- I finally read NORMAL PEOPLE | Book Review
- Normal People (2020) Hulu Series Review
- How Normal People Makes You Feel
- Normal People (2020) Analysis: A Portrait of 21st Century Romance
- Does Normal People work on TV? The genius of Sally Rooney explained
- Normal People: Letting Young Love Grow [Video Essay]
- i read every book Connell studies in Normal People
I finally read NORMAL PEOPLE | Book Review
hi everyone its butter from the photo,project today Im going to be sharing a,book review for normal people by sally,Rudy I finally picked this book up and I,well obviously read it funny story I was,in a very terrible reading slump when I,picked this up I was in the library out,having a really crappy day if Im being,honest and Ive been eyeing this book on,the Shelf of the leisure reading section,for some time so I decided to pick it up,that day and just like read a chapter,and let me tell you I was hooked the,writing is pretty stripped down very,straightforward that I felt like okay I,just finished a chapter the chapters are,very short the book is very short and I,thought you know what I think this is,gonna be the book thats gonna get me,out of my reading slump this is hailed,as a millennial raw love story of our,age to want so many awards and Sally,moon is only like 28 years old its like,a year older than I am so the book,follows two teenagers who live in,Ireland its based and set in Ireland,Marianne is a rich girl who lives in a,mansion but from an abusive family shes,a loner in school,coño is an athletic handsome teenager,his mother is from the working class,shes a single mother who had him when,she was a teenager and she also happens,to be Mary Anns familys housekeeper,and hes very popular in school while,shes a loner he started this sexual,relationship between them and from that,day on it just kind of like propels them,into the future a chapters are divided,by time gaps so it could be a week later,it could be three months later it could,be a year later and so you get to see,them at different phases and points in,their life and you start to see their,changing perspectives throughout the,same time you see how the relationship,kind of hooks them and unhooks them,throughout the book as they go into,University and Beyond and it was,interesting because its very tropi in,the rom-coms,kind of feel rich girl poor boy get,together she becomes popular he becomes,the loner when they go to university and,its about how like theres the shifting,tides take them throughout life its,also this examination of what it be what,it means to be normal,especially because of their shifting,roles throughout the book the popularity,doesnt matter in the long haul or in,that phase in your life you know when,youre in high school everythings so,high end everything matters so much and,its just kind of a take on that but at,the same time youre in university,things open up a little bit more because,of the time jumps you get to see so much,of their lives in different phases and I,like that about this I will say I did,like the type jump format and the fact,that the chapters were very concise and,short and the writing was not very,descriptive look I love me a good,atmospheric read but this was character,driven it was script down to dialogue,mostly perspectives shift between the,points of views at the same time also so,you get the inner workings of their,minds and why they do what they do but I,did have some issues in the sense that,when I was done with the book I didnt,know how I felt about it I didnt know,if I liked it or not in some ways I saw,it reflected in myself as well there,were moments that I was just like yeah,no I understand this certain moments I,felt like it was going too fast and I,wanted to really just sit in on those,moments just breathe into them a little,bit more just try to unravel them,instead of time jumping to another point,in the book when were talking about the,other characters perspective maybe in,that sense you could say that in,allowing them to be brief you could,analyze them in whichever way you wanted,its one of those things where I,finished it and I thought what do I,really think about this book it was a,lot it was a lot to unpack I think the,relationship between Marianne and,Connell is just electrifying for two,people that know each other very well,there seems to be a lot of,misunderstandings and maybe that is also,the point is that you cant and it is,touched upon in here is that you cant,really truly know someone because people,change all the time or rather they,project a version of themselves that,they want you to perceive and its just,a character study I suppose and a pretty,effective one I guess the more I talk,about it the more I could Im convincing,myself that I actually enjoyed it and so,I guess this is a very honest,brambly review I hope this made sense,this is just my two cents on this book,it packs a lot it unpacks a lot as well,and that you want to like really talk,about it there were moments where I just,wasnt convinced in certain aspects or I,thought things were moving too quickly,it was wrapped up really quickly as an,ending ending ending last page I was,like okay I see what you were doing,there but moving towards the ending I,felt like it was rushed and a little bit,incomplete