so many mosquitos!
July 15, 2011 2:27 PM Subscribe
This is just a fangirl with a camera. Being an amateur. Making a blog. Making a statement. Saying that Harry Potter changed her life.
And THIS is the remix. (DLYT)
Wow, I love that remix. Except for the fangirl with the camera. Can we lose the fangirl?
posted by wierdo at 2:36 PM on July 15, 2011
posted by wierdo at 2:36 PM on July 15, 2011
I'm not super feeling this one. She seems like a nice, well spoken kid who's pouring her heart out, and they seem to be just having a go. Meh.
posted by Admiral Haddock at 2:40 PM on July 15, 2011 [19 favorites]
posted by Admiral Haddock at 2:40 PM on July 15, 2011 [19 favorites]
Except for the fangirl with the camera. Can we lose the fangirl?
Yeah the fangirl sucks.
Typical Slytherin reactions. You kids should grow up.
posted by foggy out there now at 2:41 PM on July 15, 2011 [3 favorites]
Yeah the fangirl sucks.
Typical Slytherin reactions. You kids should grow up.
posted by foggy out there now at 2:41 PM on July 15, 2011 [3 favorites]
I just wish the fangirl wasn't woooshing the camera around in that fashion.
posted by everichon at 2:43 PM on July 15, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by everichon at 2:43 PM on July 15, 2011 [1 favorite]
I just wish the fangirl wasn't woooshing the camera around in that fashion.
Petrificus Totalus! Yep, that should do it.
posted by foggy out there now at 2:46 PM on July 15, 2011 [1 favorite]
Petrificus Totalus! Yep, that should do it.
posted by foggy out there now at 2:46 PM on July 15, 2011 [1 favorite]
Hey, look! Somebody's passionate about something! CYNICISM SQUAD ROLL OUT. LET'S GET HER.
posted by Zozo at 2:54 PM on July 15, 2011 [46 favorites]
posted by Zozo at 2:54 PM on July 15, 2011 [46 favorites]
I liked the fangirl. Hated the hipsters.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 2:54 PM on July 15, 2011 [17 favorites]
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 2:54 PM on July 15, 2011 [17 favorites]
Oh, come on, she's sweet and honest. She's sharing her feelings and she's not hurting anybody. People need to grow up.
Harry Potter changed my life, too.
posted by Tarumba at 2:54 PM on July 15, 2011 [2 favorites]
Harry Potter changed my life, too.
posted by Tarumba at 2:54 PM on July 15, 2011 [2 favorites]
Zozo wrote: Hey, look! Somebody's passionate about something! CYNICISM SQUAD ROLL OUT. LET'S GET HER
I don't think I can call that passionate. More like overwrought.
posted by wierdo at 2:55 PM on July 15, 2011 [4 favorites]
I don't think I can call that passionate. More like overwrought.
posted by wierdo at 2:55 PM on July 15, 2011 [4 favorites]
I like the girl and have contempt for everyone who craps on people who have joy.
posted by inturnaround at 2:59 PM on July 15, 2011 [32 favorites]
posted by inturnaround at 2:59 PM on July 15, 2011 [32 favorites]
I love you, iturnaround!
Also, this is her making a bit more sense.
posted by Tarumba at 3:01 PM on July 15, 2011 [1 favorite]
Also, this is her making a bit more sense.
posted by Tarumba at 3:01 PM on July 15, 2011 [1 favorite]
Man, those guys can get on their fixies and ride all the way to Go Fuck Yourself, I'll tell you what.
posted by kittens for breakfast at 3:02 PM on July 15, 2011 [26 favorites]
posted by kittens for breakfast at 3:02 PM on July 15, 2011 [26 favorites]
I don't really care that much about the movies, and was prepared just to roll my eyes at the young woman's viddy, but she is disarming, and mosquito-plagued.
I FUCKING HATE MOSQUITOS.
posted by everichon at 3:03 PM on July 15, 2011 [4 favorites]
I FUCKING HATE MOSQUITOS.
posted by everichon at 3:03 PM on July 15, 2011 [4 favorites]
I like the girl and have contempt for everyone who craps on people who have joy.
Goddamn right.
posted by marxchivist at 3:04 PM on July 15, 2011 [1 favorite]
Goddamn right.
posted by marxchivist at 3:04 PM on July 15, 2011 [1 favorite]
Yeah, I'm on Team Girl here.
I actually watched all seven minutes of her missive and felt it didn't actually require any remixing. It was captivating and maybe a little off-putting. All I could think of was, students in character-acting classes the world round are going to be watching this and trying to capture a glimmer of the quirk on display here.
posted by bicyclefish at 3:06 PM on July 15, 2011 [3 favorites]
I actually watched all seven minutes of her missive and felt it didn't actually require any remixing. It was captivating and maybe a little off-putting. All I could think of was, students in character-acting classes the world round are going to be watching this and trying to capture a glimmer of the quirk on display here.
posted by bicyclefish at 3:06 PM on July 15, 2011 [3 favorites]
I love me some Rhett & Link but yeah, feel like they missed big time on this one.
posted by sexymofo at 3:06 PM on July 15, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by sexymofo at 3:06 PM on July 15, 2011 [1 favorite]
I think the remix video is kind of an inkblot in the sense that some people look at it and they see them making fun of her and others might see it as a kind of goofy tribute to a girl who is really charmingly odd but who's pouring her heart out about Harry Potter and refusing to stand still.
I tend to fall into the latter category. I don't think it's necessarily making fun of her to take her declaration of Potterlove and set it to music and have some people singing soulful backup to her words. Her video struck me as sweet and weird and I love it. It made me smile really big, unironically and without derision.
Also bear in mind that the people who made the remix video contacted her before they did it, and asked her for permission (which she gave). To me, that speaks well of their intentions, but that's just to me.
But really there's no way to know what they were thinking when they made it. So it's up to you to decide what you'd rather believe, I guess.
