Have you ever met someone that can’t shut up about their car? They keep talking about how fast their car can go, how they got it, how it’s in great condition, how they got it for an unbelievable price, how their car almost never runs out of gas, and how it’s so much better than their friend’s car. Well that’s exactly how John Thorpe talks about his horse and carriage in Jane Austin’s “Northanger Abbey.”
When I first started reading this book I was amazed at how all of the Regency-era characters and setting are so easily translatable to today’s world. However I remembered that “Clueless,” “10 Things I Hate About You,” “She’s The Man,” “She’s All That,” and “Bridget Jones’s Diary” are all popular movies from the late 1990s and early 2000s that have one thing in common- they’re all modern retellings of classic literature. Since the late 2000s, there haven’t really been any new additions to this type of adaptation. So, I beg the question: should we bring back modernized retellings?
The answer- yes, we absolutely should. Throughout the course of time, stories have been reshaped and retold to keep their messages alive. Fairy tales have been adapted to reflect each time and culture it was retold for, like “Cinderella” for instance. These variations alter certain elements, but maintain a similar plotline and personalities of the characters. This is the reason that those tales have lasted so long.
If we want to preserve beloved classic novels, plays, and stories from the past for the modern general public to understand and enjoy, movies that are set today become our greatest weapon for regaining the public’s interest around them. They’re already strong stories that have proved to be popular for a long time, so a change of language and scenery is all these films need to demonstrate their charms to the public.
These adaptations can cause more people to read classic literature. It’s no secret that literacy rates in the United States are decreasing. Yet, a popular movie can always pique new interest in a book that it’s based off of, if viewers are curious about what is different and what remains the same in the movie versus the source material.
The possibilities for these future modern retellings are almost limitless. Literature that was written to be comedic can get new laughs. When comedies like “Northanger Abbey,” or “Much Ado About Nothing” are changed to fit today’s society, the humor becomes much more apparent. Adventures such as “20,000 Leagues Under the Sea,” or “The Three Musketeers” have new and higher stakes with the addition of modern technology. Dramatic works like “The Great Gatsby” and “Hamlet” could tear at the audience’s heartstrings a lot better if the viewers were more familiar with the language and the situations that the characters were situated in. Overall, it would be interesting to see what happens when these worlds meet ours.