and I like after finished I,finished reading it I kept going back,and forth and whether I liked it or not,and I suppose and talking about it I can,see where it works and where it doesnt,so Im in the middle I gave it a 3 stars,I suppose it could go up to a 4 stars,now that I like think about a little bit,more but anyway this was super rumbly I,hope this made sense so this is going on,or a little longer than they expected so,Im gonna cut this short and say let me,know down below if youve read this book,what your thoughts were if you were as,conflicted as I was or were you just,completely wild because I know people,are just like oh my god this was amazing,and I was like wait a minute hang on I,didnt completely feel that way so let,me know that hello if youve read this,book if you plan on reading this book,and let me know your thoughts I look,forward to hearing from you thanks so,much for watching I hope you enjoyed the,video and Ill see you with my next one
Normal People (2020) Hulu Series Review
marianne and connell were sort of,friends all through their high school,days,they both lived in ireland both awkward,in their unique ways,after graduation mary and went out,looking for a bright new world,connell started to live his life but,does he get the girl,in the hulu original series normal,people marianne and connell,grow up in the same small town in,ireland,but they have drastically different,backgrounds they develop a somewhat,secret relationship,and then spend the next several years,moving,in and out of each others lives and all,that time,they keep impacting each others,emotions this show was so,haunting to me i watched the 12 episodes,over the course of two days and not,because theyre long episodes,just because i needed to take a break,but oh my goodness,after turning it off and then trying to,go to sleep,they just stuck with me marianne and,connell their story,was just with me and it was going,through my mind and i just,i needed to see more the characters are,both damaged but in different ways,i mean theyre still able to function,but theyre awkward,and then theyre also unsure and even,conflicted their interactions are,frustrating a lot of the time because as,the audience we see what theyre feeling,and we know what they want to say except,their lips just dont let the words,escape,the actors do such a good job of,creating their characters,they sucked me in with their performance,because they are just so,rich and so deep with what they show and,how they emote,and really my emotions wavered back and,forth with them i mean sometimes,i liked the characters sometimes i was,absolutely maddened by them,sometimes i was heartbroken for them and,a lot of the time it also coincided with,exactly how they were feeling in their,relationship,i mean theres even times where theyre,stammering like you know,that theyre trying to say something,they want to say something in their head,theyre like,should i say this i want to say this i,dont say it,and they go back and forth and theyre,having this internal struggle,and here i am yelling at the tv to tell,them just say it already come on,this is gonna speed everything up and,make you so much more happy,if you do this and then do they,now the show itself is absolutely,beautiful to watch,i mean the cinematography is stunning,and you really do forget almost that,youre watching,a tv show and not really a movie the,locations they choose too i mean those,just help to add to the enjoyment,and i liked also that a lot of the,scenery or at least the settings,also then affected our moods and so,sometimes when it was just,nice and soft and beautiful you felt,comforted but other times it was,cold and sterile and you felt a little,bit of anxiety or a little bit of fear,or maybe even some anger,and it really matched what the tone of,that particular part of the story was,trying to get across,now there is a sadness that kind of,overhangs the majority of the series and,that could make it a tough,binge i mean overall its not just a you,know leave you in the bell jar running,for the razors type of thing,it has a melancholy to it and its also,bittersweet,but with all of that the two leads i,mean theyre so endearing and they suck,you,in and so you cant help but want to,continue to watch,because this takes place over the course,of some years,there are some time jumps that happen,now theyre not major theyre,theyre minor ones but a lot of the time,were not given context,as far as to how much time has passed,sometimes maybe its a month,is it six months is it a year i dont,believe its any longer than that,and while it can throw you out a little,bit and throw you off a little bit just,to try and figure out okay where are we,at or did i miss something,most of its overcomeable very very,quickly and you move right,along the show does a really good job of,putting some terrible people,into our main characters lives and that,just illustrates and helps us to,understand,better why the main characters act the,way they do or they behave the way they,do,or even why they carry themselves the,way that they do we also get to see them,navigate and negotiate a lot of their,other relationships as well,and this really goes to form who they,are as people who they are as a couple,who they are just as as friends and