And I hope she went (or goes) to a midnight showing of it, with loads of Potter fans all around, and I hope the movie is everything she wanted it to be and more.
posted by FAMOUS MONSTER at 3:06 PM on July 15, 2011 [12 favorites]
I tend to fall into the latter category. I don't think it's necessarily making fun of her to take her declaration of Potterlove and set it to music and have some people singing soulful backup to her words. Her video struck me as sweet and weird and I love it. It made me smile really big, unironically and without derision.
Also bear in mind that the people who made the remix video contacted her before they did it, and asked her for permission (which she gave). To me, that speaks well of their intentions, but that's just to me.
But really there's no way to know what they were thinking when they made it. So it's up to you to decide what you'd rather believe, I guess.
And I hope she went (or goes) to a midnight showing of it, with loads of Potter fans all around, and I hope the movie is everything she wanted it to be and more.
posted by FAMOUS MONSTER at 3:06 PM on July 15, 2011 [12 favorites]
A lot of people seem to feel pretty much like this girl does about Harry Potter. I don't get it, but then again I was firmly an adult when the first book came out.
I love the first three Star Wars movies. I know that, without the "I grew up with it" effect, they're not really that great. And, yet, decades later, I still have a soft spot in my heart for them.
Probably, there are millions of teens, rabid Potter fans now, who will feel pretty much the same about Harry Potter as I do about Star Wars, one day, when they've had a chance to read a few more books and see a few more movies that aren't Harry Potter.
posted by gurple at 3:07 PM on July 15, 2011 [1 favorite]
I love the first three Star Wars movies. I know that, without the "I grew up with it" effect, they're not really that great. And, yet, decades later, I still have a soft spot in my heart for them.
Probably, there are millions of teens, rabid Potter fans now, who will feel pretty much the same about Harry Potter as I do about Star Wars, one day, when they've had a chance to read a few more books and see a few more movies that aren't Harry Potter.
posted by gurple at 3:07 PM on July 15, 2011 [1 favorite]
I like her, and I like her accent. And I'm always impressed/weirded out by people who never say "um" or "uh" or anything.
posted by schoolgirl report at 3:07 PM on July 15, 2011 [8 favorites]
posted by schoolgirl report at 3:07 PM on July 15, 2011 [8 favorites]
Interesting reactions. I think her enthusiasm is amazingly awesome and genuine, and I wouldn't have posted this if I thought the remix was trying to be mean.
posted by roger ackroyd at 3:09 PM on July 15, 2011 [3 favorites]
posted by roger ackroyd at 3:09 PM on July 15, 2011 [3 favorites]
To the fan girl: To each her own. I don't get it, I think your video is silly, but... I don't have to watch it, which is why I stopped after a minute or so.
To the guys: Not funny. Like, I stopped watching after 30 seconds not funny, and I wish I could have those 30 seconds back not funny.
posted by Debaser626 at 3:09 PM on July 15, 2011
To the guys: Not funny. Like, I stopped watching after 30 seconds not funny, and I wish I could have those 30 seconds back not funny.
posted by Debaser626 at 3:09 PM on July 15, 2011
Yeah, fuck those guys. I really hope that girl has some people in her life that she can talk to other than the internets, 'cause the internets typically suck at being supportive. Other than here, of course...
posted by Huck500 at 3:10 PM on July 15, 2011 [2 favorites]
posted by Huck500 at 3:10 PM on July 15, 2011 [2 favorites]
I am Completely neutral on Harry Potter but for some reason I find Potter fandom especially endearing.
posted by The Whelk at 3:10 PM on July 15, 2011 [4 favorites]
posted by The Whelk at 3:10 PM on July 15, 2011 [4 favorites]
She says she's 24.
Then I like the woman.
I actually think her video is beautiful. She is feeling an emotion so total and so unfamiliar that she needs to talk it out and share it to the world. I never want to be someone who doesn't have those kind of feelings from time to time. I never want to be without the potential for being excited like that.
So, Original Video Woman, I think you're the tops. Let's have coffee someday.
Remix guys...I feel sorry for you. So much creativity spent mocking someone's happiness. Shame.
posted by inturnaround at 3:11 PM on July 15, 2011 [5 favorites]
Then I like the woman.
I actually think her video is beautiful. She is feeling an emotion so total and so unfamiliar that she needs to talk it out and share it to the world. I never want to be someone who doesn't have those kind of feelings from time to time. I never want to be without the potential for being excited like that.
So, Original Video Woman, I think you're the tops. Let's have coffee someday.
Remix guys...I feel sorry for you. So much creativity spent mocking someone's happiness. Shame.
posted by inturnaround at 3:11 PM on July 15, 2011 [5 favorites]
Someone should send her a Metafilter invite! Come join us; we're your people.
posted by Admiral Haddock at 3:12 PM on July 15, 2011 [3 favorites]
posted by Admiral Haddock at 3:12 PM on July 15, 2011 [3 favorites]
I almost feel bad for the girl, because she really just seems like a big giant dork for Harry Potter in all the good ways one can be a dork for something, and I can relate to that. I could care less about Harry Potter ending, but I understand how one feels, because I felt the same way about the LOTR movies. And I hate when people want to crap all over something I enjoy. However, to me it feels like the remixers are poking fun in a loving sort of way - they even plug her channel at the end. I don't think they are trying to be mean about it at all. However, I also don't think the remix was that good, especially when compared to the source material.
posted by mysterpigg at 3:13 PM on July 15, 2011
posted by mysterpigg at 3:13 PM on July 15, 2011
I was ready to hate on this for it being unnecessarily mean (as several people here are doing), but it really did read that way to me. I thought it was kind of good natured and I could imagine her having a laugh over it, too.
I didn't think it was that funny, mind you. Just not all that mean, either.
posted by neuromodulator at 3:14 PM on July 15, 2011
I didn't think it was that funny, mind you. Just not all that mean, either.
posted by neuromodulator at 3:14 PM on July 15, 2011
Fangirl is totally welcome here. Shit, if I had a video camera in sixth grade, we would all be watching me give a dissertation on the merits of having venusaur as your best friend.
