1 Emma Hsu Emily Volkmann LBD: A Transmedia Remix There are no new stories. Or maybe we re simply running out of creative ways to dress up the same stories that we hear over and over again. Often, old stories are retold through different adaptations. For example, modern versions of Sherlock Holmes, Sleepy Hollow, and Dracula have invaded our televisions this year, alone. Classical literature has made a huge comeback due to reimagining the context of the stories; they have survived for a reason, but giving them a facelift helps reinvigorate a dusty story. And while each of these adaptations is a remix in and of itself, one ambitious project went even further by adding its own elements while remaining true to the story and its characters. Beginning in April 2012, a new and innovative web project named The Lizzie Bennet Diaries was born. Based on Jane Austen s popular 1813 novel, Pride and Prejudice, The Lizzie Bennet Diaries, or LBD for short, follows graduate student Lizzie Bennet s life through a series of vlogs. The show itself premiered about two new episodes per week and lasted 100 episodes, airing on YouTube through March 2013. Apart from Lizzie s vlogs, other characters recorded videos, and each character had a Twitter account that was updated in between videos. As a modernized and remixed version of Pride and Prejudice, LBD does an excellent job covering the main themes of the novel and making them relevant in today s society while giving viewers an opportunity to take ownership of their experience. The original version of Pride and Prejudice revolves around Elizabeth Bennet and her family, which is made up of a mother, father, one older sister, and three younger
2 sisters. At the forefront of her mother s mind is marrying off her daughters so they may have proper and good lives, but Elizabeth sees this desire as a ridiculous societal standard. As the novel unfolds, Elizabeth s older sister, Jane, falls in love with a wealthy man named Mr. Bingley, whose best friend is Mr. Darcy. Elizabeth s first impression of Darcy is that he is a repugnant and prideful man who does not care to associate with anyone lower in status than himself; however, throughout the novel, Elizabeth learns more about Darcy, through both outside sources and through further encounters, and they eventually fall in love despite their differences. Of course, this is a very short and abridged version of the story; it is a several-hundred page novel that explores a somewhat repressive society through a protagonist who actively rebels against it. Of course, there have been many adaptations of Pride and Prejudice, most notably, a 1995 BBC miniseries and the 2005 feature film of the same name. Both of these adaptations took liberties with the source material, but they did not stray from the original time frame or characters. Even though LBD is an updated version of Pride and Prejudice, it keeps many of the major elements from the book. One way it does this is through beginning its first episode with the first line of the book: It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife (Austen, 1813, p. 1). And despite the fact that the vernacular is dated, it works because of the context created by the writers. LBD takes its adaptation much further in terms of extending the messages and ideas that influenced Austen s novel; however, this new work remains true to the original themes of love, understanding, and even class. Indeed, even the general plot, if looked at simply remains the same. The story is told through Lizzie s perspective; through her vlogs, she informs the audience about major
3 life events, some of which happen right on camera. Most of the major characters play their intended roles (although some have the opportunity to grow beyond their original characterizations), and in the end, Lizzie and Darcy end up together. Keeping these thematic elements is necessary for recognition. By remaining somewhat true to the text, audiences who already love Pride and Prejudice are drawn into LBD and can spot the similarities and differences between this adaptation and the book. One of the major hurdles in reading a Jane Austen novel (or any novel from another place and time) is understanding the societal norms. For instance, being an unmarried woman of twenty years is not frowned upon in this day and age, but in 1813 England, it meant being a burden to your family. So when updating the story, creators Hank Green and Bernie Su had to think of creative ways to navigate around the real issues of Pride and Prejudice. The overarching goal of this project was to re-create the spirit of the story, to imagine what the characters would be like in a modern situation that is completely different in specifics, but surprisingly similar with a broader view, according to Green (2012). Some of the changes made to the original story were to make it more realistic in modern American society. For example, Bing Lee, an Asian-American medical student, replaced Mr. Bingley, and rather than there being five sisters, there are now only three: Lizzie, Jane, and Lydia. But, Mary and Kitty do make appearances as their cousin and their cat. Other changes happen for the purpose of realistic plot development. The writers faced the challenge of needing to alter certain situations from the book in order for them to hold the same significance today as they would have in the early 1800s. Probably the most prominent example is Lydia s scandal. In the novel, Lydia runs away with George
