tuuli_chan, posts by tag: earthsea - LiveJournal

Reading those Earthsea books made think about all the other books I liked when I was young, and so I started an expedition to examine the content of my bookshelves. I managed to find two old (very old) favorites, Aili Somersalo's Päivikin satu and Mestaritontun seikkailut. (I've no clue if those been translated into English... They're "fairytale novels" from... well, from the early 20th century, and I just loved them when I was young.)

So I read them again, and found out that I still <3 them. ^^ What could ever beat a good fairytale?

And, of course, as I've again entered the icon-making mood, I couldn't resist making some random icons of the illustrations. ^^

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And... an Earthsea icon or two.... (as if I didn't have anything else to do...)
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Yes, yes... what else could my newly found obsession about Earthsea books result in but me making some lousy icons? ^^ Though I guess there's also another reason for me wanting to make some icons: I suddenly found out that dad has plenties of pretty fonts on his computer. o.o Why don't I have those? I've got the same program, after all, and it's not like mine were older or something. :/ Maybe I can move them on my comp somehow...

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Yesterday night I went to search for my copy of Wizard of Earthsea, and after some rummaging around the bookshelf, closets and drawers managed to find it (I have too many books...) Started reading... and kept on till 1:30 am when I finished it.

<3 that book. ^^ Today I started the second book, Tombs of Atuan.

(Side comment: Wha...? o.o Why didn't I know of the existence of these books?)

Anyway. There was one funny thing that I hadn't paid attention to ever before, and most probably wouldn't have now if I hadn't read that commen by Le Guin about the movie. Another quote of that article:

In Earthsea, the Archipelagans are brown, copper-red, black, the much less numerous Kargs are white-skinned with dark or fair hair. Tenar is a Karg, a brunette white person. Ged is an Archipelagan, a redbrown man. Vetch, an Archipelagan, is black.

And yet (almost) everyone is white in the movie. Everyone is white on the covers of my books. Everyone seem to be white on that Studio Ghibli movie february_eve mentioned. Everyone was white in my imagination.

Just why? Is a colored fantasy book hero really such a weird thing? It's almost annoying... every time I imagine Ged, I have to remind myself, no he's not white, you know. Every time. Though it's getting easier to picture him the right way...

Maybe the problem is that I was a kid when I read the books and didn't pay that much attention to descriptions, just the events, and now it's hard to get rid of 15 years old images. :/Annoying.

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Haa~! I got ET of the advanced studies of English. Which means that my skills are, of course, extraterrestial. ^^ (Well, actually, it means "erinomaiset tiedot" = excellent knowledge, or how to translate it...) But anyways. This also means that I'm all but finished with my studies - as soon as I get the gradu done, that's it.

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I found out a few days ago that there's been a movie made from Ursula Le Guin's Earthsea-books. and with mild curiosity went to find out about it. Good thing I've already learned movies in general don't stand up to their books. Based on the comments on Amazon, this one definitely doesn't... Someone had posted a link to the author's comments about it (http://locusmag.com/2005/Issues/01…). A little quote:

When I saw the script, I realised that what the writer had done was kill the books, cut them up, take out an eye here, a leg there, and stick these bits into a totally different story, stitching it all together with catgut and hokum. They were going to use the name Earthsea, and some of the scenes from the books, in a generic McMagic movie with a silly plot based on sex and violence.

:/ Remind me, if when I've one day written a bestseller, to keep the movie-makers as far from it as possible.

But then Mr Lieberman, one of the producers, published a statement telling people what "Ursula" (whom he has never met) "intended" by the books.

...and if I for some reason would let them do that, just remind me to keep a very close eye on them.

Reading that little... article, or whatever it is, made me want to read the books again. I think they are... well, if not the first, then at least the almost-first fantasy books I ever read. And I do have them all in my bookshelf... maybe it's time to pick them up again. ^^ Or maybe I should read them in English this time... hmm.

Eh. ^^ Reading the article again...

I'm only sorry it took me to Book Four of Earthsea to be able to refuse the prejudice that sees male as the norm. That matters, too. And in this respect the filmmakers did pretty well, even allowing girls to go to Roke School. One of them's named Penelope. Cool name, huh? Only, maybe, the wrong archipelago?

Penelope. Yesss... XD

I think this calls for the icon I made some time again.