Don't the "Autotune the News Guys" have the "put statements to quirky harmonies" thing locked down though?
posted by Think_Long at 3:15 PM on July 15, 2011 [1 favorite]
Don't the "Autotune the News Guys" have the "put statements to quirky harmonies" thing locked down though?
posted by Think_Long at 3:15 PM on July 15, 2011 [1 favorite]
Errr, FAMOUS MONSTER said it better than I.
posted by neuromodulator at 3:15 PM on July 15, 2011
posted by neuromodulator at 3:15 PM on July 15, 2011
Fangirl is fanlady? Okay then. Fanlady is totally welcome here.
posted by Think_Long at 3:16 PM on July 15, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by Think_Long at 3:16 PM on July 15, 2011 [1 favorite]
She has two cats, a dog, some fish, and has "adventures" with her dog. I love grownups who have adventures. If I had an email for her I'd totally pony up to gift her an account.
posted by marxchivist at 3:17 PM on July 15, 2011 [2 favorites]
posted by marxchivist at 3:17 PM on July 15, 2011 [2 favorites]
That girl is 100 percent Pure Awesome with Extra Sincerity Sauce and my new hero.
The guys who made that song? Pathetic. I don't care if they did contact her about it. One's name is Hurf and the other's one Durf and they both suck.
posted by Lipstick Thespian at 3:18 PM on July 15, 2011 [4 favorites]
The guys who made that song? Pathetic. I don't care if they did contact her about it. One's name is Hurf and the other's one Durf and they both suck.
posted by Lipstick Thespian at 3:18 PM on July 15, 2011 [4 favorites]
Also, I just want to throw this out there: The concept of "Harry Potter shaped me as a person" is quite disturbing to me.
posted by wierdo at 3:28 PM on July 15, 2011
posted by wierdo at 3:28 PM on July 15, 2011
http://www.startribune.com/politics/statelocal/125578518.html
Can I ask how old you are? I was roughly the age of Harry Potter for each year a book was released. I don't know if Harry Potter "shaped" me, but it definitely had a role in my understanding of story, pop culture, and even a lot of different arts.
posted by Think_Long at 3:31 PM on July 15, 2011 [1 favorite]
Can I ask how old you are? I was roughly the age of Harry Potter for each year a book was released. I don't know if Harry Potter "shaped" me, but it definitely had a role in my understanding of story, pop culture, and even a lot of different arts.
posted by Think_Long at 3:31 PM on July 15, 2011 [1 favorite]
I'm on team girl with the reservation that she has the most implacable accent I've heard in some time and it's kind of freaking me out.
posted by Navelgazer at 3:32 PM on July 15, 2011
posted by Navelgazer at 3:32 PM on July 15, 2011
The concept of "Harry Potter shaped me as a person" is quite disturbing to me
Hey, the first three "Star Wars" movies shaped me as a person, and I wasn't even that hardcore of a fan. It's some interesting interaction between a cultural moment and personal disposition, I think, but I know I have a lot of company.
posted by everichon at 3:32 PM on July 15, 2011
Hey, the first three "Star Wars" movies shaped me as a person, and I wasn't even that hardcore of a fan. It's some interesting interaction between a cultural moment and personal disposition, I think, but I know I have a lot of company.
posted by everichon at 3:32 PM on July 15, 2011
There was a queue of young folks setting up tents (!) in front of the downtown theater that is showing the new movie. At first I scoffed at their dedication to a movie remake of a young adults book (which I read). And one of them made some half-assed wizard's outfit, with white cloth for a beard, and it didn't even fool me at a distance of 50 paces. Pah!
But then I remembered driving four hours up to San Francisco to see one of the Star Wars movies - it wasn't even the first showing, as that was already sold out. And there was the time my friends and I cut out the Storm Trooper faces from Pizza Hut boxes and had those as masks, while we were the first people in line for an earlier Star Wars re-release in our little town.
In short, ditto the support for the fanatics. Maybe it'll wear off with age, or maybe she'll only become more devoted. Either way, she's excited, and I like that. Snarking on excitement is depressing, like mocking geeky displays of intelligence.
posted by filthy light thief at 3:33 PM on July 15, 2011 [1 favorite]
But then I remembered driving four hours up to San Francisco to see one of the Star Wars movies - it wasn't even the first showing, as that was already sold out. And there was the time my friends and I cut out the Storm Trooper faces from Pizza Hut boxes and had those as masks, while we were the first people in line for an earlier Star Wars re-release in our little town.
In short, ditto the support for the fanatics. Maybe it'll wear off with age, or maybe she'll only become more devoted. Either way, she's excited, and I like that. Snarking on excitement is depressing, like mocking geeky displays of intelligence.
posted by filthy light thief at 3:33 PM on July 15, 2011 [1 favorite]
Wierdo - why?
We're talking about 13 years of films, books, and pop culture floating around for an entire generation of kids. People my age might say that Star Wars shaped them as a person. Or even the generation before that could say Star Trek shaped them.
It's not just a movie thing, it's a collective experience that for some folks is their first taste of being caught up in something bigger than their own lives. Which is a great thing when it's positive and creative.
And I'm not saying this as any kind of sci-fi/HP fanboy - I can take or leave it, honestly.
I think this girl's going to go on to do something amazing in her own right and it's because she ventured to do this vlog and be a Harry Potter fan.
posted by Lipstick Thespian at 3:34 PM on July 15, 2011
We're talking about 13 years of films, books, and pop culture floating around for an entire generation of kids. People my age might say that Star Wars shaped them as a person. Or even the generation before that could say Star Trek shaped them.
It's not just a movie thing, it's a collective experience that for some folks is their first taste of being caught up in something bigger than their own lives. Which is a great thing when it's positive and creative.
And I'm not saying this as any kind of sci-fi/HP fanboy - I can take or leave it, honestly.
I think this girl's going to go on to do something amazing in her own right and it's because she ventured to do this vlog and be a Harry Potter fan.
posted by Lipstick Thespian at 3:34 PM on July 15, 2011
wierdo,
as I've said in this website before, the fact that you haven't experienced something does not mean it's impossible or illogical. In my case, I learned English with Harry Potter, which eventually got me far in my personal and professional life. Also, it literally drew my mom, my sister and me together in a time in which our relationship was almost non existent. It got me into reading (I now read more mature literature, too), and it kept a sense of innocence in my life that I otherwise would have lost in my teen years.
