^This is not how you win someone over to your opinion.
[^XLogical Fallacy Referee] Not sharing your opinion is not a sign of “being ignorant.” As of now, all of your asks will be deleted. If an Ask sounds remotely like something from you, it will be deleted. This is a fandom blog for entertainment, not a US Presidential Debate.
Since this is our last exchange, I’ll answer for the sake of showing my followers that I will not be bullied by an anonymous person:
As previously stated twice now: I did not read the book, I saw the 2 film adaptations. Based on my interpretation of them AND what readers of the book have told me privately, I concluded that Eli can be referred to with female pronouns. I’ve repeatedly stated that that’s just my opinion and I have NEVER tried to force it on anyone else.
I added to the original post that Eli’s gender is ambiguous, which is a compromise, even though I disagreed with you.
An anonymous person cannot convince me of a “fact” when even the author of the original book has not convinced 100% of their readers of said “fact.” The author could tell me to refer to Eli with male pronouns and I might still
politely
refuse. Why should the author care what one reader thinks? Anne Rice has had to deal with FAR worse from her readers.
I linked to David Lowery, at least one example of another person who also found it ambiguous, so unfollow me and inform that blogger, and many others, of your truth.
Yep it was on FB. @kittyslover (one of my ARFB Deputies!) sent me the link to AR’s post from 9/24/16 [X], here’s confirmation that Armand is there:
And bc of the lengths I go to for you ppl, I read all the relevant comments and screencapped these for you (I cropped out icons so the text could be a little larger).
She also had to describe vampire shipping again. *sigh* I JUST TALKED ABOUT THIS FFS #your headcanon may vary.
Characters in PLROA:
– Old characters:
– Louis for sure:
–
New characters:
Hit the jump for more. Cut for length.
– in Great Peril:
– Amel is back:
– Viktor:
– Cyril:
NOT in PLROA:
She also answered these which didn’t fit above:
AND that this incorporated the older Atlantis novel she had been working on:
Throughout the story of Prince Lestat, Armand does little other than be supportive of Lestat, in a way that almost seems obsequious. Not much really happens for Armand, he rides out the whole drama pretty unscathed, for which we should all be GRATEFUL.
You’re right that I am not deeply involved in issues of gender, though I can understand being/growing up nonbinary/transgendered/gender-fluid/etc. in a culture that seems to only understand/reward the male/female binary would be very difficult, especially in certain parts of the world. The Armand post (about whether he might be androgynous and/or agender) got a good number of Likes, but most importantly, @jeffer-sin‘s comment (”i’m agender/genderfluid and i totally agree with this post thank you”) confirmed that I
answered it sensitively, as I always strive to do, especially with topics like these.
Re: Misgendering Eli, I feel like this is a headcanon discrepancy between us. Your points serve to convince you that she is not female, but they do not convince me. As always, #your headcanon may vary, so please do not take my opinion as law.Even an author can’t force an idea on their readers; people still ask AR whether Nicolas and Lestat were gay lovers! Some people clearly have a different headcanon than the author, but their headcanon is still valid.
This Wiki post describes the issue of Eli’s gender: “The original film ultimately leaves the character’s gender ambiguous, as the scene showing Eli’s scarred genitalia is not explained. …In the 2010 film it is quite clear that Abby was born female…”
One of your points was the “I’m not a girl" scene. ^This is the one from the original film and I interpreted that line of dialogue as meaning that Eli is not human. In context, Eli seems not to know what a “girlfriend” is, or what “going steady” entails (even though Eli is centuries-old, maybe this is feigning ignorance for Oskar), so roadblocking Oskar from a romantic (maybe sexual) relationship seems a little premature. Oskar is 12 and I don’t remember him ever pressuring her in a sexual way, again, no reason for Eli to roadblock him against a romantic/sexual relationship at this time. Once Eli has an understanding of what “going steady” means, the moment ends with Eli agreeing to “go steady” and holding Oskar’s hand as they fall asleep. This little bit of tenderness may not fall under “romantic” in the traditional sense of the word, but it seemed like a sign of love and care which had nothing to do with gender. But that’s my own interpretation.
You mention Eli’s genital mutilation, but that is not explained in the films. From what I’ve read of the book, the character is referred to with female pronouns until the ritual castration is revealed, and then the character is referred to with male pronouns. It is up to every reader’s interpretation to determine gender of the character at any point.
I’m sorry that we disagree on this, and I understand that some people might not headcanon Eli as female. This is a blog that is here to highlight a certain fandom and is focused on entertainment, and where I do my best to keep it politically-neutral, fair-minded, and civil. That is my prerogative on my own blog.
If anyone is interested in more headcanons and interpretations, check out the links below. I am sure there are many many more, but these are good for a start:
David Lowery, a blogger, has a brief but good review addressing the gender issues.
I’m quite flattered that you want my opinion, apparently I had alot of thoughts on this, you’re getting a Wall of Text™,
enjoy!
I haven’t read the book, and I probably should, but I saw both “Let the Right One In” and “Let Me In.” I preferred the original movie to the US remake but they were both very good! I am really picky about the vampire media I like, they have to be characters first and vampires second, and the vampiring has to be compelling in some way, introducing something new and believable to the lore.