i,loved how much,the actors were able to convince me that,they were really feeling this,that i i didnt doubt it for a minute,that they just,absolutely sucked me in with their,emotions with their facial expressions,with their,quivering lips and even just their,stuttering speech,that you could tell its wavering and,just sadness,and joy or love or anger is sitting,right at the edge of their tongue just,right on their breath,and it came across so well the more i,think about this show the more i,really like it i mean it grabbed me from,the beginning,and then just kept digging its hooks,into me and,even though its not overly a joyous,watch i mean there are sad moments to it,and like i said its got a melancholy to,it i still,left with a kind of hopeful feeling,there is a ton of sex and nudity with a,lot of profanity,and some violence including sexual,violence i give normal people,four and a half out of five couches so,have you seen the show on hulu i would,love to know what you thought of it in,the comments below,if you enjoyed this review please give,it a like also dont forget to share,and subscribe im chris this is movies,and munchies,thanks for catching with me oh and i,also for the just terrible dixie chicks,rendition at the beginning of that,i couldnt be helped thats what happens,when you wake up at six in the morning,and,you know just thoughts start running,through your head and what are you gonna,do well im gonna share them with you,for better or worse thanks
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How Normal People Makes You Feel
normal people beautifully depicts a,young relationships intense multitude,of emotions with striking authenticity,and evokes a warm sincere atmosphere all,of this elevated by outstandingly,performances from paul messikel and,daisy edgar jones,what is the secret to the shows success,at capturing the emotional journey of a,first love,and crucially impressing all of those,feelings onto the viewer,the answer can be found in one of normal,peoples best scenes,connell and marianne seeing each other,again for the first time since they both,started studying at trinity college,colonel waldron from beyond the grave,the feel of normal people is constructed,through the themes and ideas it,expresses concerning its central,relationship,and in doing so it takes the viewer on,the journey of its story and character,arcs,this process is the key to the highly,emotive nature of the show,and is epitomized by the sequence in,episode four,lets look at how the story and themes,are conveyed by the sequence,firstly through its cinematography,normal peoples camera work often,reflects both connell and mariannes,relation to each other and,separately to the world around them this,scene directed by lenny abramson,exemplifies the shows frequent use of,the camera to illustrate its storys,central dynamic,marianne is here centred in a wide frame,because this conversation takes place in,her domain,with a group of close friends and a,popular boyfriend at this time in her,life shes more than comfortable in the,setting of a college party,connell on the other hand feels very,much out of place in trinity,and shots like this one display his,environment as an imposing,almost suffocating entity its no wonder,he nearly leaves the party immediately,on arrival before bumping into gareth,connell isnt offered nearly as much,space around him in the frame as,marianne,indicating his entirely different,position in this environment,one of anxiety and isolation,early in the scene this shot establishes,the spatial distance between carnal and,marianne,but we are likely to soon forget how,near they actually are to each other,given the rest of the scenes,predominant use of singles,these shots wherein only one character,appears in frame at a time,as opposed to perhaps an over the,shoulder angle also use a narrow depth,of field,this cuts the characters off from each,other and their surroundings,revealing both the tension between them,and that their failure to communicate,stems from how fundamentally internal,they both are,this was one of the shows challenges in,adapting sally rooneys novel,which explores the characters inner,voice through its prose,whilst their dialogue and actions are,extremely stripped down,using new tools in bringing the story to,screen these same ideas are expressed,instead through the camera work,the novel describes the pair as figure,skaters,improvising their discussions so adeptly,and in such perfect synchronization that,it surprises them both,the scene perfectly demonstrates their,ability to bounce off one another so,fluidly,even in a somewhat awkward situation as,with the cinematography,there are two dynamics explored by the,dialogue connell and mariannes,interpersonal relationship,and their separate relationships to the,world around them,there are two planes on which these,figure skaters dance,and they constantly flip between them,going back and forth within mere seconds,which one they choose at any given time,is telling so lets take a look at,perhaps the scenes most important,outlet for its storytelling,the dialogue as marianne and connell,open the conversation,their first line of defense is to talk,about someone else entirely,mariannes boyfriend gareth marianne,showing that shes the more