Trailer
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Throughout the two weeks we were reading Sula, I could not help but notice the few similarities it had to The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, and the movie Easy A, which was a loose modern adaptation of the classic novel. I never thought this movie I watched at a friend's birthday party will ever be so useful. My memory of the movie is a little bit hazy since it has been about two years, but for the most part this blog should be fairly accurate.
This movie starring Emma Stone is about a girl, Olive Penderghast who makes a reputation of the school's "skank." However unlike, Sula, she does not actually sleep with many guys, but only pretends to, which is the biggest difference between the two characters. However her reputation is growing across the school, and she accepts the rumors and starts to dress more provocatively and even dons the infamous red A as Hester Prynne did in the Scarlet Letter.
This movie starring Emma Stone is about a girl, Olive Penderghast who makes a reputation of the school's "skank." However unlike, Sula, she does not actually sleep with many guys, but only pretends to, which is the biggest difference between the two characters. However her reputation is growing across the school, and she accepts the rumors and starts to dress more provocatively and even dons the infamous red A as Hester Prynne did in the Scarlet Letter.
Well like Sula, she does not get a good reputation. While more guys start developing an interest in her, many of the girls spurn her and like the town of Medallion, certain groups do band together against Olive. Most noticeably, the school's conservative church group make a huge point to try to change Olive and her ways and get rid of her. No one knew Olive well before she started "sleeping around" and the same with Sula as people only started to link unfortunate events with her after she gains a bad reputation. Most of the girls shun her and are angered when Olive starts to hit on their boyfriends, similar to how the women of Medallion would try to shield their husbands away from Sula.
In the second video, we can see the modern parallel to Sula and Nel. Rhiannon or better known as "Rhi"cuts of her relationship with Olive after she tries to hit on her boyfriend. Even though their relationship was not as close as Sula's and Nel's, it is still interesting to see it on screen in a loose modern adaptation. Rhi does eventually join the group to get rid of Olive and does hold a grudge against her. They do reconcile later, but it is very different from the ending of Sula.
It is very important to remember that Olive is acting as a type of slut and pretends to not have genuine feelings while Sula really does not see the effects of her actions. While Olive initially started her endeavors to help out her friend, Sula could not fully understand her actions of sleeping with Jude. In my opinion what separates Sula and Nel is that Nel has more of a conscience while Sula does whatever she feels like and does not feel the need to conform to society's expectations. Olive in this case would then be more like Nel since she knows what she is doing and that her actions are hurting people but still continues to act like a slut until things get to the very extreme.
Another important thing is notice the similarities of Olive's mother and Hannah's mother. Both of them were very sexual at a certain point of their lives and were somewhat distant from their daughters. However Olive's mother is there to help and support Olive while Hannah only "loved but did not like" Sula. I feel the relationships between the mother and daughter play a huge role in the outcome of the specific characters. Olive has a happy ending as she does end up with her crush and stops acting like a slut after publicly telling the school the entire story. Sula on the other hand dies young and does not achieve a full reconciliation with Nel.
Overall I found this movie quite amusing and interesting of how it could take such serious themes and made into a worthwhile watch. Sula and Olive are very different characters and the respective works have different points all together. While Sula is more serious and incorporates war in the background, Easy A, is a simple high school movie with its cliche ending and happily ever after story. The connection between the two are slim, but it is there. Even when Olive was at her worst point in the movie, she still had her favorite teacher and her crush, Todd, still believed that she was not a whore. This gave her some confidence that she can change while for Sula, the only person she ever had was Nel, and Nel did turn on her until the very end. Even though the connection is not the best, I do see a relationship between Sula and Easy A.
In the second video, we can see the modern parallel to Sula and Nel. Rhiannon or better known as "Rhi"cuts of her relationship with Olive after she tries to hit on her boyfriend. Even though their relationship was not as close as Sula's and Nel's, it is still interesting to see it on screen in a loose modern adaptation. Rhi does eventually join the group to get rid of Olive and does hold a grudge against her. They do reconcile later, but it is very different from the ending of Sula.