I don’t remember it completely so I can’t get into a lot of detail, but browsing gifs reminds me what I loved about it: a dreamy and chilly atmosphere, lots of good vampire physiology woven in seamlessly, and the child actors were all amazingly talented, they all seemed very genuine, their emotions were real with subtle variations, and not mimicry, which can happen with child actors. The whole cast of both movies had great chemistry and I believed in all of them. The basic concept of Eli needing a mortal attendant, and this is the story of how she found a new one!! #MY HEART.
The original actors were better, in my opinion, bc they seemed more like the kind of kids who might live next door to you. As opposed to the trope of the “girl/boy next door” who is attractive and popular, you might not take special notice of these kids, they have their own kind of beauty but weren’t the conventionally attractive kind you see in ads.
Eli especially had the perfect blend of childlike curiosity and that old soul carried within, not a face you’d use to sell laundry soap, fortunately. Otherworldly w/o being too supernatural. EDIT: Eli’s gender is ambiguous, according to this Wiki post: “The original film ultimately leaves the character’s gender ambiguous, as the scene showing Eli’s scarred genitalia is not explained. In both films, the vampire tells the boy “I’m not a girl”. In the 2010 film it is quite clear that Abby was born female,…” I interpreted that line of dialogue as meaning that Eli is not a mortal girl, but not that it was a statement about her gender, also. As I said, I haven’t read the book, and maybe that will change my headcanon, but for now, I headcanon Eli as female and will use those pronouns.
This vampire story also brought back the idea of having to be invited in, and without that permission, the vampire in question would start having physical reactions! Like a severe allergic reaction! We got the blood tears that not many vampire movies want (or are able) to tackle.
Then there’s the whole sunlight makes them spontaneously combust, we all expected smtg to happen to this accidentally-turned victim and IT HAPPENED in a HOSPITAL idk that made it really funny to me! Dying dramatically in a place of healing, the orderly opening the blinds bc that’s usually a friendly thing to do BUT NOT TODAY.
Then we have Oskar, who was so sweet to Eli. Yes he’s platinum blond with skin as white as leprosy (did you see what I did there??) but this is a kid who gets bullied on a regular basis and hasn’t lost his kind heart.
You can tell that he’s intrigued by Eli and cares about her before they’ve even had that much time to get to know eachother, it’s that way for best friends. Sometimes you just know in the first 5 min of meeting someone that you want to be friends with them forever, if possible ^u^
I don’t remember when this hug occurs but just look at them, she is so scared of liking him, bc she might hurt him, she’s holding back so hard, just… it’s so good! Such chemistry between them. He wants to teach her about modern things, she wants to have a reason to live, it reminds me very much of Daniel/Armand.
Yah so overall, thanks for reminding me of these movies! I think a rewatch is needed…
Yes, you are preaching to the choir about Brad, Tom, and Kirsten *u* As for de-aging them, it worked for RDJ in Captain America Civil War.
[^Digging this up again bc it gets funnier to me every time I repost it so you can all DEAL WITH IT]
It could work for the dudes but I don’t think Kirsten could be de-aged that far. As much as I loved our dream team, I’m also excited about the idea of casting fresh ppl, even if it’s ppl who are lesser known; they won’t carry the baggage of other characters we’re already familiar with. Give some new ppl a chance ^____^
We could cast ppl who are closer to the ages they were meant to be in canon. Brad and Tom were 30 and the characters were 20-21 (Lestat) and 25 (Louis), there was some difficulty finding a 5 yo talented enough to play Claudia, so I wouldn’t mind if they aged her up to 10 or 11. If they cast a 5 yo who looks perfect but can’t act like the frustrated adult inside, it won’t really work.
… or we could do it as an animated feature and then cast the original voices zomg…
No matter what, I would want Kirsten, Brad, and Tom (and Stephen Rea plz!) brought in to work with their replacements, at least to give them a few pointers, bc they nailed it.
I know what you mean, Louis would probably agree w/ you for similar (or the same!) reasons why he wants Lestat to stop writing any more books or authorizing his ghostwriter to do so.
[I just don’t want movies to cheapen it or represent the books in a bad light…]
^So I think Josh Boone is going to handle the material very respectfully, looking at the way he tagged up the Stand for that adaptation, he clearly is treating that book like it’s the Bible for that project *u* We’ll see how the Stand fandom (what do they call themselves? now I’m curious) reacts when that adaptation comes out, as my Dad says, “The proof is in the pudding.”
Anon definitely has some valid concerns, but I wouldn’t worry too much for the reasons given above from Burnadette and myself. Also, on your concern with Boone representing the books in a bad light or cheapening it, evidence has been shown on his twitter that he has been taking careful account of the series and been communicating with Anne pretty well, enough for the both of them to show love and gratitude to each other. Take this recent conversation for example:
And there are other mentions all over the place with Boone mentioning his love of the series. I think we’re in good hands 🙂
Reblogging for @firelight-fading/@phoenifia‘s comments. We don’t have a wide sample size to state it beyond doubt but we’ve seen that when AR is involved (movie!IWTV, Claudia’s Story), the VC adaptation tends to be hella better than when she’s not.
Don’t forget that ppl also force him to dress up, too! Everyone fights over him and makes him dress fancy when all he wants to do is read a book and not burn in the sun.
I-want-my-IWTV 