4 Wickham, which would have been seen as a disgraceful and immoral act, whereas in the web series, Lydia and Wickham make a sex tape, which Wickham threatens to release. Not only was the situation between Lydia and Wickham changed, but Lydia s character becomes much more sympathetic in LBD than in the original Pride and Prejudice. Rather than simply being an annoying little sister, Lydia shows a range of emotions through Lizzie s and her own videos. The writers choice to grow Lydia into something more substantial than an embarrassment does several things. First, it allowed the production of Lydia s videos; nobody would have watched them if she was only a brat. Her videos give the audience another perspective on the story s developments and add an element of realism (by reminding everyone that Lizzie is human and has a sometimes flawed perception). Second, the writers were able to address some of the major problems with our society, like Lydia s emotionally abusive relationship with Wickham. The largest change to this Pride and Prejudice remix is the use and reliance on transmedia to tell the story. Because of the way the multiple platforms allow fan interaction to add zigzags and layers to the old linear story, and it s a shining example of what s become known in entertainment, tech, and advertising as transmedia (Prior, 2013). As previously mentioned, the LBD world is more than just Lizzie s videos. Lydia, Charlotte, and Georgiana (Gigi) have their own videos intermittently, giving the audience different and sometime contrary perspectives from Lizzie s. Additionally, the LBD experience is more interactive than Pride and Prejudice ever could have been when it was first published due to the extended use of social media outlets like Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr. Each character has his or her own account that is updated in
5 between video postings. Twitter, especially, was utilized as a source of fan interaction. Not only could viewers get a behind-the scenes perspective on the characters thoughts and feelings, but the characters would actually respond to fans, answering questions and favoriting tweets. The big question here is how do LBD s transmediations help to convey the original text of Pride and Prejudice? The short answer is that it shows that the original novel s themes are still relevant and debatable by providing an online space for discussion and participation. The major benefit of transmedia is that it has the potential to offer audiences deeper engagement with stories and with the communities built around those stories (Prior, 2013). A more specific question is how do LBD s transmediations reflect the popular aesthetics? Encouragement to participation is what makes LBD a truly original and unique experience for viewers. One of the aesthetics of our time is that viewers want to also be participants. People love to take ownership of what they see and make it their own. LBD allows this ownership to take place by making the classic story fluid and alive. Although each episode was scripted, the creators and writers worked together to incorporate viewer s feedback through Q&A videos and by reading some Twitter reactions to the episodes (watch Lydia react to what people said about her on Twitter here). Along these same lines, Becker (1982) argues that it is the art world, rather than the individual artist, which makes the work (p. 194). So although Jane Austen created the original text and Bernie Su and the rest of the writers created LBD, the entire fan base around the story is what gives it purpose and makes it art. Everyone interacting with LBD is part of the piece; comments, tweets, and posts to the characters and about the series are all part of its structure as an artwork.
6 Creating something completely new and original is challenging, especially when using a previously existing piece as a template; but with the use of transmedia, modern context, and audience engagement, The Lizzie Bennet Diaries produced a fresh take on Jane Austen s classic, and won a Creative Arts Emmy in the process. By using engaging techniques, Pride and Prejudice was successfully remixed into a project that reaches across generations and into the hearts of millions.
7 Becker, H. S. (1982). Editing. In Art worlds. Berkeley: University of California Press. Case reflection on the use of transmedia in the Lizzie Bennet Diaries. (2013, Mar 2). [Blog Post]. Retrieved from http://thelorelaisquared.tumblr.com/post/44377143980/reflection-on-the-use-oftransmedia-in-the-lizzie. FAQ. The Lizzie Bennet diaries. Retrieved from http://www.lizziebennet.com/faq/. Farber, B. (2013, Sep 17). Case study: How The Lizzie Bennet Diaries creator has changed the face of storytelling. Retrieved from http://blogs.imediaconnection.com/blog/2013/09/17/case-study-how- %E2%80%9Cthe-lizzie-bennet-diaries%E2%80%9D-creator-has-changed-theface-of-storytelling/. Green, H. (2012, April 24). BTS: Three Bennet sisters From Hank. The Lizzie Bennet diaries. Retrieved from http://www.lizziebennet.com/2012/04/bts-three-bennetsisters-from-hank/. Prior, K. S. (2013, Oct 18). The new, old way to tell stories: With input from the audience. Retrieved from http://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2013/10/the-new-old-way-totell-stories-with-input-from-the-audience/280682/. Su, B. & Green, H. (Creators) (2012). The Lizzie Bennet diaries [Web series]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kisugp2lcps&list=pl6690d980d8a65d0.
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