Actually it was True Love Never Dies I think but still...
So "Phantom of the Opera 2" is coming out soon. Some of the new songs are already out and the pompousness that is ALW has presented the backstory as to why he thought a great book and musical needed a sequel. Essentially, he wanted to know what happened to Erik at the end. ...In the book he dies. I guess the book, though, isn't good enough for movie makers let alone ALW. *sigh*
To be fair, "Coney Island Waltz" is a catchy song which I might have to buy, though Erik's solo they have released isn't that memorable. I'm sure it could grow on me, but at the moment I am hard pressed to remember even its theme. The big problem, though, as any fangirl knows, is the plot. Even if luckily much of Forsythe's crap has been apparently pitched, we still have an evil Madame Giry and broken-goth loli Meg to screw things up. And Christine who somehow slept with Erik during the "Music of the Night" sequence which, since I always assume she was hypnotized, means he essentially raped her. Oh, let's make him an appealing character we want to sympathize with! *sigh*
To be honest, we (the phans) really -shouldn't- like Erik, no matter what form he takes. He is an ammoral, selfish, and totally insane individual. Physical features aside, he's not a pretty person. Intelligent, clever, and even charming, sure. But I think if we knew a guy like him in real life, we'd all be running the other way.
So why -do- phans like Erik?
If you look at the Phan community, I'd say probably 90% of the Phans despise Raoul and are angry at Christine for dumping Erik for the "fop" as he's popularly known. Yet, how many phans, really, would make the same decision as Christine? Let's put the physical thing aside. Seriously, would you choose a guy at least twice your age, who posed as an angel\father figure then suddenly wanted to marry you? Who was a genius but unhinged mentally, using blackmail, murder, and deceit to get what he wanted? Who lived in a friggin' sewer filled with booby traps? ...Or would you choose a wealthy, respected young guy who's biggest problem was his naievty?
...Actually I think most of us now days would call the cops and tell both of them to get lost but, when considering only the book\musical, most phans would say they'd go with Erik despite the fact common sense would say they'd have to be suicidal to do so.
So why is this? Why do phans love this evil lunatic so much? Why do I? Well, here are a few things I've thought of. I'd be interested in hearing others.
1. A desire to "save" Erik. He seems so sad and lonely. It'd be nice to think that with a little love, a hug, and some warm soup that we could fix him right up. ...Even though it'd probably take more like years of therapy and heavy dosage of prozac....
2. The ability to relate to being an outcast. Why has the "Emo" and "goth" subculture gotten so big in recent years? I think most folks see themselves as Outcasts. We don't 'fit in' to whatever we perceive as "normal" society, and feel "persecuted" for it. ...reality aside, of course. Most of us aren't the cheerleaders, and few consider themselves to be attractive. So when presented with a guy who is fugly and hated by society or a hot gary-sue with everything goin for him, who do we go for?
3. Erik presents an escape from reality. Because he is an outcast and lives on the fringes of society, societal norms do not apply to him. Class, laws, and even the need to work every day do not apply to his world of darkness. As he's often written in fics, he seems to spend most of his time playing pranks, writing music, telling stories, or reading. Who here really wants to live in reality if there's a viable leisurely alternative? Gods know I don't!
4. In the same vein... Erik is often associated with dreams and even the Underworld (indeed, he's very much a Hades to Christine's Persephone). His ingenius ability to create automatrons, use mirrors, and perform "magic" with his inventions appeals, again, to the desire to escape from normalcy. Like Death releases us to an afterlife (most believe) or dreams take us to another world, full of fantasy and the surreal, the character of Erik can do the same thing simply by taking us into the sewers.
5. Erik truly loves Christine, so much so that through his madness and self-pity, he is willing to let her go. He literally dies without her. Like Eric and Shelly, Edward and Kim, a lot of people want to see a love that can trascend time and death, a love so powerful it can change a man. More importantly, we want to be loved in that way. Though Erik's love is actually unhealthy and destructive, I think most people imagine it would be great to have someone so completely obsessed with them... no chance that Erik would cheat on Christine, abandon her, or even probably look at another woman (even a Mary Sue
)
6. A desire to prove ourselves. We want to believe that we can love the beast, that we can look past the physical and love the person within. We want to say we're better than everyone else because looks don't matter to us. We're that good, that compassionate, that we could care less if a guy looks like a walking corpse. ....how many of us really could is a good question, though.
I could probably think of other reasons too, but I will be leaving shortly (yea food).
What are anyone else's thoughts on the sequel, on the characters?
Personally, I'm still angry that the Persian is rarely included, and always bastardized when he is. Even in the Chaney version, before we got obsessed with being P.C. (which I assume is why we never see him in modern versions), he wasn't the Persian but Ledoux of the Secret Police!! I love Erik for all the reasons above, but would probably prefer to actually hang out with the equally interesting but much more sane Daroga... ...On who I probably could write another rant.
...And speaking of rants, who here thinks they should make a Phantom based on the M-fing book for once?! *raises hand*
Oh and one other note - if you play WoW, make sure you -do- bind your account to Battlenet. Pain in the arse though it is, if you don't, you might end up account hacked like I just did. They cracked my password and then bound my account to their Battlenet, enabling them to steal all my gear and gold. it's being fixed but still... it leaves that icky violated feeling...
of Pine and Plastic
Seasonal
Hungry
Anxious
. I'm really hoping it's just some bad hormone shit going on but still, it's worrisome. Irony is, I'm the one who everyone thinks is gonna die of cancer (I had it when I was little and my chances are slightly higher than other people technically). Ugh. Guess we'll cross it if it happens. Must admit it's making me sick. To my stomach. ...That could just be me but I won't deny it's stressin' me out too.
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