comfortable,of the two,is the first to enter more personal,territory after a pause she says,ive missed you this transition,establishes the very essence of the,scene,connell and marianne have an intense,closeness that constantly reveals itself,but they just as frequently deflect away,from it toward that other domain which,contains their relationships to anyone,and anything but each other,sure enough they almost immediately,become uncomfortable after connell says,he was down about marianne leaving,school,and she replies never hung out much,during school hours conall freezes up,and marianne must redirect away from,their relationship what about rachel,you still together how did you hear,about that they discussed this for a,while but when connell says,i dont think we were that compatible,really the implication that he and,marianne have a unique bond begins to,build,they start to veer towards themselves,again marianne playfully tells connell,she could have told him that and he,responds well maybe azure would have,helped actually,you werent really replying to my text,at the time so they cannot seem to help,but end up here once again,at its most intense the conversation,inevitably brings up the pain they both,harbour over all that has happened,between them,marianne cuts conor with the most direct,line in the scene thus far,felt somewhat abandoned kung i felt a,bit abandoned myself didnt i,it has clearly gotten too much and once,again they distract themselves,the tactic they now employ is to,downplay everything that has happened,between them,the racial thing wasnt,serious or anything thats not really,why i left school,right more of a last draw sort of thing,both these sentiments attempt to,diminish the significance of all that,has taken place,connell attempts to water down his,betrayal of marianne by implying that,the person he betrayed her for wasnt,actually so important,and she in turn explains that his,actions didnt hurt her as much as it,seemed by her disappearing,connell then affirms this notion i,wondered if that was what it was,but its much more likely that he wants,this to have been the case,because it relinquishes the,responsibility for having hurt her too,much,whenever the two switch to this mode of,avoiding closeness,they grant weight to other external,factors in their lives,denying that they themselves are the,dominant acting forces on each other,once again the build towards intimacy,commences,as they joke that connell is telepathic,but of course they soon start to take,this notion seriously,and then this happens you know i did,used to think that i could read your,mind at times,in bed you mean yeah,and afterwards but i know maybe thats,normal,its not,this is the first sincere explicit,reference to the unique bond that they,share compared to their relationships,with anyone else,and after this moment something shifts,connell finally embraces intimacy,sincerely telling marianne that she,looks well and then that shes beautiful,its clearly not easy for him but he,manages to accept the pull towards their,intense closeness,over other distractions and deflections,in the background a new song starts,playing,signifying the shift to a warmer,atmosphere they are both soon laughing,and joking,truly comfortable in each others,company and we are learning that to,acknowledge and embrace the unique,dynamic that they have,is what is best for connell and marianne,the next time marianne acknowledges that,secondary plane of her place in the,world,it no longer functions to avoid,closeness with connell,instead she only references it in a way,that might be helpful to him,she playfully brags about now having,girlfriends that she could introduce him,to,in doing this shes also sharing her,newfound popularity with connell as a,sort of in-joke between them,a reminder of how much more they,understand about one another,than anyone else at that party marianne,and connells ability to communicate,with one another,constantly wavers because of their,desire to shift away from an intimacy,that comes with so much vulnerability,this is the most stubborn roadblock for,their friendship and relationship,in episode 7 for example it is revealed,that connor was close to asking marianne,if he can stay at her place for the,summer,yet he so fe
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Normal People (2020) Analysis: A Portrait of 21st Century Romance
normal people is a 20/20 element picture,show for Hulu and BBC 3 the show is,based on the best-selling book of the,same name by Sally Rooney today I want,to explore how normal people can be,viewed as a portrait of 21st century,romance capturing Beauty intimacy and,brutality in its stark portrayal of,turbulent and difficult teenage,relationships from its exceptional,soundtrack to its effective stylized,cinematography normal-people is a show,that hits close to home for many viewers,highlighting the emotional difficulty of,first relationships whilst never,patronizing its audience before we get,into things I want to say a huge thank,you to all my supporters for helping me,get to 10,000 subscribers if youre new,to my channel consider subscribing and,turning on notifications lets get into,it,welcome to the film essay,[Music],the narrative itself is very simple in a,lot of ways which