I was 14 when I started reading these books. For them I stayed at home reading rather than going out. Organized Harry Potter parties and started my country's fan club, where I met many awesome friends.
I understand that you haven't felt this. But it is possible. Even now when I'm down, reading or listening to the audiobooks makes me feel at home. I'm not kidding.
posted by Tarumba at 3:36 PM on July 15, 2011 [7 favorites]
as I've said in this website before, the fact that you haven't experienced something does not mean it's impossible or illogical. In my case, I learned English with Harry Potter, which eventually got me far in my personal and professional life. Also, it literally drew my mom, my sister and me together in a time in which our relationship was almost non existent. It got me into reading (I now read more mature literature, too), and it kept a sense of innocence in my life that I otherwise would have lost in my teen years.
I was 14 when I started reading these books. For them I stayed at home reading rather than going out. Organized Harry Potter parties and started my country's fan club, where I met many awesome friends.
I understand that you haven't felt this. But it is possible. Even now when I'm down, reading or listening to the audiobooks makes me feel at home. I'm not kidding.
posted by Tarumba at 3:36 PM on July 15, 2011 [7 favorites]
Oh come on. The original fangirl was just acting in an attempt to make a viral video. All the facial cues were off - as well as the verbal timing. She was acting , the Shatner school of acting granted, but but acting nonetheless.
Someday the kid will be a hit in drama club..
posted by Poet_Lariat at 3:44 PM on July 15, 2011
Someday the kid will be a hit in drama club..
posted by Poet_Lariat at 3:44 PM on July 15, 2011
Harry Potter didn't shape her as a person, Harry Potter fandom did.
Harry Potter fandom has produced better fiction than JK Rowling did. That fiction is therefore more representative of Harry Potter than the original novels are.
Therefore Harry Potter did shape her as a person.
posted by LogicalDash at 3:45 PM on July 15, 2011 [2 favorites]
Harry Potter fandom has produced better fiction than JK Rowling did. That fiction is therefore more representative of Harry Potter than the original novels are.
Therefore Harry Potter did shape her as a person.
posted by LogicalDash at 3:45 PM on July 15, 2011 [2 favorites]
I don't know how to feel about either video. She's a bit crazy but passionate. The two singers aren't exactly making fun of her or celebrating her.
But I have to agree with the core idea. Mosquitoes suck.
posted by chairface at 3:48 PM on July 15, 2011
But I have to agree with the core idea. Mosquitoes suck.
posted by chairface at 3:48 PM on July 15, 2011
When I say "I hate hipsters", I'm thinking about that second video.
posted by benito.strauss at 3:51 PM on July 15, 2011
posted by benito.strauss at 3:51 PM on July 15, 2011
Well now that I know that this person is in her mid 20's instead of 14 years old like I thought she was originally - I am more certain than ever that she is just trying to get an acting career underway via the viral video route. And that worked so well for the Chocolate Rain guy of course.
The thing that perplexes me the most is what is up with the 8 diopter plus farsighted prescription glasses she is wearing??? The ones making her eyes look anime-sized. Interesting touch there.
posted by Poet_Lariat at 3:56 PM on July 15, 2011
The thing that perplexes me the most is what is up with the 8 diopter plus farsighted prescription glasses she is wearing??? The ones making her eyes look anime-sized. Interesting touch there.
posted by Poet_Lariat at 3:56 PM on July 15, 2011
I am wondering why Potter Fandom just seems .....nicer then others? I don't seek out Potterdom stuff but every interaction I've had has been embarrassingly sweet and sincere. It reminds me a bit of original flavor Trekkies with this layer of Hugging.
It might be interesting to see if there are comparative overarching moods to various fandoms.
posted by The Whelk at 4:13 PM on July 15, 2011 [1 favorite]
It might be interesting to see if there are comparative overarching moods to various fandoms.
posted by The Whelk at 4:13 PM on July 15, 2011 [1 favorite]
Apparently the implacable accent is Swedish (she mentions that she grew up in Sweden some time after 5:20 or so).
posted by HeroZero at 4:16 PM on July 15, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by HeroZero at 4:16 PM on July 15, 2011 [1 favorite]
The flora, the night sky, that road cement structure, mosquitoes... I was wondering what part of America looked so much like Sweden. I'm glad my Nationalistic Romance Radar is accurate. I'm somewhat dissappointed I couldn't derive that from the accent however. And quite impressed.
posted by rowancluster at 4:24 PM on July 15, 2011
posted by rowancluster at 4:24 PM on July 15, 2011
Have we at all considered that maybe "quirky girl pouring her heart out is endearing" and "that's a fun remix of an eccentric vlog" are not mutually exclusive sentiments?
Just because there's two videos in the FPP doesn't mean it's a competition between them.
posted by auto-correct at 4:33 PM on July 15, 2011
Just because there's two videos in the FPP doesn't mean it's a competition between them.
posted by auto-correct at 4:33 PM on July 15, 2011
I kind of wish she was on Team Browncoat. That level of excitement might have Serenity back in the sky again.
posted by phoebus at 4:44 PM on July 15, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by phoebus at 4:44 PM on July 15, 2011 [1 favorite]
I don't think she has much to worry about... we'll be seeing the prequels in about five to ten years.
So she's got that to hang on to!
posted by tittergrrl at 5:16 PM on July 15, 2011
So she's got that to hang on to!
posted by tittergrrl at 5:16 PM on July 15, 2011
She says she's 24.
So she probably started reading them when she was 10 and grew up with Harry Potter stories. Went through adolescence with Harry Potter.
Team girl, yo.
posted by porpoise at 5:26 PM on July 15, 2011 [1 favorite]
So she probably started reading them when she was 10 and grew up with Harry Potter stories. Went through adolescence with Harry Potter.