It is very important to remember that Olive is acting as a type of slut and pretends to not have genuine feelings while Sula really does not see the effects of her actions. While Olive initially started her endeavors to help out her friend, Sula could not fully understand her actions of sleeping with Jude. In my opinion what separates Sula and Nel is that Nel has more of a conscience while Sula does whatever she feels like and does not feel the need to conform to society's expectations. Olive in this case would then be more like Nel since she knows what she is doing and that her actions are hurting people but still continues to act like a slut until things get to the very extreme.
Another important thing is notice the similarities of Olive's mother and Hannah's mother. Both of them were very sexual at a certain point of their lives and were somewhat distant from their daughters. However Olive's mother is there to help and support Olive while Hannah only "loved but did not like" Sula. I feel the relationships between the mother and daughter play a huge role in the outcome of the specific characters. Olive has a happy ending as she does end up with her crush and stops acting like a slut after publicly telling the school the entire story. Sula on the other hand dies young and does not achieve a full reconciliation with Nel.
Overall I found this movie quite amusing and interesting of how it could take such serious themes and made into a worthwhile watch. Sula and Olive are very different characters and the respective works have different points all together. While Sula is more serious and incorporates war in the background, Easy A, is a simple high school movie with its cliche ending and happily ever after story. The connection between the two are slim, but it is there. Even when Olive was at her worst point in the movie, she still had her favorite teacher and her crush, Todd, still believed that she was not a whore. This gave her some confidence that she can change while for Sula, the only person she ever had was Nel, and Nel did turn on her until the very end. Even though the connection is not the best, I do see a relationship between Sula and Easy A.
I really loved this comparison and enjoyed reading your insight! Sula is really considered to be the "pariah" of Medallion much like Olive is at her high school. The parallels that you drew between the various characters in both of these works made me realize how much they actually share in common. However, you also did a very good job of revealing the contrast between Sula and Olive and how dynamic both of these characters are.
ReplyDeleteI love the movie "Easy A" and it was interesting that you connected Olive to Sula. At first I was skeptical about the connection but you illustrated well their similarities and the people they must go against. Very nice comparison, helped me to see the connection. Next time I watch "Easy A" I'll think of "Sula".
ReplyDeleteAfter the many times that I have seen the movie Easy A, I would not have thought that is could have been a modern comparison with the novel, Sula. This is a great visual to describe the reputation and actions that Sula might have acted out, similar to those of Olive. Although there is a charm and power when reading a novel, it is easier to get a sense of what the author was saying when it is turned into a visual. Easy A definitely shows how an individual captures their reputation and simply goes with it for the sake of the public, but behind the scenes they may be shameful for their actions. This is paralleled between Sula and Olive. Since you came up with such a captivating comparison, it keeps me thinking of other things that Sula could be compared to also. I'd like to seek to find a comparison with Sula and Nel's friendship. Overall, great job!
ReplyDeleteIn the trailer of Easy A, it starts off by saying how there are two sides to the story. This makes me think of how in Easy A, there's the truth behind what Olive does contrasting with how everybody at school views her. Similarly, in Sula, there are two views of her too. One is from Shadrack, who views her as the innocent little girl who had tear-stained cheeks, and the other of the town's perception of her. I never would've thought Easy A had anything in common with Sula, but after seeing how you compared the two I agree with you too. Great connections!
ReplyDeleteYour comparison of Sula to Easy A was really interesting! I really enjoyed the similarities and differences you drew between the text and the movie. I agree that Olive and Sula are similar in that they both are non-conforming and very independent in their thinking. It's almost as if both of them are out to prove a point in their own unique ways. After reading your post, I also thought about how Amanda Bynes' character in Easy A (I think her name was Marianne) could be compared to the community members in Sula because Marianne looks down upon Olive just like the community members shun Sula. In general, I think both Easy A and Sula also portray the double standards of society towards women - when Sula sleeps with Jude, she gets condemned while no one talks about him, and similarly, no one questions the men Olive "sleeps" with, but the school is very quick to label her. Overall, nicely done!
