Anne With An E

Netflix's new show Anne with An E based on LM Montgomery's Anne of Green Gables was divisive! There were the people who thought that it ruined Anne of Green Gables and there were the people who thought that it enhanced Anne of Green Gables.

As a life long Anne Shirley fan who reread the book recently I noticed that in the book Anne recounts her adventures to her guardian Marilla through dialogue. When I hear people say that Anne with an E wasn't true to the book I wonder how well they would like watching a play or movie where all the characters did was sit around and talk to each other. I've encountered a show like this once and I found myself BORED. A book can do this and be entertaining especially if there is a lot of internal dialogue or verbal bantering between characters. But as TV, movies and theater are more visually based there needs to be more set action. Kevin Sullivan's production in the 1980s did an excellent job of making Anne Shirley's adventures delightful for the screen.

However visiting Anne of Green Gables again in my adult life I thought there were some components that were missing. I  felt like this grittier interpretation of Anne Shirley spoke to my more adult sense of imagination. I've done things like taken medications while drinking water from a wine glass and making up stories about being in a position where I did not economically need to have a job but wanting to know how the rest of the world constructed life. Imagination has been key to enjoying life despite hardships. This Anne Shirley spins an image of a young orphan who taps into imagination for similar reasons. When I did AmeriCorps I worked with kids who knew too much about the intricities of adult life at too young of an age. This Anne Shirley provides a backstory for the Anne's behaviors and insights that indicates she grew up too fast.

Yes these things deviate away from the original story. However it makes Anne seem more real to me after learning more about social history and experiencing more of the world.

Reinterpreting a character that is already beloved is a risky move. But this show provides depth to Anne that you just won't read about in a book that was written in a time where it was common for people glossed over grittier realities when they told their stories.