So, I will freely admit to being one of those people who vigorously resists certain cultural phenomena (frequently for no particularly good reason), ultimately gives into them, and finds myself much happier for it. In this category I'd include Lady Gaga, Star Trek, and the musicalization of Hairspray. I wouldn't say I have a perfect track record: Lil Wayne still leaves me completely cold, for example, and folks, I tried. But I think I may have reached the brink on one recent phenomenon: the mashups of classic literature and monster movies, epitomized by the runaway success of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, which is reportedly headed to movie adaptation. And this is why:
I mean, look, I will always feel protective about Elizabeth Bennet. I know a lot of women who are. And I do worry that The Children will read things like this instead of the originals, which would be a Tragedy. But at the same time, I appreciate that these mashups are enhancing, rather than diminishing, the badass nature of the literary and historical figures they're taking on. And they're really doing it in a delightfully goofy way.
One thing I learned at a tour of Lincoln's Cottage (which, if I may say so, is a must-see for any DC-bound visitors) is that Lincoln was nuts, or antsy, or whatever enough to ride out to join the troops when the city was under Confederate attack, making him the only U.S. president to come under fire in a war he was leading as Commander in Chief. If he was tough enough to do that, he was tough enough to stake vampires.