Team girl, yo.
posted by porpoise at 5:26 PM on July 15, 2011 [1 favorite]
Wow, that was some seriously infectious enthusiasm. I think Harry Potter is complete drivel, but if someone had invited me out for an impromptu Quiditch match during those seven minutes I'd've said 'Woooo-hoooo! Let's do spells!' and jumped on a broomstick.
posted by jack_mo at 5:37 PM on July 15, 2011
posted by jack_mo at 5:37 PM on July 15, 2011
She kind of reminds me of Anne of Green Gables...except more bizarre.
posted by cleancut at 5:44 PM on July 15, 2011
posted by cleancut at 5:44 PM on July 15, 2011
Shiiiiiiit, I wish someone would remix one of my vlogs, and they can be as "cynical" about it as they please. I think I might be too old for vlogs though.
posted by Brocktoon at 5:50 PM on July 15, 2011
posted by Brocktoon at 5:50 PM on July 15, 2011
Just because there's two videos in the FPP doesn't mean it's a competition between them.
Right, there is no need to take sides. Neither has much merit.
posted by eeeeeez at 6:00 PM on July 15, 2011
Right, there is no need to take sides. Neither has much merit.
posted by eeeeeez at 6:00 PM on July 15, 2011
At least it wasn't Twilight.
posted by Mick at 6:06 PM on July 15, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by Mick at 6:06 PM on July 15, 2011 [1 favorite]
I did not expect to watch the whole thing. And then I did. Did anyone else notice a more pronounced accent after she said she grew up in Sweden? Some kind of subtle psycho-suggestion perhaps? I dug it.
(I would totally invite her in here but I don't want to join youtube)
So, the video now has a little "As seen on Metafilter" link. And (excuse me for being a complete noo/ewb because probably everyone else in here already knew this) but the link goes to a list of videos mentioned on Metafilter. I find that... not surprising but a little sad? I don't actually want every bit of the internets to know what every other little bit of the internets is doing all the time. (Granted neither are little bits)
posted by Glinn at 6:40 PM on July 15, 2011
(I would totally invite her in here but I don't want to join youtube)
So, the video now has a little "As seen on Metafilter" link. And (excuse me for being a complete noo/ewb because probably everyone else in here already knew this) but the link goes to a list of videos mentioned on Metafilter. I find that... not surprising but a little sad? I don't actually want every bit of the internets to know what every other little bit of the internets is doing all the time. (Granted neither are little bits)
posted by Glinn at 6:40 PM on July 15, 2011
Vloggers make me itchy in general (this article about VEDA sort of sums up my feelings on it), but on the other hand, she seems fun as a person.
She seems like someone who'd throw really gnarly sleepovers.
posted by Sticherbeast at 6:47 PM on July 15, 2011
She seems like someone who'd throw really gnarly sleepovers.
posted by Sticherbeast at 6:47 PM on July 15, 2011
Am I really supposed to take the first video seriously? I ask merely for information.
posted by uosuaq at 6:48 PM on July 15, 2011
posted by uosuaq at 6:48 PM on July 15, 2011
This woman makes an excellent argument for coke bottle glasses as an aesthetic choice.
posted by Sticherbeast at 6:51 PM on July 15, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by Sticherbeast at 6:51 PM on July 15, 2011 [1 favorite]
we'll be seeing the prequels in about five to ten years
JarJar Elf ???
Noooooooooo !!!
posted by Poet_Lariat at 7:13 PM on July 15, 2011
JarJar Elf ???
Noooooooooo !!!
posted by Poet_Lariat at 7:13 PM on July 15, 2011
I couldn't make it through either video.
posted by cjorgensen at 7:29 PM on July 15, 2011
posted by cjorgensen at 7:29 PM on July 15, 2011
Harry Potter has had an impact on my family: We started reading the books to the kids when they were young, then moved on to the anxious "hurry up and finish, it's my turn to read the new one". We've been to every movie together as a family and on Sunday night, we'll go to see the last one as a family. These books have marked the growth of my kids from elementary school to university.
Maybe not with as much nutty (but endearing) emotion as this girl/woman, but I too will feel like something important has come to an end, and so I can sympathize with her.
posted by PretentiousAsHell at 7:41 PM on July 15, 2011
Maybe not with as much nutty (but endearing) emotion as this girl/woman, but I too will feel like something important has come to an end, and so I can sympathize with her.
posted by PretentiousAsHell at 7:41 PM on July 15, 2011
Am I the only one who thinks fanchick is tweaking?
posted by SomeTrickPony at 7:57 PM on July 15, 2011
posted by SomeTrickPony at 7:57 PM on July 15, 2011
I am wondering why Potter Fandom just seems .....nicer then others?
Just never look into the underage-sex-with-teachers slash, that's all I'll say.
posted by rodgerd at 8:14 PM on July 15, 2011
Just never look into the underage-sex-with-teachers slash, that's all I'll say.
posted by rodgerd at 8:14 PM on July 15, 2011
Also, I just want to throw this out there: The concept of "Harry Potter shaped me as a person" is quite disturbing to me.
posted by wierdo at 3:28 PM on July 15 [+] [!]
Eponysterical?
posted by smartypantz at 8:17 PM on July 15, 2011
That she's twenty four makes a big difference to me. 14 year olds are supposed to have those sorts of "Wow! I'm feeling stuff!" feelings.
Give that young lady a copy of Anna Karenina.
posted by Trochanter at 8:36 PM on July 15, 2011 [2 favorites]
Give that young lady a copy of Anna Karenina.
posted by Trochanter at 8:36 PM on July 15, 2011 [2 favorites]
Aside from the crazy fandom (not hating on it, it's just sort of beyond my ken), I have to say that this Swede speaks English with more clarity and fluidity than most of my well-educated twenty-something peers here in Brooklyn.
posted by dadaclonefly at 8:50 PM on July 15, 2011
posted by dadaclonefly at 8:50 PM on July 15, 2011
That girl was Swedish? I guess that explains the way she talks. Swedes have a really subtle accent, but mostly it's all about over-enunciating.
posted by delmoi at 8:58 PM on July 15, 2011
posted by delmoi at 8:58 PM on July 15, 2011
Why exactly is she filming in a culvert?
posted by Devils Rancher at 9:00 PM on July 15, 2011
posted by Devils Rancher at 9:00 PM on July 15, 2011
Swede speaks English with more clarity and fluidity
Oh?! That's what the accent is.
