We had a low-key day celebrating Mother’s Day yesterday complete with some puppy silliness (she decided to lay on the patio table) and some pop culture (we watched “Little Women” on Masterpiece on PBS). It was a good day.
Last night’s Masterpiece Classic episode of “Little Women” was part 1 in a multi-part series. As a nerdy bookish girl I read and loved all of Louisa May Alcott’s books, Little Women being her major work. So ever since I heard about this adaptation I’ve been excited. I loved the version with Winona Ryder, Christian Bale and Susan Sarandon in 1994 so I figured it was overdue for another retelling. And the writer adapting it, Heidi Thomas, has done stuff I’ve liked and highly acclaimed things like “Call the Midwife,” “Cranford,” “Upstairs Downstairs.”
I was telling my parents it was kind of ironic that the writer and a lot of the well known actors are British but playing American in a very American story (if you’re unfamiliar it’s about a family of 4 girls and their parents living in America during the Civil War). I guess Americans have played Brits often enough (Renée Zellweger in “Bridget Jones’s Diary,” [and its sequels] and Gwyneth Paltrow in “Sliding Doors” and “Shakespeare in Love”). My Mom surprised me by not knowing that “Little Women” is an American story and Louisa May Alcott is an American author. She definitely knew that when I was reading her books but probably just forgot as I read a lot and became obsessed with a lot of authors and as an attentive mother she followed along to each obsession (it’s still happening, that’s why this blog is called “Watching Pop Culture With My Parents”).
I happened to find this company that makes scarves 🧣 and other clothing inspired by literature. So if you’re a book nerd like me you can wear your literary affection. I might have to get something from this site. The hard part will be deciding what!
Little Women scarf from Storiarts.
Well, happy belated Mother’s Day. And I’ll check back in with another report on the conclusion of “Little Women.”
Writing By Laura 