in romance often works,in its favor elements of the story can,be compared to arguably the most,influential love story of all time Romeo,and Juliet the star-crossed lovers from,different families and social groups who,must hide their relationship from their,family and friends the simple narrative,helps the show achieve new depth and,meaning as instead of the audience being,fed exposition and storytelling we are,left to reflect on the choice of words,Mary Ann or Connell use or the meaning,behind a look intimately involving the,viewer the show effectively portrays,issues with class and wealth in a way,that feels far truer to life than other,comparable TV shows and films often in,romance dramas or comedies involving,teenagers the wealthy are portrayed as,the popular kids such as in Mean Girls,and sex education what this show does,well is highlight issues with class and,wealth in a much more true way showing,how wealthy Mary Ann has a turbulent,home life and is relentlessly mocked and,outcast at school the narrative does,well at not patronizing the viewer,giving us highs but also serious lows,showing how difficult young,relationships can be despite their,moments of euphoria ultimately ending,with Mary Ann and Connell breaking up is,testament to this showing the brutality,young love can contain in a way that is,accessible to whilst never patronizing,of its key audience the soundtrack is a,unique blend of nostalgia inducing,tracks from the past 20 years an Irish,artist to capture the sense of place and,atmosphere present in the book music,produces Maggie Phillips and Juliette,Martin said in an interview with bizarre,we didnt want things to feel like a,bunch of music videos we wanted it to,feel very authentic and grounded part of,this authenticity was through the use of,artists from Ireland to stay true to the,story,the initial playlist included villagers,soaked st. sister lisa hannigan and more,this was drastically opposed to the use,of Frank Ocean Carly Rae Jepsen and,Selena Gomez this normalized the show,making it accessible to a wide audience,of teenagers and students who found a,musical landscape in the show that both,reflected the music they listen to,themselves whilst also emphasizing Irish,artists that built,an atmosphere and sense of location the,cinematography of the show feels half,roar and half stylized as,cinematographer Susie Laval said we will,use angles where you cant quite see,whats going on and cant quite see the,expression on the characters face for,instance so you have to twist yourself,to try and see and understand the drama,of the thing and sometimes there is an,observational quality about it almost,like wildlife documentary filmmaking,where you just sit back and allow things,to unfold close-ups were prevalent,throughout the show giving us an insight,into the minds of Mary Ann and Connell,this was effectively contrasted with the,use of montage when the two are apart,drastically opposing their situation or,mental state to reinforce their distance,and separation a shot that I loved that,was used on many occasions was the,smooth behind the head shot following,the characters and showing us as the,audience what they see whilst obscuring,their facial expression this gave the,audience a real sense of identification,with the lead character and an immersion,into their world a real triumph was the,decision to split the show into twelve,half-an-hour episodes rather than the,customary format of six hour-long,episodes this really helped the pacing,of the story keeping things constantly,in motion whilst also being a great way,to stay true to the book with each,episode feeling akin to a chapter,another thing I found fascinating about,the structure was the complete absence,of subplots after we introduced our two,main characters the story remains,entirely focused on Marianne and Connell,giving us nowhere else to look and as a,result making us far more involved in,their love story the sex scenes are very,deliberately long and raw at times as,Judith which says in The Daily Telegraph,it can leave the viewer feeling like an,intruder but I really see this as a,benefit we feel like were intruding,because the relationship and intimacy,feels so real that the viewer is left,feeling like they are observing in,relationship this all culminates in a,beautiful bleak and heart-wrenching,narrative that so many people can,identify with and see themselves in it,lays bare the beauty and brutality of,first loves highlighting the euphoric,highs and heartbreaking lows the real,triumph of the show is how it never,patronizes its key demographic it shows,that depth young relationships can have,showing the difficulty and romantic,complications so many of us experienced,in our teenage years normal people is a,triumphant screen adaptation laying bare,the highs and lows of young love,resulting in arguably one of the best,young love stories on television thank,you very much for watching please,subscribe and check out my channel,you
Does Normal People work on TV? The genius of Sally Rooney explained
Normal People: Letting Young Love Grow [Video Essay]
