What Makes a Good Reboot or Retelling? ~In Response to Tracey~

Tracey Dyck over on Adventure Awaits recently wrote a post about why people have strong reactions to retellings. She says, "I propose it's because of people's deep emotional attachment to the original story."

I agree.

Tracey uses the live-action Beauty and the Beast movie as her example. Some people loved it because of "the many little nods to the original Disney film," while other people felt "angry and betrayed because...the heart of the original was lost." 

I want to expand on this point, using the example of two rebooted movies (though the principles I talk about can be applied to retellings, too).

What's the difference between a reboot and a retelling, you ask?

Reboot: A finished story that is remade with modern technology and ideas. 
Retelling: A finished story that is re-imagined with new twists. 

We can all agree that we are living in a world of reboots and retellings of popular stories. At least, I see little ingenuity outside of the online community. 
There's only one problem: reboots and retellings are tricky. 

If you change the story too much, people will become angry because it doesn't have the same intention—and, therefore, feeling—that the original did. A good example of this is Star Trek (2009) and Star Trek Into Darkness. 

A lot of Trekkies (myself included) don't like these two movies because J.J. Abrams focused too much on modernizing the franchise by adding more sex and violence. Now, Star Trek has always had a lot of pretty women in it, and it has always featured some pretty cool fights, but Gene Roddenberry's intent when he created Star Trek was to make a show that glorified peace, exploration, and respecting people's differences.

Because the rebooted Star Trek movies change the original intention, Trekkies don't like them because they have, in Tracey's words, "a deep emotional attachment to the original story."

On the flippity flip, if you don't change the story enough, fans will be unhappy, too.
Take Star Wars: The Force Awakens, for example. While it had the same intention as the original Star Wars—and, therefore, felt like a Star Wars movie—many people complained about it because the plot is very similar to Star Wars: A New Hope. 

Both movies follow the adventures of an orphaned desert-dweller as he/she travels off-planet for the first time with a wisened mentor (who later dies) and a droid carrying secret information. Oh, yeah, and both movies have weapons of mass destruction capable of destroying entire planets that, in turn, get destroyed because of a basic construction flaw.
Because The Force Awakens steals the plot from A New Hope, Star Wars fans don't like it because, again, they are attached to the original story.

I don't like many reboots because I think that the people who reboot popular books, shows, and movies do so because they want money. Much like a name brand of clothing, people will pay for story titles that they have seen before. My particular pet peeve is when people write books about beloved characters under the name of the original author who is dead. 

Although this looks like an Agatha Christie book, it was, in fact, published last year. How, since Agatha Christie is dead? Well, it was written by someone else. Isn't that some form of plagiarism??

While I dislike many reboots, I do like Marvel's superhero movies (maybe because I didn't have any exposure to Marvel beforehand?), and I love the modern seasons of Doctor Who.

Another reason reboots are difficult is because people have a pre-established idea of who each character is and what they should and shouldn't be doing in their world. Retellings are different because they are usually based on fairy tales or mythology where characters, situations, and places aren't as well-established. While people expect Sherlock Holmes to be slightly sociopathic, all that is expected of Cinderella is that, by the end of the story, she has gotten out of a bad family situation.

Fairy tales and myths lend themselves easier to being retold because they are more about themes and less about someone's original character doing something specific within the created world of the author.

I think that both good and bad reboots and retellings exist. I think that if a storyteller can add a fresh angle to the original spirit of a piece without copying the original, he or she will have a great story of his or her hands.

I Find Your Lack of Faith in Whimsy Disturbing

Being an English major is hard.
It's hard because everything we read is analyzed and overanalyzed until we find meaning where there is none. We don't read many whimsical or even happy stories because they, evidently, don't contain the same kind of meaning that depressing stories do. While it is fun to examine stories and poems to find hidden truths, I do not believe that everything has to have a deeper meaning. Sometimes, a story is just a story. Sometimes, a story is meant to take us away from this depraved world for a few hours and show us glimpses of God through noble characters, pure love, and humorous exchanges.

Star Wars is a story that does this well.

Geek fact: this Star Wars poster is by the Hildebrandt Brothers, who also drew pictures for Lord of the Rings calendars in the 1970s and '80s.

