MovieChat Forums > Pride and Prejudice and Zombies (2016) Discussion > Lydia Bennet elopement

Lydia Bennet elopement

posted 8 years ago by OpinionSoup
10 replies | jump to latest

This flies against some people who wanted less Jane Austin and more action, but there are some scenes I really miss.

In particular, Lydia Bennet. In the Jane Austin she elopes but is too fluff headed to realise how improper she has acted by victorian standards.

The original Jane Austin scene of her returning and bragging over her status would have played very well as a zombie totally failing to perceive how this dented her social standing.

There were definite classist references with the undead being the lower class. In england they took more power fairly peacefully, compared to the French revolution which was very like a zombie apocalypse from an aristocrats point of view.

Mr Darcy's tolerance of a zombie family member because of his admiration for Elisabeth would have played very well with the theme of him overcoming his prejudice.

[–] Julie-30 8 years ago

First, the author's name is AustEn, not Austin.

Second, this is not a Victorian story. Jane AustEn died before Victoria was even born. AustEn spent her entire life as a subject of King George III.

http://currentscene.wordpress.com

[–] OpinionSoup 8 years ago

If you have trouble socialising, show someone this post and maybe they can explain your problem to you. :)

[–] Julie-30 8 years ago

I have as many friends as I want/need, thank you, and the fact that I can spell and have good grammar makes me extremely valuable to my employer.

http://currentscene.wordpress.com

[–] Mysteriously_Eerie 8 years ago

You may be valuable to your employer, but you will not be valuable to society until you learn how to tactfully tell someone that they've made an error. There was no reason to shame the OP. Whether or not you intended it, you came off like a jerk. Austin vs Austen is an easy mistake to make, and the Regency Era is not nearly as well known as the Victorian era. The fashions in the film are even a bit more opulent like Victorian fashions, so it's easy to see why someone would think this was set in Victorian England.

[–] randommovies2002 8 years ago

I respectfully disagree with your assertions about opulence. Opulence is not restricted to the Victorian period. There was plenty of opulence in the early Georgian and Regency periods. And as for the fashions in this film, most of them were previously worn in earlier regency-set productions. (It's rather fun to scroll through the regency costumes posted on www.recycledmoviecostumes.com) 😃

[–] alfa-16 8 years ago

Don't go puncturing people's bubbles or you'll get thrown outside the wall.

[–] teatat 8 years ago

That would have been clever. It would have required them to go in a different direction– with Darcy overcoming his prejudice toward zombies. That was one thing I missed in this version, I didn’t feel like Darcy changed much. No “by you I was properly humbled”.

[–] letitiadionne 8 years ago

I think the film is a lot easier on the female characters who were antagonists within the Austen novel. Catherine De Burgh is a good guy here who helps the family. Mary Bennet isn't miserable or cold, Lydia isn't such an airhead. All the women are portrayed as being much more useful.

[–] isabelg_miranda 8 years ago

Which makes a lot of sense, since in this movie, they have been TAUGHT to be useful. The women in Austen's books only had to be pretty and do pretty things. Lizzy's halfway smart and that sets her very much apart from other girls.

But in this context, the girls have been trained, and have pretty clear notions of what they have to do to ensure their own immediate survival. It makes sense for them to be smarter.

[–] teatat 8 years ago

I wouldn't call Lizy only "halfway" smart.

My impression of Austen's books is that she doesn't think much of women who do nothing but look pretty. It's only silly characters like Mrs. Bennet that express that attitude and the men who marry women just because they are pretty live to regret it.

What I find interesting in this version is that MR. Bennet is a more attentive father. His daughters don't get away with only learning if they want to like in the original.