It is a bit of a shame that her fandomttention went to Harry Potter; I envy all the boys trying to get her to experience even better fiction.
posted by porpoise at 9:00 PM on July 15, 2011
Oh?! That's what the accent is.
It is a bit of a shame that her fandomttention went to Harry Potter; I envy all the boys trying to get her to experience even better fiction.
posted by porpoise at 9:00 PM on July 15, 2011
I envy all the boys trying to get her to experience even better fiction.
such as: "i'll call you"
posted by FAMOUS MONSTER at 9:30 PM on July 15, 2011 [4 favorites]
such as: "i'll call you"
posted by FAMOUS MONSTER at 9:30 PM on July 15, 2011 [4 favorites]
Somewhere in my media closet, I have an old VHS tape of me as a teenager holding the camera, pointed at myself, lipsyncing inexplicably to "Carribean Queen."
I come off a lot worse than the woman in this video does, and at least she did it about something she cares about. So, uh, yay her and boo me, I guess.
posted by davejay at 9:33 PM on July 15, 2011
I come off a lot worse than the woman in this video does, and at least she did it about something she cares about. So, uh, yay her and boo me, I guess.
posted by davejay at 9:33 PM on July 15, 2011
She was swedish? I'm not, but I overenunciate as well. Perhaps I'd better move.
I do drive a swedish car, at least
posted by davejay at 9:34 PM on July 15, 2011
I do drive a swedish car, at least
posted by davejay at 9:34 PM on July 15, 2011
Somewhere in my media closet, I have an old VHS tape of me as a teenager holding the camera, pointed at myself, lipsyncing inexplicably to "Carribean Queen."
come on, that's awesome.
posted by sweetkid at 9:45 PM on July 15, 2011 [1 favorite]
come on, that's awesome.
posted by sweetkid at 9:45 PM on July 15, 2011 [1 favorite]
The thing that perplexes me the most is what is up with the 8 diopter plus farsighted prescription glasses she is wearing???
Uh, she needs them to see clearly?
posted by Dr Dracator at 10:47 PM on July 15, 2011 [2 favorites]
Uh, she needs them to see clearly?
posted by Dr Dracator at 10:47 PM on July 15, 2011 [2 favorites]
It really seems like she's on acid, but maybe I'm tripping.
posted by Roachbeard at 11:31 PM on July 15, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by Roachbeard at 11:31 PM on July 15, 2011 [1 favorite]
Nah, if she was tripping the dog would be more concerned, but the dog don't give a shit, so she is just normally energetic.
posted by mek at 11:59 PM on July 15, 2011
posted by mek at 11:59 PM on July 15, 2011
So, I just returned from the movies, and here is my review (SPOILERS, I guess?):
There are two types of Harry Potter fans in the seats for these movies: those who cheer when they get something right, and those who groan when they get something wrong. In the interest of willing myself to enjoy the movies while in the theater, I feign at being the first type, but in reality I am absolutely the latter.
I can (and probably will) go through a checklist of major and minor differences from the book, and most people would probably accuse me of being either needlessly pedantic or too much of a fanboy to give any changes the benefit of the doubt. But the fact that there are differences doesn't bug me in and of itself. Screenwriter Steve Kloves has proven himself immensely capable of making changes in adaptation which befit the film. With Wonder Boys he excised the central hundred pages of the source material - which worked very well on the page - and almost certainly came away with a stronger film for it. It can be done.
The problem here is that every deviation Kloves makes is objectively for the worse, both story-wise and cinematically. For instance, book: Harry arrives at Hogwarts and rushes up to the (until then never-seen) Ravenclaw Tower with Luna, to get an idea of what the Lost Diadem looks like. While there, he's spotted by the Carrows, leading Harry, in a rage, to torture one of them to unconsciousness.McGonnagal shows up, shocked to see Harry, Harry briefly explains that he needs to be able to search the castle, , at which point Snape shows up and McGonnagal fights him out of the building, with basically no dialog from Snape to stress a loyalty either way.
Movie: Harry shows up at Hogwarts, everybody hugs. Ginny shows up, and she and Harry share a long, tender reunion. Then she gets all tense and says that Snape knows that Harry is there. Cut to all of the students in the great hall. Snape veeeeerrrrrrryyyyy slowly explains that anyone aiding Harry or hiding him will be severely punished. Harry steps out, says, haha! I've got the Order here! McGonnagal then duels Snape on her own (with the Order striking superhero poses by the door) until Snape leaves, everybody cheers, and they calmly discuss what Harry needs to find.
Hopefully you can see the difference in character here. On Harry's side, his use of the Cruciatus Curse is a big moment. in Order of the Phoenix he used it on Bellatrix as a reaction to her killing Sirius, and it fizzled out after just a moment. She mockingly explains that to really do the curse you have to want to cause pain with your whole being. Here, he tortures Carrow until Carrow passes out, in retribution for his spitting in McGonnagal's face. It's kind of a major character change.
It's even worse on Snape's side. Let's keep in mind that he's a sneaky bastard forced into playing both sides while secretly being on Harry's side the whole time. Let's say that, sure, he just knows Harry's in Hogwarts as soon as he arrives. He has nothing to gain and everything to lose by staging this assembly. There is literally no reason for him to do it. Alan Rickman even looks for this moment like he can't get the foggiest conception of Snape's motivation here, because he has none. It's out of character and out of story logic.
As is the idea that Harry, instead of focusing on his more pressing goal (find the horcruxes) waited for the whole Order to arrive and staged them behind the door to the great hall to announce their intentions to a presumed enemy. And all of this is to say nothing about how much this kills momentum. I've described the primary problem of the films as being that they are not adaptations of the books, per se, so much as collections of adaptations of scenes from the books, and that is equally true of this one, but with far more dire consequences, as this movie is almost entirely the Battle of Hogwarts, which in the book is hectic and nasty, with two or three things going wrong for each one going right, but no time to stop and think about any of the mistakes because, you know, battle. So instead of the desperation piling up as things go along, we treat each set-piece on its own, entering quietly and somberly, then going nuts with action, then exiting quiet and somber. It's like a race where the drivers are stopping for sixty seconds at each stoplight.
