As America Slides Toward Dickensian Nightmare, Novelist of the 99% Is Trending Big-Time

[xchrom]

http://www.alternet.org/economy/america-slides-toward-dickensian-nightmare-novelist-99-trending-big-time



***SNIP

In the subjects Dickens took on we find a menu of concerns that reflect our current ills: laissez-faire capitalism ( Hard Times), class divides ( Great Expectations) child poverty ( Oliver Twist), debt ( Little Dorrit), legal injustice ( Bleak House) and tyranny ( A Tale of Two Cities).

No wonder Dickensia is everywhere right now. Since the financial crisis, there have been BBC adaptations, a hit biography, and retrospectives celebrating the 200-year anniversary of his birth in 2012. Oprah doubled down on Dickens with a Great Expectations/A Tale of Two Cities combo for her book club. Most recently, Bill de Blasio rode A Tale of Two Cities all the way to the New York mayorship, making the title of Dickens’ novel a campaign slogan for a divided metropolis. A new film version of Great Expectations featuring Helena Bonham Carter as Miss Havisham and an upcoming biopic starring Ralph Fiennes seal the author’s resurgence.

Charles Dickens didn’t just imagine hard times; he lived them. The world was very nearly deprived of one of its great artists and humanitarians when poverty struck his decidedly ordinary family. When Dickens was 12 years old, his father, a clerk, hit a rough financial patch and was thrown into debtor’s prison. Young Charles left school and labored in a rat-infested shoe polish warehouse, toiling 10 hours a day, six days a week, for two years. If not for the death of his grandmother, who left the family a small inheritance, Dickens would likely have remained there and never continued his education. Fortunately he was able to make his way to school and eventually landed a job as a newspaper reporter.

Dickens’ childhood story, which haunted him for life, is a vivid example of what happens when people fall on hard times in the absence of a social safety net: they get trampled. No doubt Dickens and his family would have been sneered at today by Tea Partiers and self-serving 1 percenters who pretend that poverty is a deserved condition. But Charles Dickens learned firsthand that poverty is no more a sign of depravity than wealth is an indicator of superiority. He saw that very often the reverse is true. This theme would feature in Great Expectations, where the working-class Pip longs to be a gentleman, but soon finds out that many gentlefolk were either dissipated or conniving or sadistic—or all three.

[Laelth]

1. k&r for Charles Dickens. n/t

-Laelth

[Borchkins]

2. Children's Theatre of Madison

is presenting Dickens' A Christmas Carol. It is a special adaptation written by an actress from American Players Theatre, Colleen Madden.

Her husband, Jim Ridge, is playing the part of Ebeneezer Scrooge. The tale is classic, the story, unfortunately is timeless. If you're in the neighborhood, I suggest stopping by.

Besides, my two boys are in the cast!

http://overturecenter.com/production/a-christmas-carol

B

[xchrom]

3. tell them to 'break a leg'!

that sounds awesome.

[KoKo]

11. BTW...a Nice Animation for the "younger set" of Dickens Life

here from BBC. The link comes up "Bleak House" but the animation is just under and it's a nice synopsis of Dickens life for the younger.

I liked it myself!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/drama/bleakhouse/animation.shtml

[octoberlib]

4. I just finished re-reading A Tale of Two Cities. nt

[zeemike]

5. A great read. and thanks for it.

But the GOP would like to bring back debtors prison...a great source of cheep labor...and child labor too if they can.

[ReRe]

6. K&R

Yes, thank whatever is good in this world or in heaven for Dickens' grandmother. He documented the wicked times he was lucky enough to live through. Whenever I think "Historic Fiction", I think of Dickens first, as he was so prolific. To be fair, though, there were others who were able to write history into fiction, such as Dostoevsky in Crime and Punishment, Charlotte Bronte in Jane Eyre to name only two. If you ever want to know what it was like in any age, just read the historical fiction of that time. Thanks, xchron for the OP!

[Bluenorthwest]

7. Dickens is one of the novelists most often adapted to film, more than 20 versions

of Christmas Carol alone. They say there are over 300 films made from Dickens works. Shakespeare is slightly more adapted but then again, not a novelist.
His work is wildly and sadly well suited to our times.

[KoKo]

12. BBC did two Newer Versions of Dickens Classics...as we go into WINTER

where we are more confined...these two versions are worth a "Look See."

These TWO are excellent RECENT versions...and I've probably watched all of the Dickens re-incarnations through the years and even earlier BBC ones. But, taste changes and with Reality Shows and Edgier Network series...many think that Dickens is too plodding and filled with characters they can't relate to.

I'm thinking those who thought Downton Abby was a much watch might find these two Dickens FAR BETTER and more relevant to today's viewer who needs "much intrigue" and while Downton was fine...these are both WINTER stuff when one has time that might be good viewing:

Check out Amazon, Netflix or Barnes & Noble/Amazon Sites to see reviews and where one can watch. David Copperfield Version with Maggie Smith and Daniel Radcliff is available on Neflix for DVD Selection, I believe (the photography is incredibly beautiful and the acting is also incredible) and "Bleak House" used to be Streaming on Netflix but doesn't seem to be available there, anymore. But, it is worth finding a Trailer in a Search and even purchasing if it looks good from the trailer...for holiday gift to yourself...if you are a Dickens fan looking for a gripping storyline that won't let you down.

===============
THIS is an incredibly beautiful adaptation of David Copperfield. Look at the CAST and you can see the fine character acting this VERSION delivers:

Charles Dickens: David Copperfield
(Masterpiece Theatre: David Copperfield)
1999NR181 minutes

The most autobiographical of Dickens's works, David Copperfield tells the moving story of David's journey from birth to maturity -- a journey that inextricably links his life with some of Dickens's most extraordinary and colorful families. A world-class cast -- including Daniel Radcliffe, Oscar-winner Maggie Smith, Bob Hoskins and Nicholas Lyndhurst -- brings to life some of Charles Dickens's most beloved characters in this TV adaptation.

