My nonviolent rewatch of Pride and Prejudice

I rewatched Pride and Prejudice (the 2005 version) Wednesday night. I sort of get into something, obsess over it, OD on it, then ignore its existence for a good while before I can be bothered to look at it again. Pride and Prejudice is an example of this. In...March I think I read the novel for the first time, watched the BBC production series of it (with Colin Firth lol) and rewatched the 2005 version and continuously analyzed all forms of its production (and posts about it) with a friend (who has been obsessed with it for literal years) for at least a month. Point being, I ended up getting sick of it and letting it disappear from my life. (I'm pretty sure my friend is still going. Go Lucy!)

Enter Fall 2026. Multiple of my professors have brought up the novel, brought up the 2005 movie, and another fawned over the BBC series during a lecture. It was back. I ignored it as best I could, I didn't want to get into it again. Until I did. I watched it a couple nights ago. And it was SO good. I streamed it off 123Movies on my phone to the family TV (dangerous I know, yet not a single pop-up, I was blessed) and made a hot cup of tea. My dad sat to my right and my brother to my left. Right off the bat my dad looked at me and whispered (in the loudest, most obnoxious whisper), "What are they saying? Put on the subtitles," absolutely not. No subtitles on Pride and Prejudice. I shushed him and turned up the volume. Then he's asking about the characters' names and who is who. Look at it from my view: I'd done all the "research," I knew all the intricacies; he had not. So, naturally, he's asking me. He's watched Pride, Prejudice, and Zombies (and no comment there) and starts asking me which one is Bingley. I said the one with red hair that everyone keeps calling Mr. Bingley. Then he asks which one is Darcy, and I tell him Mr. Darcy is the tall one that everyone keeps calling Mr. Darcy. Then he asks me why the mom won't let Jane take the carriage, and why Elizabeth is walking, and who the other redhead is... Dear Lord, we're 20 minutes in... My patience was astronomical, I tell you. He's lucky to be alive.

He kept asking and I stopped answering when he asked me who Mr. Bennett was (he asked at least 55 minutes into the movie, I had to give up eventually). I did have fun laughing with my brother at Mr. Collins, though. You can't not laugh at him. He stands in the most ridiculous, duck-footed slouch and never blinks. Outstanding representation of a painfully awkward man that want to marry their cousin because a rich lady he financially depends on told him to. But I knew his background from the book and was familiar with all the social norms Austen wrote (thoroughly) about as reason for many character's actions throughout the story. My dad had no idea, and it was very much not as fun for him to watch it as it was for me. I love movies, but I am team book most of the time. I love the knowledge and the thoughts that I am privy to when I read. Movie scores always get me, and I understand the beauty of cinema; but books can convey so much more than a movie could ever dream of. In a book: the layers of perspective, the intricacies of society (especially in classical fiction), and the depth of experience cannot be outdone.

Reading can transport you deeply into new worlds, movies provide just a glimpse that leaves you wanting more. I am much more personable when you bother me watching a movie than I am if you bother me when I am reading. It is because I am creating the whole world in my mind when I read, and when you come up to my room, don't knock, and tap me to ask me if I collected trash (instead of checking the bins downstairs that you passed by to get to me), is it really so difficult to understand why I get annoyed?