Adaptions of classic novels, plays and even older movies happen
frequently. Most attribute it to Hollywood never having an original idea and
why read the book when you can watch the movie?
So when I heard that a modern version of Pride and Prejudice existed,
I knew I had to watch it. But it wasn’t a TV show or a Movie; it was a series
of videos posted on YouTube. That’s right the adaption, The Lizzie Bennet Diaries, is on YouTube.
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| Photo courtesy of The Lizzie Bennet Diaries |
The modern version, posted twice a week on the YouTube, sets
the Bennet family in California. Lizzie Bennet is now a communications graduate
student who decides to start posting videos as part of her thesis. The whole
series centers on Lizzie and her family, school and love life. And much like in
the novel, Lizzie’s mother is dying to get her daughters, Jane and Lydia, to
marry.
Other characters also make guest appearances. Charlotte is
now the Lizzie’s video editor, Mary is now her cousin and Kitty is an actual
cat. Bing Lee is a med student, William Darcy owns several digital companies
and George Wickham is a swim coach.
This adaption does not only post videos on YouTube, it uses
various social media websites like Storify and Tumblr to create the story. All
the characters have twitter accounts. Even Pemberley Digital, Mr. Darcy’s
company, has a twitter account. Spin off web series exist for Lydia and
Pemberley Digital. All of this just to present the story as real as possible.
Created by Hank Green and Bernie Su, The Lizzie Bennet Diaries has a team of writers and produces just
like any production and the media works on creating content for these accounts.
One of the reasons for the adaption is because Pride and Prejudice is in public domain. This allowed for the
production take classic novel and add a new twist.
New ways to satisfy audiences appear as media transitions to
the Internet. Would a modern version of Pride
and Prejudice survive on TV? Probably, it is one of the favorite Jane
Austen novels. Would it have felt the same for the audience? Maybe not, the
series has spawn various gifs, fan art and blogs dedicated to the series. The
series relies heavily on social media interactivity.
The interactivity creates a believable story. Its strategy
to include other social media platforms makes the audience invest and believe
that the story is real. It’s effective story telling for digital age.
To watch from the
beginning visit the Lizzie Bennet Diaries’ playlist.
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