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(This post has been slightly edited for clarity of phrasing, and to add a couple additional qualifiers in the end notes. I want to be precise about what arguments I am and am not making.)
I don't want to harsh on people's squee, which is why I am writing my own post here on my journal instead of appending these thoughts to anything on Tumblr. But. Because Tumblr is aware that I am into Narnia and related stuff, and also into awesome women (and also because sometimes people I follow reblog things), I see a lot of movie-centric "Susan Pevensie fuck yeah!!!" style posts. Mostly I just shrug and pass them by, because the Narnia films are not my canon, and also not really my thing in general for various and sundry reasons, and people like what they like and that's cool. But tonight I saw a post that contrasted book!Susan to movie!Susan and implicitly declared the former a terrible character in comparison.
And I just.
NO.
( cut for angry meta )
...
Okay, I feel better now. I still want to write about a hundred book!Susan fics showcasing her differences from movie!Susan and why those differences make her AMAZING, but it's late and I'm tired, so that will have to wait for tomorrow.
---------------
Four additional things:
1) I would like to clarify that I have nothing against movie!Susan in and of herself. I just cannot stand people holding her up as a reason to tear book!Susan down.
2) I do think the changes in her character from one medium to another are a symptom of a large-scale failure of vision on the part of the filmmakers, but I can and do say the same for the changes in Peter, the Beavers, Reepicheep, Caspian, and even Aslan himself, not to mention all the plot alterations, so it's not as if I am holding her up as an isolated example.
3) Yeah, the ending of TLB sucks, but it sucks for everyone, not just Susan. Everyone else dies! Heavenly reward or no heavenly reward, that is not any kind of happy ending I recognize.
4) I am not saying Lewis is a flawless writer. Far from it! I mean, his fuckups on physical world-building alone... *headdesk* But the filmmakers are nowhere near flawless either, and I personally find their flaws more irritating than Lewis's flaws. Other people's mileage may, obvious, vary -- which is as it should be! -- but choosing to accept the flaws in a work or creator doesn't mean you get to pretend they aren't there.
I don't want to harsh on people's squee, which is why I am writing my own post here on my journal instead of appending these thoughts to anything on Tumblr. But. Because Tumblr is aware that I am into Narnia and related stuff, and also into awesome women (and also because sometimes people I follow reblog things), I see a lot of movie-centric "Susan Pevensie fuck yeah!!!" style posts. Mostly I just shrug and pass them by, because the Narnia films are not my canon, and also not really my thing in general for various and sundry reasons, and people like what they like and that's cool. But tonight I saw a post that contrasted book!Susan to movie!Susan and implicitly declared the former a terrible character in comparison.
And I just.
NO.
( cut for angry meta )
...
Okay, I feel better now. I still want to write about a hundred book!Susan fics showcasing her differences from movie!Susan and why those differences make her AMAZING, but it's late and I'm tired, so that will have to wait for tomorrow.
---------------
Four additional things:
1) I would like to clarify that I have nothing against movie!Susan in and of herself. I just cannot stand people holding her up as a reason to tear book!Susan down.
2) I do think the changes in her character from one medium to another are a symptom of a large-scale failure of vision on the part of the filmmakers, but I can and do say the same for the changes in Peter, the Beavers, Reepicheep, Caspian, and even Aslan himself, not to mention all the plot alterations, so it's not as if I am holding her up as an isolated example.
3) Yeah, the ending of TLB sucks, but it sucks for everyone, not just Susan. Everyone else dies! Heavenly reward or no heavenly reward, that is not any kind of happy ending I recognize.
4) I am not saying Lewis is a flawless writer. Far from it! I mean, his fuckups on physical world-building alone... *headdesk* But the filmmakers are nowhere near flawless either, and I personally find their flaws more irritating than Lewis's flaws. Other people's mileage may, obvious, vary -- which is as it should be! -- but choosing to accept the flaws in a work or creator doesn't mean you get to pretend they aren't there.
