Like They Want Their Cake And Eat It Too - Tumblr Posts
Preach!
I so agree! So disappointed that western media is incapable of following the source material as well as putting down viable careers for women in the past. Like taking the vow of chastity and becoming a nun is a shows dedication and sacrifice, It's so badass and inspiring why did they feel like it was okay to replace her??
Another instance would be the webtoon Go Away Romeo. It's the same premise but set as a sequel of sorts, and Rosaline birthed Romeo's kid. It's such waste, too, cause the aet is gorgeous and a sequel centered around Rosaline is really interesting. But the fandom! Oh my goodness, the double standard of the commenters is something else. Really hate how the main FL would be praised for breaking gender norms while any female side character would be mocked and demonized for it.
Is it just me, or does "modern retellings" often end up with misogynistic vibes or very juvenile a lot of times? A young woman who is uninterested with the man, who already have another path in life line up is turn into the "good girl" and loves the man and whose whole life revolves around him. A young girl who falls into the typical shallow teen love is turned into the homewreaking vixen who pulles the poor naive man (or partner in crime) who the Good Girl has to overcome. It's focused around who is the victim v. oppresser even when it's not there.
The existence of this Rosaline movie makes me so MAD, because SHE WAS NEVER IN A RELATIONSHIP WITH ROMEO. SHE TOOK A VOW OF CHASTITY, AND SAID THAT SHE WAS JUST GONNA NOT BE IN LOVE.
SHE. REJECTED. HIM.
SHE WAS NEVER INTERESTED IN BEING WITH HIM AT ALL.
And then they just…make a whole movie from her supposed perspective (which is loosely based on a book which…hoo boy we’ll get to that in a second), where the premise is that she’s jealous and wants to break him and Juliet up? That she’s so in love that she has to win him over again? (Also, how do they justify her knowing that they’re together? The entire point is that no one knows Romeo and Juliet are in love?? I know this is an adaptation, but Jesus Christ.)
WHY DID YOU PICK THIS CHARACTER. TO HAVE THIS STORY WITH. THE WHOLE POINT OF HER CHARACTER IS THAT SHE CHOOSES NOT TO BE WITH HIM. THAT’S WHAT OPENS THE DOOR TO HIM MEETING JULIET. IF ROSALINE IS DEEPLY INTO ROMEO, THE ENTIRE PLAY DOESN’T WORK.
Are we saying that she was just “““playing hard to get”””? That she was toying with his heart for fun? That when she told him no, she really meant “yes”?? I THOUGHT WE LEFT THAT BEHIND OVER THE COURSE OF THE LAST DECADE, I THOUGHT WE DECIDED THAT WAS BAD???!!?
Don’t even get me started on the book this is based on, where that general premise is that Rosaline is just an Innocent Average Girl, and her cousin who is Beautiful™ and vOLaTiLeLY uNsTAbLe and cRaZy comes and “takes” her poor unsuspecting boyfriend who is completely blameless for his own terrible behavior away from her while being called a “slut” the whole time. (I doubt much of this carried over into the actual movie, because that’s being billed as an ironic rom-com, and I highly doubt ANYONE would try to make that genre work while keeping this premise 100% intact.)
WHY WOULD YOU EXPAND THIS CHARACTER LIKE THIS. WHY. WE STUDY THIS PLAY IN SCHOOL AS AN EXAMPLE OF LITERARY STRUCTURE AND POETIC LANGUAGE AND FORESHADOWING AND HOW TO WRITE A TRAGIC NARRATIVE AND FOR WHAT. FOR PEOPLE TO NOT TAKE AWAY ANY OF THE INTENDED MEANING FROM THIS PLAY???!?!?!? I AM SCREAMING SO HARD I WILL BREAK THE EARTH’S CRUST UNTIL I AM SUBSUMED INTO HELL.
If you’re going to adapt something, you’ve gotta make it clear that you have some significant understanding of the original work. Retellings are fine! They can even have different functions or deconstruct tropes or be unexpectedly edgy! But it’s 1000% obvious when you don’t have any knowledge or engagement with the source material, and that is a problem. It’s ignorant, it’s lazy, and everyone involved deserves better.