Ashley is an English geek too

Ashley read my previous post about Wimbledon and Medieval romance. She had some interesting responses, so with her permission I'm going to post them here. Sorry to those of you who don't care about Medieval romance.

Ashley says:
I have read your blog on Wimbledon. My comments are:
1) I think that there is a very direct and conscious link between medieval romance and modern romantic comedies (via Shakespeare to Jane Austin and then to cinema). I think it is an explicit evolution of a single genre through different media and times.
2) I really liked Auerbach's (who I did my summary on) suggestion that love is the motivation in the romances as a surrogate for any number of real-life motivations. I don't really take love seriously in romances or in films; I don't feel like there is an intentional claim that life is like that. You know? It's just prettier that way. Just like how in desperate housewives, there is no serious claim that middle aged women don't wrinkle. I haven't worked this out yet, but I don't really believe that love is the subject of the romances at all. It certainly isn't the subject of Wimbledon in a meaningful way (it doesn't dwell on the love the way that the love between Yvain and the Lion is dwelt upon in Ywain and Gawain.) I think that love and women become a kind of shorthand for the things about men that they are trying to show. Peter gets the girl at the end to show how he has actualized as an adult and a man and a worthy competitor. Also, I think that there is an underlying misogyny that subconsciously guides those films that makes the undercutting of a strong and powerful female and reduction of her to a prize an act of violence against her power and autonomy as a competitive female.

Endquote. Thank you Ashley for your comments!

I have a few other non-Medieval romance things to comment on. First of all, Andrew got his microphone working on his computer, so we can now talk to each other over the internet. This is great, because we can't talk on the phone. Hearing his voice has been so exciting! It makes such a difference that I can't even explain it.

In other news, I saw the Lemony Snicket movie today in the tub. It wasn't nearly as good as I expected. In fact, I'm surprised that I watched the whole thing. I think that it was just a different genre or mode or somthing than I was expecting. I didn't connect with the characters of the children, so I didn't really care if they died or whatever. Anyway.

I was listening to the Jesus Christ Superstar soundtrack tonight while I was baking cookies. I love that movie so much. I only have it on VHS, so I can't watch it while I'm here. It's OK, though, because I've seen it so many times that the movie plays in my head while I listen to it. I have so much to say about this movie, but I won't even start. I could talk about it for hours and hours and hours. I wrote an essay about it for my 20th Century Christianity course last year and I was re-reading it tonight. There are so many neat things that you can find in this movie, and in the words themselves... The other thing that the music reminded me of was last Reading Week when Andrew and I took a road trip to Nashville. We listened to the soundtrack over and over as we drove because it was the only music that I'd packed that we both enjoyed (Andrew, sadly, does not share my love of the Beatles and Simon and Garfunkel, shockingly enough). Anyway, my point is, if you haven't seen the Norman Jewison version of this film, do!!!

Hmmm... that's probably long enough for now. It's after 4am. I have to stop being so darn nocturnal. It's interfering with my activities that happen before 3pm.