But this change was just one of many, all equally frustrating, and none of them adding anything in place of what was taken away. The Molly/Bellatrix battle has no tension or buildup of any kind, just cutting randomly away from Harry and Voldemort dueling elsewhere (for no reason) to a split-second shot of Bellatrix attempting to curse Ginny, Molly stepping in the way, whispering (instead of bellowing) "not my daughter you bitch" with zero energy, and then a thirty second duel ending with Bellatrix's inevitable destruction. It comes off as purely perfunctory, like Kloves and Yates didn't even want to do the scene but figured they had to.
Oh! And here's another fun one: you remember that scene where Percy, who had spent the past several books being a "git" for the Ministry, returns to fight alongside his family, leading to a teary reunion in which Fred gets killed out of nowhere, providing the emotional center of the battle and shaking Harry to his core? Because they handle that bit in an intriguing way by not doing it at all. Instead, we later see the Weasley's mourning someone but if you hadn't read the book you would have no idea whom.
I could go on and on but I already have. They manage to fuck up the Ron/Hermione kiss with a needless effect when the words in the book made it more affecting. They manage to fuck up Neville's great moment at the end with words when they needed none (though the film series has fucked with Neville's character beats at every chance they've gotten, so this isn't too surprising.) And of course they fuck with the final confrontation, in ways which endlessly protract the length but at the expense of all of the depth.
As for what is good, well, the Prince's Tale works very well. It is handled, not episodically as in the book (where it had to be in order to make any sense) but realisticlaly as a flood of connected memories which build to an emotional understanding true to how Snape viewed Dumbledore's decisions in his final year. The Gringotts heist is fun and for the most part deftly handled. And Helena Bonham Carter, playing Hermione pretending to be Bellatrix, is so astoundingly good that it elicited laughter from the audience just from sheer amazement. Seriously, Carter perfectly mimics Watson's every facial expression and tick and gait, to the point where I thought visual trickery must have been involved somehow before I realized that, no, it was just some of the greatest acting I've ever seen in the service of a movie that didn't live up to it.
Oh, and the epilogue is silly fun, mostly for the ways they show the actors as middle-aged. It's not convincing, really, but it's at least amusing.
posted by Navelgazer at 12:18 AM on July 16, 2011 [8 favorites]
There are two types of Harry Potter fans in the seats for these movies: those who cheer when they get something right, and those who groan when they get something wrong. In the interest of willing myself to enjoy the movies while in the theater, I feign at being the first type, but in reality I am absolutely the latter.
I can (and probably will) go through a checklist of major and minor differences from the book, and most people would probably accuse me of being either needlessly pedantic or too much of a fanboy to give any changes the benefit of the doubt. But the fact that there are differences doesn't bug me in and of itself. Screenwriter Steve Kloves has proven himself immensely capable of making changes in adaptation which befit the film. With Wonder Boys he excised the central hundred pages of the source material - which worked very well on the page - and almost certainly came away with a stronger film for it. It can be done.
The problem here is that every deviation Kloves makes is objectively for the worse, both story-wise and cinematically. For instance, book: Harry arrives at Hogwarts and rushes up to the (until then never-seen) Ravenclaw Tower with Luna, to get an idea of what the Lost Diadem looks like. While there, he's spotted by the Carrows, leading Harry, in a rage, to torture one of them to unconsciousness.McGonnagal shows up, shocked to see Harry, Harry briefly explains that he needs to be able to search the castle, , at which point Snape shows up and McGonnagal fights him out of the building, with basically no dialog from Snape to stress a loyalty either way.
Movie: Harry shows up at Hogwarts, everybody hugs. Ginny shows up, and she and Harry share a long, tender reunion. Then she gets all tense and says that Snape knows that Harry is there. Cut to all of the students in the great hall. Snape veeeeerrrrrrryyyyy slowly explains that anyone aiding Harry or hiding him will be severely punished. Harry steps out, says, haha! I've got the Order here! McGonnagal then duels Snape on her own (with the Order striking superhero poses by the door) until Snape leaves, everybody cheers, and they calmly discuss what Harry needs to find.
Hopefully you can see the difference in character here. On Harry's side, his use of the Cruciatus Curse is a big moment. in Order of the Phoenix he used it on Bellatrix as a reaction to her killing Sirius, and it fizzled out after just a moment. She mockingly explains that to really do the curse you have to want to cause pain with your whole being. Here, he tortures Carrow until Carrow passes out, in retribution for his spitting in McGonnagal's face. It's kind of a major character change.
It's even worse on Snape's side. Let's keep in mind that he's a sneaky bastard forced into playing both sides while secretly being on Harry's side the whole time. Let's say that, sure, he just knows Harry's in Hogwarts as soon as he arrives. He has nothing to gain and everything to lose by staging this assembly. There is literally no reason for him to do it. Alan Rickman even looks for this moment like he can't get the foggiest conception of Snape's motivation here, because he has none. It's out of character and out of story logic.
As is the idea that Harry, instead of focusing on his more pressing goal (find the horcruxes) waited for the whole Order to arrive and staged them behind the door to the great hall to announce their intentions to a presumed enemy. And all of this is to say nothing about how much this kills momentum. I've described the primary problem of the films as being that they are not adaptations of the books, per se, so much as collections of adaptations of scenes from the books, and that is equally true of this one, but with far more dire consequences, as this movie is almost entirely the Battle of Hogwarts, which in the book is hectic and nasty, with two or three things going wrong for each one going right, but no time to stop and think about any of the mistakes because, you know, battle. So instead of the desperation piling up as things go along, we treat each set-piece on its own, entering quietly and somberly, then going nuts with action, then exiting quiet and somber. It's like a race where the drivers are stopping for sixty seconds at each stoplight.