Noble Characters
Even though Luke Skywalker whines about staying on his uncle and aunt's moisture farm for another year, his loyalty is still to his family. When Ben Kenobi offers Luke an opportunity to get away from Tatooine, Luke refuses because he has responsibilities at home. When Ben warns Luke not to go home after they find evidence that storm troopers have been in the area, Luke returns home to see if his family is all right. He doesn't go with Ben until he is sure he isn't leaving his responsibility.
Although Han Solo is a scuffy-lookin' ruffian with a price on his head, he does the right thing by coming back to fight in the final battle against the Death Star.
Although Princess Leia was raised as royalty, she became a politician willing to die for her people if it meant destroying the Empire.

Pure Love
(We're overlooking the Luke/Leia kiss, okay??)
I think we all agree that Han and Leia's relationship is pretty cute, what with their "Your hands are cold" and their "I love you" "I know," so why don't we step back from Han and Leia and examine some of the other relationship in the franchise?
Han continually returns to his friends because of his love for them.
Luke, Leia, and Lando are willing to risk their lives to rescue Han from Jabba the Hut.
Chewbacca is willing to do anything to help his friends—including fighting off strange little recycling monsters who are trying to melt down C-3PO.
Darth Vader destroys his boss/mentor and sacrifices his own life in order to save his son.

Humorous Exchanges
"It's not my fault!"

"I've got a bad feeling about this."

"Why you... stuck up... half-witted... scruffy looking... nerf herder!"

And my favorite...
"We're fine. We're all fine here, now, thank you. How are you?"
"We're sending a squad up."
"Negative. Negative! We had a reactor leak here. Give us a few minutes to lock it down. Large leak... very dangerous."
"Who is this? What is your operating number?"
"Uh..." *shoots intercom* "Boring conversation anyway... Luke! We're gonna have company!"

Life—especially my life as an English major—seems filled with sad and depressing, yet deep and meaningful, stories. It seems as if whimsical and fun stories are viewed as the illegitimate offspring of Real Literature (insert person with a snobbish accent snobbishly rubbing his or her nose [here]).
While it's okay if a story is just a story with no deeper meaning, I want to remind you that fun stories can be just as deep and meaningful as sad stories. We find sad stories meaningful because we, like the author, have gone through hard times to learn life lessons, but lessons can be taught through happy stories, too. If you need an example, just look to Star Wars' lessons of friendship and sacrifice.

The Life of Our Lord by Charles Dickens

"My Dear Children, I am very anxious that you should know something about the History of Jesus Christ. For everybody ought to know about Him."
So begins Charles Dickens' least-known work.

In this little volume, Charles Dickens tells the story of Jesus' life and ministry in his own words. He intended this book to be for his children and only his children, so it was never published until eighty years after it was written, when his family decided to publish it. Even so, many people do not know about this book.
I found out about it because Charles Dickens' great-great grandson gave a chapel at my school (which I found out about after the fact, unfortunately) where he talked about this book. He is in Minneapolis for several weeks acting in a one-man play based on the writing of the The Life of Our Lord, and I was able to go!

It was a fabulous play. Gerald Dickens is an amazing actor. He used many voices to portray the different characters in the play (it was rather like Charles Dickens was telling us, the audience, a bedtime story). This play was especially meaningful for me as I went to see it during Holy Week. There is a part where Dickens is recreating the scene of his cross (for he has got it into his head that he will act out the live of Christ for his children) that pierced my heart. After that scene, he reminds us that light comes after darkness, that resurrection comes after crucifixion, and that redemption comes after condemnation.
After the play, I got to meet Mr. Dickens and he signed my copy of The Life of Our Lord (graciously given me by my friend Joseph).

Wow! What an opportunity! It's not every day that you get to meet the great-great grandson of one of the best authors in history! I asked him whether or not there was a lot of pressure growing up with the last name "Dickens," and he said, "No. My father was good about that and told us to do whatever we wanted." So, he became an actor. (He also has a travel blog about his acting tours.)

I was struck by both the play and the book by the legacy of faith which Charles Dickens left to his descendants. He wanted his kids to know the story of Jesus Christ and, here, several generations and over 100 years later, his great-great grandson is still sharing that story with the world!

