JASNA: Behind the Times

Submitted by cubbie866 on Sun, 2006-11-19 15:12.

The Jane Austen Society of North America (JASNA) has put out the following release:

Call For Papers for a special issue of Persuasions On-Line

Persuasions On-Line announces a special issue on the most recent film adaptation of Pride and Prejudice: the 2005 Focus Features film starring Keira Knightley and Matthew MacFadyen.

The film garnered the attention and praise of film critics and the Academy, earning Keira Knightley glowing reviews and a nomination for Best Actress. The scholarly reception of the film has been far more mixed and limited, and often considers the film only in the context of other Austen adaptations, especially the 1995 Colin Firth/Jennifer Ehle BBC/A&E production. We invite papers that offer substantive critical readings of the 2005 Focus Features Production in a variety of contexts.

This special issue of Persuasions On-Line will be co-edited by Jen Camden and Susan Allen Ford and published in July 2007.

Please send complete papers (approximately 2,000-4,000 words in length) no later than March 1st to Susan Allen Ford. Please send one electronic copy as an e-mail attachment in Microsoft Word format. All papers should conform to MLA style. References to Jane Austen’s novels should be to the R. W. Chapman edition (Oxford UP). A copy of Persuasions On-Line Guidelines may be obtained from Susan Allen Ford or Jen Camden.

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Pride and Prejudice Media

JASNA full of too much pride and prejudice

I'll be honest and say that I don't have a lot of respect for JASNA because of the way some of its members behaved, which was frankly narrow minded and prejudiced. A surprising reaction given the subject matter they were supposed to be reviewing. Joe Wright rightfully ignored thier opinions and went ahead with this beautiful adaptation.

I hope that this call for data will provide a much needed airing of a society that has shown itself to be too far behind the times.

Edit: I wanted to add an example of just how narrowminded and prejudiced the president of JASNA demonstrated herself to be. Scenes that were not in the book were perfect in the BBC version, but were a "step too far" in P&P 2005. She simply dislikes Macfadyen just because he isn't Firth. She even criticizes the weather.

Telegraph News article

Submitted by cubbie866 on Sun, 2006-11-19 15:22.

She gives Austen fans a bad

She gives Austen fans a bad name...I disliked the narrowmindedness when the film came out and I dislike it now! The film has been an unqualified success across the world...she has been proved wrong! More people have seen the film than have seen the BBC adaptation around the world. If that seems a tad unfair to compare a TV adaptation to a major movie..I agree but I am only playing them at their own game! Just look at how many fans visit this site from around the world! And it is purely because of Pride & Prejudice!