somewhere in the dark depths of,quarantine i came across the hulu and,bbc show,normal people id heard a few good,things about it but didnt really know,much in terms of plot or,tone or really anything substantial so,bored out of my mind and desperate for,something new to escape the covet,hellscape of the outside world i thought,why not so booted up the first episode,and,im not gonna lie this show messed me up,when i first clicked that play button i,had no idea what i was getting myself,into i watched the entire 12 episode run,in just under 24 hours and once i,finished the last episode i instantly,ran it back for a re-watch,hell i even liked so much i bought and,read the book its based on and i dont,read books that dont have pictures in,them,on the surface normal people looks like,an average love story that youve seen a,thousand times,cool guy gets with the weird girl but is,scared of what itll do to his,reputation,okay well that is exactly what the show,is its so much more at the same time,taking the tropes of this classic story,and weaving it into the best depiction,of love in the modern world i have,ever seen so im liam and this is a,thought bubble on normal people and how,it paints the perfect picture of young,love in the 21st century,and of course spoilers ahead for normal,people okay but before we get into the,good stuff lets start with a quick,recap,normal people follows two main,characters connell and marianne two are,finishing up their senior year in small,town ireland and live completely,opposite lives,connell is well liked at school good at,sports and all the girls love them,but marianne is almost universally hated,as seen as a know-it-all brat by her,classmates,their lives intersect as connells mom,as the housemaid for mariannes wealthy,family,the two striker connection and the fact,that theyre both smart and share,interest in books,politics philosophy and other things,like that that,arent normally popular subjects at high,school lunch tables,that and they both hate the fake perfect,life of their small town,so despite their differing social status,at school the two start a secret,relationship,and of course dont tell any of their,family or friends about it because you,know thats how all healthy and,fulfilling relationships start,and everything works out great they move,on to college even get married,have some kids,sorry i just i i can dream can i but,no connell marianne embark on an,on-again off-again relationship spending,the next few years of their lives as the,two fall in and out of love with each,other and others,until ultimately well im gonna get to,that ending later just,sit tight for a second first i want to,talk about what normal people does to,sell this authentic young love story,just aesthetically,the direction of the show was split down,the middle by lenny abramson and hedy,mcdonald,two lesser known british indie directors,the show was shot in a very close and,personal style with the camera usually,having a deep focus on its subjects or,following the characters with the,tracking shot to bring us more into,their lives,this helps focus the attention on conor,and marianne moore with the outside,world looking blurry and unimportant,the shows creators said that they,wanted to avoid the music video look,thats,now been played out by other shows they,also do this through the soundtrack,a lot of shows of this type force the,soundtrack of a bunch of songs that the,37 year old writers think young people,listen to,and it makes these shows feel more like,chewing gum commercials than romance,in this show the creators put a few,tracks from online artists like carly,rae jepsen and frank ocean to help set,the time period but,mix in smaller local irish acts because,you know,thats what these characters at this age,in this town would be listening to,the music does such a great job of,bringing you into the world of these,characters,and developing them alongside the story,not forcing you into some wannabe frat,bros dj set,now where normal people really sets,itself apart from the others in its,genre for me is its writing,when describing the title of the story,author sally rooney said this what i,really love,to read about and to write about are,experiences that are in fact completely,banal,but that dont necessarily conform to,our narratives about what normality is,so like experiences that maybe feel,weird while theyre happening but are in,fact like utterly run-of-the-mill,because they happen to pretty much,everyone,while many coming-of-age love stories,try to capture the normal life of their,time period,they end up not only inflating it into,some hyper-real fantasy,but they do so at the cost of using the,same reusable threads that are handed,down from generation to generation,this is one of the few shows where its,leads actually feel like normal people,this show on the other hand not only,shows us the boring day-to-day tasks of,young life today but,expands upon its genres tropes to make,them fit for this generation,for example look at the popular guy girl,with unpopular girl guy trope,this different social status dynamic is,the starting point of this story and,countless others before it but rooney,mixes in class status to make it fit for,this time period and yes im aware that,class has been an issue for as long as,capitalism has existed but rooney sits,her story at the start of 2011,only two years after the greatest,economic collapse our generation would,ever see,the first