Here is what I thought of the book:

Stylistically, The Life of Our Lord reads like a fairytale, which is good as it is for children. It does not, however, make the story of Jesus out to be a fairytale. Dickens was careful to make sure that his children knew that.
Throughout the book, he explained terms like "trespasses" and "synagogue" so that his children would understand, which I enjoyed. I even learned a new vocabulary word from this book! Ever since I was a child, I have heard the word "prodigal" and the word "son" and assumed that "prodigal" must mean "returning" or something of that sort, as that is what the son does in the story. Alack! no! It means "extravagant" or "wasteful." Of course, I took to Twitter to proclaim this discovery.

Dickens emphasized Jesus' purpose to do good rather than to save humanity from their sins. Because of this, he included several moral lessons for his children within the narrative of Jesus' life. Here were two of my favorites:

"He chose [his disciples] from among poor men, in order that the poor might know...that Heaven was made for them as well as for the rich...Never forget this, when you are grown up. Never be proud or unkind, my dears, to any poor man, woman, or child. If they are bad, think that they would have been better if they had had kind friends, and good homes, and had been better taught."

and

"We learn from this that we must always forgive those who have done us any harm, when they come to us and say they are truly sorry for it. Even if they do not come and say so, we must still forgive them, and never hate them or be unkind to them, if we would hope that God will forgive us."

It bothered me that the book focused on doing good rather than salvation, but, at the same time, it made me think a lot. The simple way in which Dickens wrote about Jesus' ministry hit me in a way that the actual Gospels never have (although Dickens' book makes me want to go and read the New Testament now!).
Jesus spent his time with prostitutes, tax collectors, beggars, and seriously ill people. These are people that society tends to shy away from, and society includes Christians. We are called to help the poor and needy but when we are faced with someone in that condition we are more like the priest and the Levite than the Good Samaritan.
I know that I tend to be scared of these kinds of people because they are different than I am. I don't know how to act around them because I don't know how they will act around me, so I tend to stay away from them.
What a horrible reason not to help those in need!
Another horrible reason not to help those in need is that I get too wrapped up in myself and my friends to care about strangers. I think that myself and other Christians are too wrapped up in our own salvation to care about other people's salvation. We're supposed to "get right" with God before helping others, and getting right with God means searching ourselves for sin and fixing it; oh, and maybe perfecting our daily quiet time with God, too. It's not that these are bad things, but if we wait until we've "fixed" our sin to bring the hope of God to others, we'll never share the Gospel because we continually fall back into sin!
I think another reason that we don't share our salvation is because we are scared of rejection and hopeless for the world. The world is a scary place for a Christian to live in. We've been persecuted since the beginning, and, according to recent news, things aren't getting any better. I think we have accepted that the world is evil and that if we share our faith we will be persecuted, so we tell ourselves that it's hopeless and that the world won't listen anyway, so why even try?
It is not in our power to change the world, and it is not our job to change the world. It is, however, in God's power, and it is God's job. Our job is to follow Jesus' example. We are supposed to share our hope with the world. We are supposed to help the poor and those in need. It is God's job to do the rest.

Dickens had something to say about this, too: "[Jesus taught] them to go forth into the world, and preach His gospel and religion: not minding what wicked men might do to them."

Recent Discoveries

Since coming to college, I have been exposed to so many new genres, movies, television shows, and music! I want to share them with you, my friends.

Television:

Do you remember a few years ago when everyone raved about the show Adventure Time? I never watched it, until last semester. This cartoon is a random and colorful show about Finn the Human and Jake the Dog and their adventures. They fight a lot of monsters and rescue a lot of princesses. Although the show is random, there is always a moral to the story, even if that moral is somewhat odd. If you like fun and creative shows, then check out Adventure Time! (Also, episodes are only thirteen minutes long, so that's a plus!)

Monk is another show that I have heard a lot about but have never watched before. My roommate owns the first few seasons, we started watching them, and I love it! Monk is like a mix between Sherlock Holmes and Hercule Poirot. He is a private detective who is fantastic at deduction, but he is also extremely OCD and germaphobic. This combination makes this murder-mystery show charming and unique.
I have also been introduced to Psych (yet another show that I have heard a lot about but never watched), though I've only seen one episode of that so far.

The Office is a show about the office antics of a paper company. I have seen the same seven episodes of this show multiple times on account that they are the favorites of my friends. I wouldn't mind seeing more of this show, as it is pretty funny.
My roommate has also introduced me to the show New Girl, which would be a lot funnier if it weren't so dirty.

