I grew up watching the 1985 mini-series of Anne of Green Gable. I adored it so I did not really want to try the new Netflix series, In my mind, there is no other Gilbert Blythe than Jonathan Crombie. I ended up loving this adaptation just as much, if not more than the 1985 version. There is so much about this show that makes it a worthy adaptation, but I want to talk about a video I watched about the reboot and the concept of making Anne With an E more serious and realistic. In the video I will link at the end of this article, the concept of the idealization of the past is discussed.
In most of the period dramas that we know and love such as Downton Abbey, Pride and Prejudice, and the 1985 version of Anne of Green Gables, the past is idealized as being a haven of purity and safety. There was a lack of technology or the seemingly very modern violent and hedonistic turn this day and age is accused of. That idealization is harmful and Anne With an E blatantly goes against it.
With such things as the corruption of the 20th century child care and orphanage systems, predatory people, the effects of the denial of women's rights at the turn of the movement of suffrage for white women through the 19th Amendment, and common illnesses of the time being present throughout the show, it destroys this poisonous concept that the past was better than life now. I can tell you right now that the past depicted in those shows I just mentioned is not accurate. The past and present are about the same in terms of crime, illness, discrimination, and struggles faced. There were certain things that were better "back then" as much as there are improvements to the quality of life made today. Anne With an E does a wonderful job at presenting the past as it would have been - a constant juxtaposition of light and dark, good and bad, death and life, happy and sad as it is today.
Romanticizing the past is what turns patriotism into nationalism. It is what makes us believe that we can restore a country to its previous "greatness". It is what makes people believe that their past self is better than their present and therefore they have no future. We need honesty in the past, raw honesty that makes us uncomfortable and humble because we realize that the past is not to be glorified. We need to abolish this idea of the "Golden Age" that says that the past is the standard and the aspiration.
Everyone should watch Anne With an E for the creativity and individuality in this new telling of the story, and for wonderful scenes and dialogue that is inspiring and touching as it takes you through "real life" as a child that can resonate with people of all ages.
https://youtu.be/-ffg4uVk954
