they are entirely different characters who happen to have the same name as the characters from the source material. And at that point, there is no reason for it to be an adaptation, it bears no resemblance to what was already established. 

If you do it the opposite way and have other characters inhabiting the same universe, then you essentially end up with self inserts or ocs in an established universe. These are all rules that fanfiction writers have already understood if not mastered. (So really, Netflix should start hiring fanfiction writers)

Now you could argue that if you are going to call something an adaptation, you really should be following the plot and dialogue to a T. And if you do make changes, maybe you reword the dialogue and cover up plot holes. My response is that while it is true that this is what adaptation means, it doesn’t really bring anything new to the table. If you are going to take source material and adapt it, you better do something to it to give us a fresh take. 

This is going to be a bizarre and niche example, but if you have ever heard the legend of the hindu god krishna (bear with me here) and his beef with his uncle kamsa, my explanation is going to make more sense. There have been multiple animated and live action adaptations about sri krishna and each of them do something new. The green gold animation version focuses on his childhood and overarching story. The Roll No. 21 is basically the equivalent of a modern au in fanfiction terms, except the village children and krishna are children in an orphanage. Little krishna, I believe focuses more on the short stories and feats in childhood. Each adaptation of the legends brings a fresh take or reimagines the same relationships in a different context. (Sri Krishna ji, if you ever see this I’m so sorry about using your name in a tumblr post about bad writing by  Netflix in adaptations of my favourite childhood comics/cartoons, I am so sorry.)

[averysleepyfrog]

Was anyone going to tell me there’s a live action Winx Netflix series now, or was I supposed to find this out by logging into Netflix myself?

I am not sure how to feel about this... It’s not that I was a huge fan of that cartoon( I had a Winx game on GBA as a kid, but that’s it), but... Is turning a colorful cartoon into a “grounded” teenage drama with a common supernatural teen show aesthetic really the way to go? Feels like taking what made Winx Winx away from it. The fact that Netflix wants to do the same for ATLA is all more worrisome, since ATLA is something I genuinely love and sherish...

[binoogo]

Live action adaptation of Jojolion comfirmed 2050

[ohfugecannada]

[theimaginatrix27]

Thank you,          @a-crack-in-the-universe,          for bringing Anne With an E to my attention.

If I haven’t told anyone before, Anne of Green Gables was a book I first encountered in audio drama form, that I’d never heard of before then, and which I fell in love with on sight. Anne was, and still is, one of the most relatable characters I have personally encountered in fiction. Her imagination and enthusiasm were infectious, and I adored her almost from the moment she opened her mouth and started chattering. I also really liked Marilla for other reasons. I’ve read several of the books since encountering that audio drama and my opinions have not changed a wit.

And oh my God Netflix has done it again. They brought Anne to life as previous adaptations haven’t. She legit has flashbacks to the obviously toxic environments she was in at the orphanage and Mrs Hammond’s, she’s also shown to have picked up a ton of useful skills while growing up the way she did, and faithfulness to the book has been maintained for the most part, and what additions have been included are not remotely out-of-character or implausible. And I have only watched the first two episodes! As Anne herself might say, “I am enraptured.”

These people need to do live action Deltora Quest. And the rest of the Roddaverse. Every book-to-show adaptation I’ve seen by them so far has been absolutely frigging brilliant.