quarter of 2020 ended today,and it was the worst first quarter,ever on the dow oh right in their small,working-class town mariannes wealth is,part of what makes her an outsider to,her peers with connells friends even,making jokes about what seems like,unachievable and endless wealth to them,when the characters moved to trinity,college in dublin its connell is now,the outsider in the prestigious,high-class world of irelands top,university,while marianne finally fits in with the,economical lead of the school,the story also never shies away from how,our characters first came together with,mariannes familys unfair pay to,connells mother even forming an,argument between the two at one point,added depth like this helps sell the,show to an audience of younger viewers,like me who experience this dynamic in,almost every interaction,there are plenty more examples of normal,people dealing with issues that affect,todays relationships more than ever,like,communication mental health and just the,ambiguity and openness of relationships,now,but i think my favorite part about the,writing of this show is that it never,looks down on or patronizes the,generation of its characters,every time i watch a show like this no,matter what era its in i cant help but,notice how often they put in jabs at its,characters generation,it could be in big narrative moments or,just something small like having all,their characters obsessed with their,phones,okay but seriously this is probably my,biggest pet peeve about shows like this,for some reason every writer in,hollywood thinks that everyone under the,age of 25 lives like the people from,wally,yes there are people who live like this,but most young people are able to have,separate lives outside of their insta,feeds,but anyway normal people never falls,into these pitfalls most likely because,the author is a similar age to the,characters and nowhere,is more apparent than the ending shows,like this often make their characters,very immature and downright stupid and,honestly thats fair because well thats,how it is when youre 20 but they never,give their characters any room to grow,out of this,instead theyre usually too focused on,keeping their characters immature,because thats how they view the younger,generation,anything too complex or adult will just,go right over their heads but this isnt,the case for normal people,the ending of normal people is easily,the most emotionally devastating moment,in a show thats constantly pulling your,emotions in every direction,but its also
i read every book Connell studies in Normal People
hello everyone,so alongside the rest of planet Earth I,have recently read enjoyed fallen in,love with Sally Rooneys normal people,its heartbreaking its captivating its,baa-eautiful and the central protagonist,is a guy called Connell who is an,English literature student at Trinity,College in Dublin now you may or may not,know that I too am an English student I,just finished my English degree and Im,about to graduate and so this video,isnt me just trying to prove that I am,like Connell from normal people that is,not true okay maybe that is a little bit,true aside from that the other main,point is that this glorious book and the,TV adaptation mentioned and allude to a,lot of a classical literature and the,thing that I really noticed while I was,reading it is that from the books that I,know and I have studied myself there is,so much symbolism and significance to,the books that are alluded to during,this pandemic Ive been looking for ways,to support independent local book shops,that arent having people come to their,stores of amendment and so I did a,little bit of a shop and by a little bit,I mean I did quite a big shop these are,all of the books in normal people that,Conell studies lets just say theres a,fair few and my plan for this week is to,read all of them and talk about how they,add value to the book and I know what,youre thinking I know what youre gonna,say surely youve got better things to,be doing than that well no no actually,this is a pandemic also I have nothing,else to do anyway so yes that is how Im,going to be spending my week it feels,doable the only slight issue might be,this book because this book is,notoriously very very dense but then,again so am I so I have definitely got,my work cut out for me but you know what,challenge accepted so that is what this,video is going to be welcome to my,channel welcome to this video and lets,get going on tonights program ladies,and gentlemen we have something thats,gonna make,SiC so because the book and the TV show,reference different pieces of literature,Ive tried to sort of create some sort,of chronology so that I read them in the,same order that theyre mentioned by,sort of merging the plots of the two,does that make sense,I dont know if it even made sense to me,to be honest so Ill leave the,timestamps to each piece of literature,in the crotch box down below but first,and foremost I think the first piece of,literature that is referenced in the TV,show is in the waiting room by Elizabeth,Bishop this is a perm that they study in,the classroom,I remember reading it a couple of years,ago but I just reread it just to refresh,my memory,and its this really tightly written,poem all about being apprehensive about,growing