I'm kind of interested, I suppose, but I can't imagine bringing it in a conversation up without getting racist/ classist looks of surprise. It's definitely an arrogant, doesn't deign to speak to the help ("you should be so lucky!") white woman type of movie...and hell, when Stephen King said he's never bothered with Jane Austen, I thought, why should I?
(I guess I'll check it out, purely out of curiosity)
Check this out: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0893412/combined
It's a Latina version of S&S. It takes place in East LA. It follows the story pretty closely until the end. Some of that is different, but it's close enough that I still liked it.
Austen's work is classic and timeless. There are all sorts of modern adaptations of her books, including Indian (Bride & Prejudice is P&P, Kandukondain Kandukondain is S&S, Aisha is Emma), Mormon (P&P - A Latter-Day Comedy, Sense & Sensibility - a Latter-Day Tale) and, now, a zombie movie (Pride & Prejudice & Zombies).
Whit Stillman brought us "Metropolitan," a loose adaptation of Austen's "Mansfield Park." Bridget Jones's Diary is a modernization of "Pride and Prejudice." "Clueless," which takes place in a US high school, is a modernization of Austen's "Emma."
There are also video blogs and comic books that are bringing Austen's work to a new generation. Check out The Lizzie Bennet Diaries or Emma Approved on YouTube. Both have diverse casts telling 200-year-old stories. And one of the writers, Bernie Su, is of Asian heritage.
Just because someone is white doesn't mean she has nothing to say that will interest people who aren't. So don't write someone off just because they don't look like you. It's just as racist to say that you won't read white people's books just because of the color of the author's skin as it is for white people to say they won't read books by people of color.
http://currentscene.wordpress.com
Why not watch it?
Personally, I think any looks of surprise you may get would be more to do with the fact that you're a man, independently deciding to watch an Austen adaptation (i.e. what many would consider a chick flick).
Certainly I've never heard of anyone thinking adaptations of literature are only for a particular race or class. I wouldn't be so quick to attribute the surprise of others to ugliness, only to surprise; are you the type of guy who generally likes romantic movies or books? If you've never expressed an interest in such stories before, why wouldn't people be surprised at you being interested now?
I would also consider my own racism/classism if I were the sort of person who dismisses a story as an "arrogant, doesn't deign to speak to the help, white woman type of movie." Are James Bond films "arrogant, doesn't deign to speak to the help, white man types of movies?" How about Roots--is that a "black man type of movie?"
Culture and history can be examined by anyone in the world who has an interest in them. It's not for anyone else to say someone isn't entitled to learn about them or watch a film about them, simply because of their sex, nationality, race, income, or whatever else. What a sad world it would be if everyone thought the way you seem to, that people can only watch and enjoy movies set in a very narrow cone of personal experience.
Think about what you're saying to others, if you indicate that you wouldn't watch a movie because it's not about people just like you.
*****
People said love was blind, but what they meant was that love blinded them.
Just because you watch it, doesn't mean you have to talk about it. Not that you shouldn't be able to talk about it.
I think most human beings (even men!) can relate to S&S 2008.
Excellent point, yeah; nobody says you have to talk about things you watch, either. And I agree that most people can relate to movies like S&S.
*****
People said love was blind, but what they meant was that love blinded them.
Stephen King "I don't have much interest in "relationship" novels or romance. I've never read Jane Austen. I do not say this with either pride or shame (or prejudice, for that matter). It’s just a fact." [The New York Times]
"It's definitely an arrogant, doesn't deign to speak to the help ("you should be so lucky!") white woman type of movie...and hell, when Stephen King said he's never bothered with Jane Austen, I thought, why should I?"
Stephen King hasn't read Jane Austen. Nor have you.
Watching S&S 2008 isn't a big time commitment. Actually reading the book would take more time, but not a huge amount.
Why not try watching S&S 2008. You might be surprised.
After that, come back and let us know what you think.