The Prejudices of PerspectiveSay no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why violent video games should not be banned”? Get an original essay For many years, filmmakers have strived to capture the essence of Jane Austen in their films. Although not all succeeded in accomplishing this task, all managed to offer unique readings of the novel. Even the BBC Austen series, which offers some of the most faithful cinematic interpretations of Austen's novels, betrays a particular judgment about character and plot. The BBC's 1995 rendition of Pride and Prejudice subtly departed from Austen's novel through Colin Firth's interpretation of her character and the director's improved portrayal of Mr. Darcy. The actors' appropriation of the characters is significant to the extent that the audience interprets it. Colin Firth's characterization of Mr. Darcy gives a distinctly different first impression from that offered by the novel. The narrator of Austen's book states that Mr. Darcy is proud and "beyond satisfaction" (Austen, 8) just a few lines after introducing his name. In this way, the narrator imposes his judgment on Mr. Darcy's character on the readers. This is one of the key stylistic methods of the novel; as the reader is unable to directly witness the events, he or she is forced to trust or adopt the opinions and perspectives of the narrators and characters in these scenes. In the BBC's Pride and Prejudice, the narrator's prejudice against Mr. Darcy is embodied in the character Elizabeth. However, this does not necessarily make the audience dislike the character, as they can analyze the situation first-hand and form an opinion of Mr. Darcy completely independent of that of the other characters in the film. While this may seem like the safest way to experience Jane Austen without risking being misled by the narrator, the audience unknowingly falls prey to the judgments of two new types of narrators: the director and the actors. . Although it can be argued that being influenced by the choices of a third party, such as the director and actors, is more dangerous than being deceived by the author herself, in the case of this BBC version of Pride & Prejudice, the director and actor's portrait of Mr Darcy offers a more accurate reading of his goodness of character – qualities which only become apparent in the second half of the novel. According to Mr. Darcy's introduction to the ball, Colin Firth's face is not one of pride and snobbery, but rather of conservatism and shyness. This Mr. Darcy seems uncomfortable in such company and seems to want to go unnoticed by the group. However, his elegance, income and incredible good looks betray him, and he unwittingly becomes the center of attention and the heart of everyone's conversation. In this scene, everyone looks at each other and whispers, and at some points even laughs or snubs Mr. Darcy - which, in the film, serves to justify why he finds the whole of society so unpleasant. If the narrator of the novel had described the party the way the director described it in the film, the reader might have been more persuaded to sympathize with Mr. Darcy from the beginning of the novel. At this party, there are two main offenders against Mr. Darcy: Mrs. Bennet and Elizabeth. An interesting example that occurs in this film and not in the novel is Mrs. Bennet's loud speech about how unpleasant Mr. Darcy is. The speech is very similar to one she later shouts at another ball, as both are incredibly insulting and pronouncedloud enough for Mr. Darcy to hear. Elizabeth, for her part, is too reckless to hide her feelings for Mr. Darcy and mocks him to Charlotte just a few feet away from where he is. All the while, Firth's Mr. Darcy remains alone, sad and awkward, like a child being teased in the playground. He's a Victim: Intentionally portrayed by Colin Firth and director Simon Langton. Langton and Firth manipulate the audience into feeling sorry for Mr. Darcy despite his disdain for Elizabeth, or at the very least, persuade the audience that there has been some misunderstanding of Mr. Darcy's character by the whole group. This, while incredibly helpful to the film's audience, takes away the surprise readers of the novel felt after realizing that the prejudice against Mr. Darcy was unfair. This destroys the narrator's supposed intention, which was to shame the audience alongside Elizabeth for a hasty and criminal judgment of a man of such honorable character. Additionally, Colin Firth portrays Mr. Darcy without any character inconsistencies throughout the film. This further implements this very particular reading of the novel which suggests that Mr. Darcy did not change or evolve to become a better man, but that Elizabeth's perception of Mr. Darcy was one that needed to transform. In addition to persuading the audience to side with Mr. Darcy from the beginning of the film, Langton invites the audience to become seduced by Mr. Darcy by portraying him not only as a sensitive man, but also as a sexually attractive man . The film features a sequence of scenes, not part of Jane Austen's original novel, in which Mr. Darcy's many virtues are illustrated. There is a particular scene in the fifth episode in which Mr. Darcy emerges from a dark room in the middle of the night, unable to sleep. The implication here is that he is troubled by his love for Elizabeth. Mr. Darcy, now in the living room, looks at the empty apron where Elizabeth was sitting a few hours before and the film cuts to a flashback of Elizabeth playing the apron. The flashback is intended to represent Mr. Darcy's thoughts and convince the audience of the depth and scope of his love for Elizabeth. Later, in another scene not in the novel, Langton follows Darcy after her rejection and focuses on her reaction. (In the novel, all we get is a brief reference to Darcy's expression of "mixed disbelief and mortification" [Austen, 141], and then a prolonged examination of Elizabeth's own feelings and anxieties.) Colin Firth's expression is heartbreaking; the deep pain he feels invades his handsome features and he seems to have difficulty holding back his tears. If Firth and Langton don't extract pity from their audience, they certainly extract tears. This choice to include Mr. Darcy's reaction not only ensures audience sympathy and establishes Mr. Darcy as a sensitive character, but also recognizes him as a protagonist at least correspondingly equal to Elizabeth. The director's elevation of Colin Firth's character is emphasized to the audience before they have the opportunity to take the DVD out of the case. Although there are several versions of the film cover, they all contain a large photo of Colin Firth's face with a very small photo of Jennifer Ehle and sometimes Susannah Harker in the lower left corner. This decision not only insinuates that Mr. Darcy's character is more important than Elizabeth's, but also introduces a sexualization of Mr. Darcy into the film. Langton creates several scenes to ensure Mr. Darcy's sex appeal to a female audience, the first of which is the fencing scene. Although this episode adds nothing to the plot, it establishes Mr. Darcy as a strong man and.. 1995.