up and coming of age and seeing,adults around you and knowing that you,will one day grow up to be like them now,Im gonna go full-on English student and,just dive right in even though no one,asked me to do but in the poem theres,reference to womens breasts especially,older womens breasts and the child who,is reading this magazine and is kind of,confronted by this symbol of adulthood,and adult sexuality is horrified at,first and so I guess the symbolism there,in relation to the idea of coming of age,is sexual awakening and losing,virginitys and that is something that,happens in normal people normal people,has this very honest discussion about,sex and that is such a strong point of,this book and this poem by elizabeth,bishop in the waiting room is being,taught in the classroom that Marianne,and Connell are in at their school so,its sort of for shadows and preempts,their own anxieties about growing up and,the future and then obviously throughout,the book and the TV adaptation we watch,them grow up so I think thats probably,why in the waiting room was chosen as,the poem to be being taught in that very,first class that they are in and yeah we,love a bit of foreshadowing the first,piece of literature mentioned in Sally,Rooneys book of normal people is a,communist manifesto by Marx and Engels,Connell recommends to Mary Ann that she,read the communist manifesto and its,definitely a book which influences the,way that both of the protagonists think,and also how Sally Rooney as an author,writes they go on to have these,conversations about how human beings are,rarefied and commodified and used as,workers and class disparity is a huge,zatia in normal people and that is,exposed most obviously and overtly at,university sonny rooney herself,considers herself a marxist writer ill,leave a link to a really interesting,interview that she did down below if you,want to find out more but she talks,about how the novel as a form is sort of,a way of buying into a world of people,who read novels so this wealth of people,who are well-read is kind of perpetuated,and upheld by buying books I guess its,what mill would call a higher pleasure,so fundamentally as a writer of that,book Sally Rooney is very aware of the,Communist Manifesto and yeah I think the,reference to this book really clearly,introduces the themes of Marxism and how,you can read this as a Marxist text this,is the next book which is mentioned,which Im going to be reading and this,is Doris Lessing the golden notebook the,way that this book is mentioned is that,Conell is kind of admiring it on a Mary,Anns bookshelf Mariana suggests he read,it and he tells her that he already has,Ive just started reading it but I will,get back to you and I finished it at,which spoiler alert thats gonna take me,a little while so probably see you,tomorrow or in a couple of days okay so,some time has passed lets talk about,the golden notebook like I said earlier,this is an incredibly dense piece of,feminist literature I think the reason,its mentioned is to prove that Conell,is very open-minded and thinking about,the world that he exists in and engaging,in really kind of complex and rich and,critical literature and its obviously,mentioned how intelligent Marianne and,Connell both are and so I think this,kind of just shows the fact that theyve,both read this is testament to that,interest in the world and that,willingness to critique it so the,character Anna in this novel keeps four,notebooks and each one is a different,color and they represent like the,different kind of things that she,grapples with in her life one of those,notebooks is her discussion with,communism which again links back to the,Marxists ideas that Rudy talks about and,interestingly one of the notebooks is a,work of fiction its a novel that shes,writing and Connell also writes his,pieces of fiction in a notebook and I,literally went back and watched scene by,scene to check whether it was a yellow,notebook like the one in this book but,its a black one I was rooting for you,normal people we were all rooting for,you that would have been crazy symbolism,but quite nice so Im not blaming them,for not including it but like that would,have been pretty cool at least you read,this,the age of well before 18 which is,pretty impressive also I should mention,I wasnt really looking forward to this,just because of the sheer length of it,like Im not really a massive fan of,really long books because my attention,span is the length of a tick-tock but I,really enjoyed this book and Doris,Lessing actually won the Nobel Prize for,Literature so there you go if you want,to read it I would recommend the next,book that is mentioned in normal people,is ever by Jane Austen now this was one,of the very first books that I read as,part of my English degree and its also,one of the first books that Conell reads,for his English degree we are just so,similar and I recently read a few,interviews where Sally Rooney talks,about Jane Austen as the first kind of,British novelist and the only real,author from that time that we still read,frequently today now the interesting,thing about Emma is that emma is one of,the first novels which uses free,indirect discourse now what free,indirect discourse basically means is,that throughout the novel you can see,