My friends watched this and recommended it to me, so I watched it over Christmas break. While I enjoyed the 80s setting and the uniqueness, I thought that the plot and characters could have been better developed. Nevertheless, I am looking forward to season two!

Movies:

I loved The Goonies! It was like Indiana Jones and Tintin except it featured children. It has all the elements of a good adventure story (pirates! friendship! bumbling sidekicks! a monster! ice cream!) and reminded me a lot of the stories I enjoyed as a child. Good old Steven Spielberg.
We also watched The Sandlot, Little Rascals, and Second Hand Lion which also feature children protagonists. All three movies were lovely.

Finally, I understand all of the references! I saw E.T. for the first time a few weeks ago. I thought the villains were underdeveloped, until I began wondering if they were made that way on purpose because the movie is from Eliot and E.T.'s point-of-view. If it is from their point-of-view, then it makes sense that the government is really hazy because that is how they would appear to a small child and an alien with no knowledge of earth culture. After I realized that, I liked the movie more.

Music:

I'd listened to Hamilton before coming to school, but I didn't fully appreciate it until last semester when I listened to it again. Upon first listening, I was too caught up in the changes that Lin-Manuel Miranda had made to history to enjoy the whole musical. When I listened to the musical again, however, I was captivated by Miranda's rhetorical prowess. Even though the musical isn't totally historically accurate, he has presented to his audience the basics through catchy tunes, created lovely character arcs, and gotten young people interested in history, which I think is fantastic! My favorite songs are "Non-stop," "You'll Be Back," and "Burn."

Petra is a Christian band from the 70s, 80s, and beyond. I had heard some songs before because my parents listen to them occasionally, but I started to listen to them on my own last semester. I love their sound and their lyrics. This Means War and More Power To Ya are my favorite albums.

Three of my friends are huge fans of the band Twenty One Pilots. This band is very hard to describe since their music could fit into several genres. They use a variety of instruments from ukulele to synthesizers to drums. I like them because their music is unique and their lyrics are relatable. I also like them because there are only two members of Twenty One Pilots and they write and perform all of their music themselves.

Welcome to Night Vale is not a CD but a podcast. It is a radio broadcast from the friendly desert community of Night Vale where strange things are normal. Mysterious Hooded Figures? A dog park that no dogs are allowed in? Mind-controlling glow clouds? A ban on wheat and wheat byproducts? These are all normal occurrences in Night Vale. This podcast very weird and very creative. It is also very nihilistic, and I'm not sure if I'm going to keep listening to it because of that.

Genre:
I took a class on Gothic Literature last semester and loved it! I learned the components of Gothic fiction and am now able to pick out Gothic themes in books and movies that I read and watch. Some common themes are seclusion, a damsel in distress, a run-down family mansion lived in by a decrepit family, and supernatural happenings. The Gothic genre birthed the horror genre, which I have also been introduced to this school year. Through the horror movies that I have watched, I learned that I do not mind supernatural horror, but horror that could happen in real life really freaks me out. That being said, I enjoyed watching The Shining and The Others, but hid behind a blanket for most of The Silence of the Lambs and Split.

I want to talk a little bit more about Split (beware of spoilers). This movie is about three girls who are kidnapped by a man with Multiple Personality Disorder/Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID). It deals with themes of abuse and mental health.
Kevin and his multiple personalities were delightful. The audience got glimpses into several of his personalities, and that was fun. It was cool to see him going to his counselor, too. I thought they portrayed his mental illness well.
The end of the movie, however, was horrible. A twenty-fourth personality emerges in Kevin's body and it has superhuman abilities. He kills several people because they are too pure—they have not had anything bad happen to them, and since Kevin was abused as a child, this twenty-fourth personality thinks that he has to inflict pain on those that have never felt it. He doesn't kill the main character because he sees that she has been abused, too.
I didn't like this movie because the ending was so horrific and gruesome. I also didn't like it because the ending was too open-ended for my taste. The guy is not caught and punished for his deeds. The girl does not escape her abusive uncle. I left this movie feeling scared and unsatisfied.