But this change was just one of many, all equally frustrating, and none of them adding anything in place of what was taken away. The Molly/Bellatrix battle has no tension or buildup of any kind, just cutting randomly away from Harry and Voldemort dueling elsewhere (for no reason) to a split-second shot of Bellatrix attempting to curse Ginny, Molly stepping in the way, whispering (instead of bellowing) "not my daughter you bitch" with zero energy, and then a thirty second duel ending with Bellatrix's inevitable destruction. It comes off as purely perfunctory, like Kloves and Yates didn't even want to do the scene but figured they had to.
Oh! And here's another fun one: you remember that scene where Percy, who had spent the past several books being a "git" for the Ministry, returns to fight alongside his family, leading to a teary reunion in which Fred gets killed out of nowhere, providing the emotional center of the battle and shaking Harry to his core? Because they handle that bit in an intriguing way by not doing it at all. Instead, we later see the Weasley's mourning someone but if you hadn't read the book you would have no idea whom.
I could go on and on but I already have. They manage to fuck up the Ron/Hermione kiss with a needless effect when the words in the book made it more affecting. They manage to fuck up Neville's great moment at the end with words when they needed none (though the film series has fucked with Neville's character beats at every chance they've gotten, so this isn't too surprising.) And of course they fuck with the final confrontation, in ways which endlessly protract the length but at the expense of all of the depth.
As for what is good, well, the Prince's Tale works very well. It is handled, not episodically as in the book (where it had to be in order to make any sense) but realisticlaly as a flood of connected memories which build to an emotional understanding true to how Snape viewed Dumbledore's decisions in his final year. The Gringotts heist is fun and for the most part deftly handled. And Helena Bonham Carter, playing Hermione pretending to be Bellatrix, is so astoundingly good that it elicited laughter from the audience just from sheer amazement. Seriously, Carter perfectly mimics Watson's every facial expression and tick and gait, to the point where I thought visual trickery must have been involved somehow before I realized that, no, it was just some of the greatest acting I've ever seen in the service of a movie that didn't live up to it.
Oh, and the epilogue is silly fun, mostly for the ways they show the actors as middle-aged. It's not convincing, really, but it's at least amusing.
posted by Navelgazer at 12:18 AM on July 16, 2011 [8 favorites]
Oh come on. The original fangirl was just acting in an attempt to make a viral video. All the facial cues were off - as well as the verbal timing. She was acting , the Shatner school of acting granted, but but acting nonetheless.
Someday the kid will be a hit in drama club..
posted by Poet_Lariat at 3:44 PM on July 15 [+] [!]
Well, the fangirl has been vlogging for five years and has over 200,000 views, so I don't think the "facial cues" or "timing" were off--that's just her.
posted by carping demon at 12:31 AM on July 16, 2011
Someday the kid will be a hit in drama club..
posted by Poet_Lariat at 3:44 PM on July 15 [+] [!]
Well, the fangirl has been vlogging for five years and has over 200,000 views, so I don't think the "facial cues" or "timing" were off--that's just her.
posted by carping demon at 12:31 AM on July 16, 2011
Nah, if she was tripping the dog would be more concerned, but the dog don't give a shit, so she is just normally energetic.
Dogs sense this?...OH SHIT BAD TRIP
posted by Gnatcho at 2:12 AM on July 16, 2011 [1 favorite]
Dogs sense this?...OH SHIT BAD TRIP
posted by Gnatcho at 2:12 AM on July 16, 2011 [1 favorite]
Am I the only one who thinks fanchick is tweaking?
Yeah, I wondered that - I mean, chatting nineteen to the dozen to yourself on some waste ground in the middle of the night is either 'eccentric' or 'high', but in this case I'm pretty sure it's the former.
posted by jack_mo at 2:13 AM on July 16, 2011
Yeah, I wondered that - I mean, chatting nineteen to the dozen to yourself on some waste ground in the middle of the night is either 'eccentric' or 'high', but in this case I'm pretty sure it's the former.
posted by jack_mo at 2:13 AM on July 16, 2011
I thought for sure from the way she was floating that camera around that there it would pull back to reveal she was astride a broomstick 10 feet off the ground. Oh well.
Three cheers for passion - whatever it is you're passionate about. And fwiw, I thought the remix was more celebration than snark.
posted by zanni at 2:49 AM on July 16, 2011
Three cheers for passion - whatever it is you're passionate about. And fwiw, I thought the remix was more celebration than snark.
posted by zanni at 2:49 AM on July 16, 2011
I looked at a few of her older videos. She seems like a nice, smart, attractive, single young woman with a sense of humor.
She does appear to be about five billion times more strongly obsessed with Harry Potter than I have ever been obsessed with anything or anyone (outside of romantic love, I guess), but she says she met pretty much all of her friends through a Harry Potter fan club site, and if that covers her life from the ages of about 10 (1997), and if that means she's short on local three-dimensional friends, I guess Harry Potter really has shaped her in one way or another and she has good reason to be sort of freaked that it's going away. It must feel like the final end of youth for her.
posted by pracowity at 3:10 AM on July 16, 2011 [2 favorites]
She does appear to be about five billion times more strongly obsessed with Harry Potter than I have ever been obsessed with anything or anyone (outside of romantic love, I guess), but she says she met pretty much all of her friends through a Harry Potter fan club site, and if that covers her life from the ages of about 10 (1997), and if that means she's short on local three-dimensional friends, I guess Harry Potter really has shaped her in one way or another and she has good reason to be sort of freaked that it's going away. It must feel like the final end of youth for her.
posted by pracowity at 3:10 AM on July 16, 2011 [2 favorites]
Well, bless her heart. I might have to read a Harry Potter book now. The original plan was to wait until my daughter was old enough to like them. I missed the boat the first time around.
posted by PuppyCat at 5:52 PM on July 17, 2011
posted by PuppyCat at 5:52 PM on July 17, 2011
Navelgazer, I hated how the trio just killed goblins in the bank (burned them alive with a dragon, no less!) like they were getting paid for it. That's something they would NEVER do.
posted by Tarumba at 6:52 AM on July 18, 2011
posted by Tarumba at 6:52 AM on July 18, 2011
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