Vanity Fair - General Discussion

[Meredith Quill]

Discuss Vanity Fair here!

[LiveenLetLive]

I wish that more British viewers used the forum (or Americans like myself who go out of their way to get access to British programming.) Anyway I am loving the new production, I really dig Olivia Cooke as Becky Sharpe---Ms Cooke is attractive but not so gorgeous that she could only make her way on her looks, and Tom Bateman as Rawdon Crawley--huba buba, he is not drop dead gorgeous either but masculine and sexy. I appreciate most of the modern updates (although making the heiress that Osborne's father wants George to marry a West Indian seems unlikely considering how racist society was at that time.) I know that using rock tunes over the ending titles bugs some people but it doesn't me. I hope that an American channel buys the series.

[snowwhyte]

I read somewhere that it was part funded by Amazon so hopefully it will be on Amazon for American viewers. I am British and the big US shows are released at about the same time over here as they are in The US while British shows generally have to be a big hit before finding an American market. It is frustrating in terms of the forum.

I enjoyed the show. The actress playing Becky is very likeable. Becky is actually quite a difficult character to get right. If she pushes too  far with the charm she comes across as fake. If she is too manipulative she might lose sympathy. So far she is coming across as self-interested but not mean spirited. You can see why people like her and you want her to do well. 

[LiveenLetLive]

I think of Becky as an anti heroine actually but one has to appreciate her natural ability to survive and her ingenuity! I've read the novel (years ago) and I know most of what is coming up but the wonderful performances have me hooked. 

[ApathyMonger]

I'm enjoying it, though it's a shame it's going up against Bodyguard on Sunday nights. Hopefully people will find it anyway.

[Athena]

I am watching the Bodyguard so this got waylaid, but I am going to binge it when it is finished or closer to finishing. 

Amazon is the international distributor. A lot of the North American streaming services will get a UK release after it airs on UK TV. 

[LiveenLetLive]

Tonight's episode was very good---jeesh I wish I could remember how Thackeray wrote Becky, did he dislike her? admire her ability to survive? she is probably up there with the most unlikable heroines in English History.

[Drumpf1737]

I wish her affection for Riordan was more apparent. I'm really enjoying this but I can't get the Reese Witherspoon version out of my head. 

[jumper sage]

This is the only thread?

Just stopped by to say I don't have Amazon and was sad.  I was just clicking through the channels and .....................I LOVE LIVING CLOSE TO THE DETROIT RIVER WHERE WINDSOR, CANADA IS A STONES THROW AWAY.  They are running season 1 on CBC Windsor on Wednesdays at 9:00 pm EST.  Woo hoo!  [runs off to catch up on the characters]

[JTM]

On 9/10/2018 at 4:22 AM, LiveenLetLive said:

making the heiress that Osborne's father wants George to marry a West Indian seems unlikely 

This is straight out of the book. The heiress Miss Schwartz is West Indian. It was rather a 'thing' at that time, for the wealthy often-mixed-lineage daughters of colonial plantation owners to be educated in England in the hopes of snaring a high-end-but-poorish husband.

[LiveenLetLive]

On 10/3/2018 at 7:25 PM, JTM said:

This is straight out of the book. The heiress Miss Schwartz is West Indian. It was rather a 'thing' at that time, for the wealthy often-mixed-lineage daughters of colonial plantation owners to be educated in England in the hopes of snaring a high-end-but-poorish husband.

But there were white West Indian Families as well, for example, the writer Jean Rhys and Alexander Hamilton were both from the region, did Thackery really describe her as mixed race? I've read the book but long ago.

At any rate, now that it is over, I must say that I really enjoyed this production---although what a waste of that hott husband of Becky's. The costuming was beautiful---those Hats!

[Athena]

54 minutes ago, LiveenLetLive said:

But there were white West Indian Families as well, for example, the writer Jean Rhys and Alexander Hamilton were both from the region, did Thackery really describe her as mixed race? I've read the book but long ago.

 

Yes. She is described as "mulatto" which is the archaic word for mixed race. Her complexion is referenced a lot. She is called a "mahogany charmer" and "Black Princess" as well. Thackery's portrayal of her is generally considered problematic. However, a lot of these comments are made by George Osborne who is prejudiced and close minded.

As for Thackery disliking Becky, I think there is a hint of that in the novel. Becky is really awful at times in the book but there is also a sense that he admires her and people like her. The novel is a critique of society and he acknowledges there are players in society like her who are survivors.

[bijoux]

I don’t know if it’s this production or a reflection of the times we live in, but I didn’t find Becky problematic for most of the run, not until the penultimate episode when she was not only cheating on Rawdon but driving him and their landlord into debt. All until then I sympathized with her, she was a woman struggling in a classicist society and she unfailingly kept her head up, even raising Rawdon up when he was down.

Possibly the highlight of the finale was Dobbin finally giving it straight to Amelia. I had to both roll my eyes and chortle at her final line, Our daughter is the love of his life now. Oh, the horror. Amelia was such a drip at times. I know I didn’t feel that way in the beginning, but it developed along the way. 

[LiveenLetLive]

17 hours ago, Athena said:

Yes. She is described as "mulatto" which is the archaic word for mixed race. Her complexion is referenced a lot. She is called a "mahogany charmer" and "Black Princess" as well. Thackery's portrayal of her is generally considered problematic. However, a lot of these comments are made by George Osborne who is prejudiced and close minded.

As for Thackery disliking Becky, I think there is a hint of that in the novel. Becky is really awful at times in the book but there is also a sense that he admires her and people like her. The novel is a critique of society and he acknowledges there are players in society like her who are survivors.

Ok I think that I was under the influence of Dido Bell's precarious position in upper English society when thinking about that character, LOL, as for Becky, I think that we can say that Thackery has a grudging respect for her.

[GoldaVining]

I wasn't sure I was going to be able to stomach Becky Sharp again but I enjoyed this. So fun seeing some of my favourite folks from other shows pop up. I especially loved seeing Martin Clunes as Pitt Sr. and the very handsome Anthony Head as Mr. Steyn, who played Mr. Elliot in the movie Persuasion, and Amelia's father who played Charles Musgrove in the other version of the movie Persuasion! I love both versions so much. Also fun to see the "Fuck me" girl from the Bridget Jones movie as Steyn's wife and Perpetua, also from the Bridget Jones movie, as Ms. Briggs. So fun!

Edited November 5, 2018 by GoldaVining
typo

[norcalgal]

On 10/7/2018 at 10:32 PM, bijoux said:

I don’t know if it’s this production or a reflection of the times we live in, but I didn’t find Becky problematic for most of the run, not until the penultimate episode when she was not only cheating on Rawdon but driving him and their landlord into debt. All until then I sympathized with her, she was a woman struggling in a classicist society and she unfailingly kept her head up, even raising Rawdon up when he was down.

Possibly the highlight of the finale was Dobbin finally giving it straight to Amelia. I had to both roll my eyes and chortle at her final line, Our daughter is the love of his life now. Oh, the horror. Amelia was such a drip at times. I know I didn’t feel that way in the beginning, but it developed along the way. 

Soooo much this!  I’m bummed Rawdy Senior didn’t have a happy ending and I hope Rawdy Junior sticks with icing his mother out. I can understand why Becky did the things she did to survive, but using the excuse she herself didn’t have a mother so didn’t know how to mother her own son was complete BS.  
And count me in as someone who didn’t mind the modern music used in the series since I just forwarded those bits.