Cast:
Daniel Radcliffe, Bob Hoskins, Ciaran McMenamin, Nicholas Lyndhurst, Pauline Quirke, Maggie Smith, Tom Wilkinson, Ian McKellen, Emilia Fox, Trevor Eve, Zoë Wanamaker, Alun Armstrong, Imelda Staunton, Amanda Ryan, Michael Elphick, James Thornton, Oliver Milburn, Dawn French, Cherie Lunghi, Ian McNeice
Director:
Simon Curtis

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Bleak House2005NR3 discs / 8 episodes

An orphaned girl finds a happy home with a wealthy man and his wards, never suspecting the truth about her origins -- or knowing her fate. But as the plot thickens, a suspenseful yarn of legal justice unfolds in this drama miniseries.

Cast:
Denis Lawson, Anna Maxwell Martin, Patrick Kennedy, Carey Mulligan, Gillian Anderson, Timothy West, Charles Dance, Burn Gorman, Alun Armstrong, Tom Georgeson, Nathaniel Parker, Richard Harrington, Warren Clarke, Johnny Vegas, Hugo Speer, John Lynch, Tony Haygarth, Andrew Davies

Genre:
TV Miniseries, Dramas Based on Classic Literature, Pre-20th Century Period Pieces, Drama

In an effort to draw in younger viewers, the BBC has commissioned new productions of classic drama, but allow the screenwriters and directors to inject some modern sensibilities into the stories. Those worried that Dickens, Austen, and Shakespeare will be dumbed down, should not be concerned – there is a great respect for the works, despite the concerted efforts to reach out to contemporary audiences. 2005?s Bleak House, based on the classic Charles Dickens novel, is a wonderful example of just how forward-thinking the BBC can be when it comes to filmmaking.

Bleak House concerns various plots that twine together. The centerpiece is a long and convoluted court case, Jarndyce and Jarndyce, an epic court battle that is holding up the inheritance of two young orphans – Ada (Carey Mulligan) and Richard (Patrick Kennedy). The two are taken in by a kind, rich benefactor, John Jarndyce, who willfully gave up his stake in the inheritance (Denis Lawson). The orphans are accompanied by a young penniless orphan, Esther Summerson (Anna Maxwell Martin), whose questionable lineage provides the plot with a large dose of mystery and tragedy. Also involved is the beautiful but enigmatic Lady Dedlock (Gillian Anderson), who has deep secrets of her own, that she is trying her best to keep hidden. Though there are scores of peopel who are trying to do wrong, the most odious villain is the unscrupulous lawyer, Tulkinghorn (Charles Dance), who seems to make sport of destroying the lives of those around him.

The sprawling and twisting story is spread out over 15 wonderful episodes that are engrossing and engaging. In the center is the miniseries’ heroine, Esther who ingratiates herself to the genial John Jarndyce. Because she’s kind, intelligent and supremely level-headed, she becomes friends with the locals, and catches the eye of the attractive doctor, Allan Woodcourt (Richard Harrington).
She goes through a picaresque journey which has her field marriage proposals, battle disease and pestilence, unearth familial secrets, and counsel her friends through their trials and tribulations.

Because this is Dickens, there are huge swaths of social critique – particularly of the Victorian legal system as well as the class differences that force the poor to live and battle hunger, poverty, and disease (it seems like every episode has some penurious character succumbing to consumption). Even though it’s expected, the criticism is pointed, and it’s very upsetting to see the less fortunate characters in the film forced to live in unsanitary conditions, toil to mete out some semblance of a life; though, it’s important to note that the richer characters in the miniseries don’t lived charmed lives – in fact, the wealthy don’t fare too well – most notably the Dedlock household.

https://thechicagolibrary.wordpress.com/2012/12/02/the-bbc-offers-a-dazzling-bleak-house/

[myrna minx]

8. K&R.

[PADemD]

9. Gerald Charles Dickens

Charles Dickens' great great grandson performs a one-man show of A Christmas Carol and other Dickens plays. I saw him perform A Christmas Carol in Bethlehem, PA a couple of years ago and purchased an autographed book. He looks a lot like his grandfather. He's touring the USA again if you are interested in seeing a Dickens play.

http://www.geralddickens.com/biography.htm

[KoKo]

10. So interesting. We've been on a Dickens Jag..in our house for months now!

BBC did updates of earlier productions of Dickens most famous. They are good productions and suck one in with the intrigue.

I thought this reply from Commenter on the AlterNet Article was worth posting because of it's insight.
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weindeb
• 33 minutes ago

Thank you, Ms. Parramore, for a splendid, poignant, well-honed piece. You write: 'If conscience pricks him, he comforts himself with thoughts of his
latest philanthropic ventures: “I’m not miserly, I just wrote a check to
the ballet!”'

Here in New York I frequently ride the M11 bus, which carries me south down Columbus Avenue. There on the right is Lincoln Center and the David H. Koch Theater, home of the famed New York City Ballet. Talk of lipstick on the pig! It makes me want to vomit. How could such a good person as this, his name inscribed on a temple of gentle pursuits, but go to heaven in a golden limousine? All hail to the kind and wise David H. Koch!

Perhaps it really doesn't much matter that an über wealthy and powerful capitalist libertarian profoundly engaged in seeking ever more for himself and his ilk funds not only a ballet theater but methods and relevant organizations set on destroying democracy, the planet and decency itself in the name of greed and power. How nice to think that just maybe in charge of the Pearly Gates is Dickens himself, endowed with a second career beyond that of his earthly one.


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