ReplyDeleteI agree with many of the comments above, in that although unexpected, this comparison between these two works really demonstrates the power of perception, especially in a collective group. Just as the town's perception of Sula as evil significantly influences the townspeople's day to day lives, the school's false perception of Olive as a "loose" woman shows how easily one can be labeled by others, as well as the powerfulness of that label.
ReplyDeleteI definitely would not have come up with the comparison between Sula and Easy A, but that was a really interesting connection. I definitely agree with your point with saying that the relationship between the mother and daughter is very important. The type of influence than a mother can instill on a child greatly affects how the child will become.
ReplyDeleteAlthough I have not seen Easy A, your comparison between Sula and Easy A made me wonder what it would be like to be a girl who people considered to be a skank or slut. In both cases, the people around Sula and Olivia joined together to protect others from their onslaught of promiscuousness. Olivia realized the dangers of being labeled as a slut by her peers and stopped acting like one to save her reputation. I agree with you that Sula did not completley understand the effects of her actions and almost subconsciencely was a slut. If I was a loose woman, I would much rather be in Sula's situation over Olivia's situation(considering Olivia was acting, rather than actually being a slut).
ReplyDeleteIn Kendrick Lamar's words: "Ignorance is Bliss"
You are right, there does seems to be a connection between Sula and Easy A; both women are judged by the society they live in as well as having mothers who were promiscuous in their younger days which greatly affected how they turned out to be. Sula and Olive, however, do have very different personalities despite having similar backgrounds. Like you said, Sula is not really aware of what she does and has no moral conscious of how the people around are affected by it. Olive, while 'sleeping' with other people just as Sula is, does know when to draw the line when she see that her acting is hurting a lot of people. I believe the major difference between Sula and Olive will be how the ending of one is more realistic than the other. Sula dies young without really anyone by her side; she doesn't even really reconcile with Nel. Olive explains to the whole school that she was acting and gets a happy ending with her crush. We can all see which one is more realistic. I also agree with how you said that there is a connection between Sula and Easy A; it's a small connection but a connection nonetheless.
ReplyDeleteWow I'm starting to believe that "Easy A" can work with a lot literature, maybe that's why it's such a good movie. However I really loved your comparison between Sula and Easy A. The similarities of both main characters is surprising. Their struggle with society and life and also the relationship with mother and daughter are all very true. Nice connections, very impressed.
ReplyDeleteI would have never thought of comparing Sula to Easy A but this is great. It is interesting how some people conform to society and care what others think and some do not. Sula is oblivious to what society thinks of her. Nel is hurt by Sula, but does not ask her why she slept with Jude. She immediately follows the community in hating Sula instead of talking to her first. Olive knows what everyone thinks of her, but she is not affected by it and even encourages their thoughts that she is a skank. Her so called friend Rhi, also turns on her fairly quickly and does not let her explain that she is not really sleeping with all of these people.
ReplyDeleteOlive and Hannah seem more similar to me, just for the fact that the men in their lives feel better about themselves after a time. Olive and Hannah both help men with their problems and insecurities.
ReplyDeleteI love Easy A! You've made an excellent comparison that I did not even think about!
ReplyDeleteYou did point out many comparisons between Sula and Easy A. I did see that Olive claims there are two sides to every story. This is the case and even more so for Sula because there is the Town's view of her, there is Shadrack's view of her, and then there is her own view of how events go. However, we do no really get the view of Sula.
I also liked how you compared Nel and Olive as well. I felt that made a lot of sense. Nel does understand what she is doing and tries to reconcile with Sula before it is too late. Olive rights the image that people have given her and in a way that's right because she had been deceiving them all along.
However, I thought Olive merely started talking about sleeping with George because she was somewhat peer pressured into it by Rhi. It was not to help her out, Rhi just continued to imply she did something because Olive said she spent the whole weekend with George.
Overall, I very much enjoyed reading this post.