Kathryn Walters (Kathryn Walters | THE BEACON)
By Kathryn Walters
It is a truth universally acknowledged that "Pride and Prejudice" is one of the most popular and timeless novels ever, so in honor of the the novel's 200th birthday last Monday, I think it's an appropriate time to bring to light "The Lizzie Bennet Diaries," a vlog on YouTube that has taken the social media world by storm.
The vlog (video blog) is essentially a modernized adaptation of Jane Austen's beloved novel, so it follows the plotline of the book fairly closely, but with a few twists to make the story believable to contemporary audiences. Instead of having four sisters, Lizzie has two, Jane and Lydia, who has a cat named Kitty and a cousin named Mary. Mr. Bingley, now known as Bing Lee, is attending medical school, and Mr. Darcy is the CEO of a high-powered communications company called Pemberley Digital.
What is so exceptional about "LBD" is that it is a complete social media experience. In addition to the videos (Lizzie is not the only one with a vlog; several other characters, like her sister Lydia, make vlogs too), you can follow the characters on Twitter and Facebook and track the production of the vlog on Tumblr, which allows the audience to become even more immersed in the story.
By viewing "Pride and Prejudice" through a modern lens, I now have a better sense of Lizzie's judgmental attitude, Wickham's deceit and Darcy's social awkwardness, than I did while reading the book or watching the movies.
The vlog, which has been active since April of last year, posts new videos every Monday and Thursday and they seriously make my day. The combination of great characters, humor, drama and a plotline that gracefully transcends time makes this adaptation much more than "perfectly tolerable."
