Matilda

[wisdomeagle]

[contains spoilers for both the book and movie versions of Matilda. If you haven't read the book, you should.]



I have always disliked the way the movie version of Matilda changes the ending. At the end of the book, Matilda has lost the telekinetic powers because she is put in a more age-appropriate setting and the brainpower she had been channeling to move objects is now being used to do schoolwork. In the movie, she "stops using her powers, unless it's really important," like, oh, fetching books for Miss Honey to read to her. Uh huh.

What bothers me is that the movie transforms Matilda's powers into a parlor trick. They aren't. They're not... they're not fun, or light-hearted. They're really kind of dark, creepy powers, and it's a good thing that Matilda loses them, because... well, the book is about a gifted girl who isn't really a part of her peer group, and her other-worldliness is manifested outwardly by her powers. At the end of the book, she's no longer the unhappy, abused girl she was, and she doesn't need the powers anymore.

The movie totally loses that.

And it occurred to me, while I was doing the book meme about two minutes ago, that I haven't had any books really move me deeply since I was in middle school. And I realized that coming to PEG, for me, was like Matilda moving into a higher grade like she does in the end of the book. I'm still not normal, God knows! But a lot of the especially counter-social aspects of my personality have been ameliorated somewhat by having an actual peer group. I don't need books the way I did in sixth and seventh and eighth grade.

Maybe the reason so many of the books on my list of meaningful ones are young adult novels is because it was when I was a young adult (12-15) that I most needed the company of books, the companionship of the heroes of coming of age stories, other children like me who were a little bit out of the ordinary. (With the truth, of course, being that we're all a little bit out of the ordinary.)

In a sense, despite being lighter on the surface (Matilda doesn't lose anything), the movie version of Matilda takes away the happy ending. The truth is that when we grow into our bodies and minds, when we find a place where we belong, we do lose something. We lose, perhaps, the feeling of extraordinariness that we cherished through our isolated time.

I wonder if, when I go back home, away from the happy shiny world of PEG, I'll once again turn to books. I wonder what books I'll find that speak to me.

On the other hand, and as a side note, the one piece of media that has truly, deeply spoken to me through my college years was Farscape, because John's story really is every-man's story. *cuddles Farscape close*

Comments

[hammersickle.livejournal.com]

i loved the movie matilda, even though it was different. it's such a nice film.

but, you are right about it. *shrugs*

[wisdomeagle]

I like the movie too, in spite of myself. There are so many things objectively that I don't like about it... but I've watched it many times with great love.

I think it's Embeth Davidtz (the actress who plays Miss Honey). She's just so... pretty.

[hammersickle.livejournal.com]

i love that movie because i used to watch it with my grandmother all the time, before she passed. it has a lot of good memories tied to it. also, mara wilson was adorable when she was young. =)

and, of course, i agree about ms. davidtz. =)

[mylittleredgirl.livejournal.com]

I never saw the movie. I'm not a big movie person in general, and so I always end up missing movie versions of my favorite books and not really minding. But hmm. Perhaps I should start watching them, so that I can better understand the meta. :)

[wisdomeagle]

I'm also not a big movie person, and I have really mixed feelings about reccing Matilda to you, because it's pretty and funny but so WRONG. Meh.

:)

[hermionesviolin.livejournal.com]

We all know the seething hatred i have for making books into movies (though admittedly there are a few such that i enjoy), so obviously i have never seen the Matilda movie. That's really unfortunate that they so changed the ending, though. I vaguely recall catching the end of The Witches movie and being unsure how i felt about the change, but to make Matilda into just a magical little girl? Totally undercuts one of the really powerful themes of the book. So yeah, basically Word to what you said.

[wisdomeagle]

Yep. Annoys me kind of a lot. And yeah, I think we all know that I share your seething hatred for movie versions. (My favorite eighth grade paper was the one about the movie vs. book Animal Farm in which I got to absolutely destroy the movie version. Fun.)

[sk8eeyore.livejournal.com]

Maybe the reason so many of the books on my list of meaningful ones are young adult novels is because it was when I was a young adult (12-15) that I most needed the company of books, the companionship of the heroes of coming of age stories, other children like me who were a little bit out of the ordinary.

I think I would find that to be very true of myself as well. Excellent points.

I never had any interest in watching the movie version because I was afraid of just this sort of tinkering.

[silly-cleo.livejournal.com]

You know, you're absolutely right. Huh.

Also, hee on Miss Honey. I think I had a crush on her when I VERY first went to see that movie in cinemas and I must've been 10 or so, so.

[silly-cleo.livejournal.com]

Not huh over you're right, you often are just huh to the whole post in general. I shall ponder it. ;)

[melwil.livejournal.com]

Roald Dahl's books are genuinely very scary and creepy, and I don't think any movie has quite managed to capture the horror he packed into words.

I disappeared into books from the age of 9 until university. I'm sure there are many reasons for that, which I now want to think about *G*

[raisintorte.livejournal.com]

Hi, I was clicking around LJ at 2am and I stumbled across this. I hope you don't mind my random commenting but Matilda is my favorite book. I never saw the movie version of Matilda because I didn't think they could do justice to the book and from your post it sounds like they didn't.

I haven't had any books really move me deeply since I was in middle school

I totally agree! Roald Dahl and Cynthia Voigt are still two of my favorite authors. I don't have time to read a lot anymore but when I do I haven't found anything that makes me feel like those did. Then again I needed the books a lot more back then than I do now, so context may have something to do with it.

[wisdomeagle]

Hee, no problem at all.

Then again I needed the books a lot more back then than I do now, so context may have something to do with it.

Yes. I totally feel this.

Thanks for commenting. :)

[raisintorte.livejournal.com]

Do you mind if I friend you? Your journal is very interesting. :-) I'm a huge Buffy/Angel/Stargate(both shows) fan, and I love reading about all of them. My journal has been very school-me centric as of late, but now that school is over I'm hoping to have more time to talk about other stuff. Most likely it will be nerdy BSG analysis but who knows what will actually come out.

And now I'm reading Matilda again, I love this book. :-)

[wisdomeagle]

I mind not at all! Glad you have you. :)

[polyartamorous.livejournal.com]

Maybe the reason so many of the books on my list of meaningful ones are young adult novels is because it was when I was a young adult (12-15) that I most needed the company of books, the companionship of the heroes of coming of age stories, other children like me who were a little bit out of the ordinary. (With the truth, of course, being that we're all a little bit out of the ordinary.)


what have you been reading these days?