5. Batman Begins. Not, perhaps, the most powerful and important of life-changing or mind-shaping or word-giving, but this film really had a Eureka moment for me when the character of Rachel articulates why I've always hated revenge dramas - "Revenge is about making you feel better. Justice is about harmony."
4. The Man Who Was Thursday - G. K. Chesterton. A 1911ish thriller which is engrossing (I read it in one night at 14 in Switzerland), and at the same time extremely thought-provoking. Convinced me that instead of embracing the prevailing cultural rebellion against standards, structure, and heirarchy, I would be a rebel against rebellion. Not quite standing up for "the man," but in a weird backwards way doing exactly that.
3. Little Dorrit. While I had undergone a significant reversal when I was 17, falling in love with Jane Austen after thinking she was stupid since I was 13, my long-standing hatred of Dickens' ridiculously unbelievable and unlikeable characters and silly plot devices melted in the face of the passionate sincerity and loveable nobility of this amazing, dual-climaxed epic. A monument to the fact that if I don't love something now, there is a chance (however slim) that I won't always hate it.
2. Sherlock Holmes, as played by Jeremy Brett. Until I was 13, I hated dressing up, my hair, and thought colors were cool. When I was thirteen, I began watching this amazing series of adaptations of stories I'd been reading since I was about ten, and those three things changed. I loved dressing up, began forcing my hair to be combed, and thought black was the best color ever. In addition to these elements, I developed a lasting and life-shaping interest in adaptation and film directing.
1. Jane Austen. You didn't know? I mean, she's only the person who I think has the most beautiful writing style, most loveable and admirable characters, and most satisfying combinations of characters and situations/structures/plots. Plus, she really is my entry into my chosen profession of literary criticism, theory, and teaching.
1 comment:
Interesting list in that some of those who made it were those you rejected when you were younger. For the most part, when I think about major influences, I think of the authors who I read so much when I was young that they imprinted themselves on my psyche.
I have got to return to Dickens (we've been on the outs for awhile now) in order to read Little Dorrit.
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