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Shelton Mason County Journal
Shelton, Washington
January 14, 2020     Shelton Mason County Journal
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January 14, 2020
 
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Page A—32 — Shelton-Mason County Journal Thursday, Jan. 14, 2021 Review: How new adaptation compares to previous ones continued from page A-31 Huxley’ s novel, all of which have been produced by NBC, so I thought I’d compare it to the previous two, plus to a subversive stealth adaptation that might surprise you. The first originally aired on NBC in 1980 and remains the closest to the text of the novel, even as its three- hour running time expands on back- stories that were only alluded to in the text. The aesthetic of its set and cos— tume design is exactly how the end of the 1970s envisioned the future, and its cast was almost too well—suited to their admittedly limited roles, with the perpetually adolescent Bud Cort of “Harold and Maude” playing the nerdy,insecure misfit Bernard Marx, and the cleft-chinned Keir Dullea of “2001: A Space Odyssey” projecting the suitable officiousness, but little else, as the director of Hatcheries and Conditioning for the human race’s lab-grown babies, who’s also the fa- ther of the natural—born John the Savage. L YouTube hosts multiple copies of the BBC re-airing of the 1980 “Brave New World,” which earns points for its progressive move of casting black actor Dick Anthony Williams as Helmholtz Watson, perhaps the only inhabitant of this society who cri— . tiques it for nonselfish or backward- looking reasons. If the 1980 “Brave New World” is the adaptation you’d show a high school classroom, the 1998 “Brave New World” was the adaptation that Hollywood wanted, safe for network television, witha superfluous murder mystery subplot and a tone-breaking happy ending tacked on. But unlike the dated portrayal of the future offered by the 1980 version, the 1998 version at least captured a PG—rated glimpse of the hedonistic revelries that Huxley alluded to in this society. The 1998 “Brave New World” comes equipped 'with an impressive cast, even if Peter Gallagher plays Bernard Marx with the handsome self-confidence of Helmholtz Watson in the novel. Tim Guinee, an already underrated actor, really sells John the Savage’s passion for the plays of Shakespeare, which are forbidden because their conflicts are driven by societal condi— tions that literally can’t even be men- tioned in a supposedly perfect world. Meanwhile, Sally Kirkland brings her best Blanche DuBois as the Sav- Vage’s mother Linda, who raised her son in exile on the “Savage Reserva- tion,” and misses the luxuries of “civi- lized” society, to the point of overdos- ing on the mood—altering drug Soma. And Leonard Nimoy is effortlessly engaging as World Controller Musta- pha Mond, the one man who knows what the world used to be like, but considers its current stagnation-to be for the best. This one is admittedly tough to track down online, aside from DVDs, but anything that can afford to cast the always excellent Miguel Ferrer and Daniel Dae Kim is worth watch- ing at least once. Which brings us to the Peacock ad- aptation of “Brave New World,” the first season of which made its debut on the streaming service last year. a V Looking for volunteer opportunities? Is your New Year’s resolution to give back to your community? If so .we have several volunteer positions we would like to fill. Here is our listing of volunteers we are seeking: Office Assistant 0 Looking for someone who is willing to work from 9:00 - 1:00 one day a week or as backup in our office answering the phones and assist with paperwork. Trap-Neuter—Return (TNR) program 0 In need of volunteers to set traps and/or transport cats. Board of Directors t Seeking those in our community who would be willing to serve on our Board of Directors. Looking for volunteers who have one of more of the following abilities: 0 Grant writing 0 Veterinary skills 0 Fund raising Community development If you are interested in becoming a volunteer please contact our office by calling 360-275-9310 or email us at info@hsmcwa.org. Happy New Year! Board of Directors Humane Society of Mason County www.hsmcwa.org Yes, you read that correctly, and its cancellation means that its clearly planned second season will not be forthcoming, but the nine episodes we got are kind of amazing. At first, the Peacock adaptation seems to recreate all of the 1998 ver- sion’s most annoying divergences from the novel, with John the Sav- age’s love of Shakespeare completely scrubbed, and Helmholtz Watson ren- dered unrecognizable as shallow artis— tic taste—maker Wilhelmina Watson. But it doesn’t take long for those updates to lend the story even more relevance to modern society than was already present in Huxley’ s prescient tale of genetic engineering and behav- ioral conditioning through disposable mass-media entertainment. ' The “Savage Reservation” is recast as a “flyover country” devoted to re- enacting antiquated horrors such as “Black Friday” riots at Walmart-style superstores, and the “civilized” society is kept united by Indra, an artificial intelligence which connects everyone’s sensory input through Google Glass- style contact lenses. I loved the subtle touch of CGI to give an entire batch of Epsilon clones the exact same face, and I found my- self laughing out loud at how John the Savage, played by Alden Ehren- reich with more Han Solo charm than he brought to “Solo: A Star Wars Story,” can’t help but be a disruptive influence as an empathetic redneck. If you can forgive the plot for going wildly and unrepentantly off the res- ervation of its source text, there’s a lot to love in how this adaptation doesn’t hold back in its portrayal of this soci- ety’s sensualist nature (let’s just say its ’zmwfifim [I ll it earns its TV -MA rating) and in the caliber of acting that it brings to bear. Harry Lloyd is a pitch-perfect- Bernard Marx, struggling to come to terms with how he doesn’t belong in this world, while Hannah John- Kamen sells me on the idea of her Watson as an astute social engineer whose tools are fads and “feelies” — virtual experiences with no real meaning — and Demi Moore imbues the character of Linda with a raw strength she never had in the novel, delivering her best acting perfor- mance in years in the process. Be warned, the Peacock “Brave V New World” ends on a cliflhanger, but with its once-meticulously ordered society and inhabitants broken in fas— cinating ways. All that being said, my favorite adaptation of “Brave New World” re- mains one that most folks don’t even recognize as such. Sylvester Stallone’s “Demolition Man” in 1993 cast him as “John Spar- tan” rather than John the Savage, but he was still a man out of place in an unnervineg idyllic future society, with Sandra Bullock as his chirpy partner, Lenina Huxley (inspired by Lenina Crowne from the novel), and the sadly missed Sir Nigel Hawthorne playing a delightfully smarmy stand- in for Mustapha Mond, Who keeps the world running through aggressively mandated political correctness. In case anyone watching has missed the point, Wesley Snipes takes the time to bellow, “It’s a Brave New World!” All that, plus shameless shilling for the Taco Bell brand, so what’s not to love? Kitten Rescue of Mason County Right now we have young and adult cats available for adoption. Indoor only and a warm lap to sit on are ours and the kitties request. Healthy and well adjusted, our kitties want their own home and family to love. For more information please go to our website 'kittenresq.net or call us at (360)- 42743167. Furrg Friends Looking for a Howie Sponsored by: We have created a low-stress, healthy environment " with soft lighting, (360) 426-3052 270 SE Spring Place Shelton, Washington 98584 E—mail: sylvan@hctc.com music, a regular exercise program, if and frequent, individualized attention. We treat eyery pet with affection, respect, and kindness.