The lesson that I've learned from this—and with the horror genre in general—is "be careful little eyes what you see." I've dabbled in the horror genre this year, and though I've enjoyed some of it, I don't think it's a genre that I will watch a lot of in the future.
As storytellers—whether through writing, movie-making, painting, podcasts, or music—and especially as God-created storytellers, we have a duty to create life-giving art (thanks to my friend Stephen for that phrase!). We also have a duty to engage in life-giving art. We have to use discernment in what we fill our minds with.
I wish I had the eloquence right now to sum up all the thoughts in my head, but I don't, so I am going to direct you to this post by DJ Edwardson.

Have you seen or heard any of the things on my list? What did you think? What do you think of the horror genre?

Sunshine Blogger Award tag

Tracey Dyck tagged me for the Sunshine Blogger Award! This is the one where you answer eleven questions, make up eleven new questions, and then tag eleven bloggers.

1. What's the most addicting app on your phone?
Fortunately, my phone doesn't have a lot of storage, so I don't have many apps on my phone. The most addicting, however, is definitely Snapchat. This app lets you take pictures/videos and send them to your friends, but wait! There's more. The pictures/videos only last a few seconds once they are received and then they are lost into the void forever (unless you take a screenshot).

I like this app because of the ridiculous filters, because you can be creative by drawing on your face, and because I can connect with my friends.








2. What's a song that speaks to your life right now?
I've been listening to this Rich Mullins song a lot.

3. Do you have a book or movie that's your "happy place"--a fictional world into which you retreat when you need a breather? What is it?
Whenever I'm feeling sad I re-read Replay or Bloomability by Sharon Creech. She was my favorite author when I was in middle school and reading her familiar words always makes me feel calm and happy.

4. What's a book you were (or are) looking forward to so much you're scared to read it, for fear it won't live up to your expectations?
Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury. I've heard so many great things about him and Something Wicked This Way Comes looks like a book I'd enjoy, but I'm worried that it will be a huge disappointment like 1984 (I had such high hopes for it. Sigh).

5. If you had to have all of your past memories wiped except for one day, which day would you choose to remember?
If I had to choose just one day to last my whole life through, it would surely be that Sunday, the day that I met you.... Just kidding, those are lyrics to a Natalie Cole song.
I think I would either remember a summer day from my childhood playing Star Wars or house with my friend from down the street, or I would remember a day when my co-op friends and I played Warrior Cats outside. Much of my childhood happiness has come from these memories and I want to remember them forever!

6. What question would you like to ask one of your favorite authors?
I want to ask William Goldman (or Harper Lee, but she's dead, so I don't think she'd answer back) how he managed to write a Perfect Book (The Princess Bride). Did he write what came to his mind or did he plan everything out beforehand? Why did he never write any other books (or, at least, none that were as popular as The Princess Bride)? What happened to Buttercup's Baby? Was he worried that he couldn't re-create what he wrote in The Princess Bride, or is he just a massive troll?

7. If you had to describe yourself as one of the four seasons, which would it be?
Probably fall because I trip a lot.

8. What's your personality type? (Myers Briggs, DISC, whichever test you prefer.)
I took the Myers-Briggs test when I was fourteen and I was an INFP. I took an online version a few months ago and my result was INFJ. Will the world ever know if I am a Perceiver or a Judger?? Only time will tell...
(I wrote a blog post about personality tests if you'd like to read it.)

9. An envelope containing $500 shows up on your doorstep. On what do you spend it?
Haha, college.
No, really.
If I didn't have to spend it on college, though, I'd probably spend it on Star Trek DVDs or books. Or a piano.
Nah, it'd still go to college.

10. Would you rather be trapped in a lamp, a tower, or an enchanted sleep?
Not a lamp, because I'm not a fan of itty bitty living space. Not an enchanted sleep because that would be boring. I choose the tower! I mean it would be the perfect place to live so long as it had books, food, and wi-fi. You wouldn't have to contend with hordes of people... you would be safe from attack... Sign me up! Although I would miss going outside... Maybe I could convince whoever locked me in the tower to build me a rooftop garden.

11. Which Disney villain(ess) do you find the most scary?
As a kid, I always thought Jafar was creepy. My friend and I would play Disney princess (she was Cinderella and I was Jasmine) and we would make her uncle be Jafar.

Rather than answer eleven questions that I make up for you, why don't you choose one of the above questions and answer it in the comments! Let me know what YOU would do with $500 or what day YOU would choose to live in your memory forever or whether YOU would rather be trapped in a lamp, tower, or enchanted sleep.