Tag: Divergent

Fictional Libraries We Wish Were Real

Hogwarts Library, Harry Potter

 

image via pinterest

The Hogwarts library is by far the most well-known when it comes to modern literature and pop culture. Our favorite trio of student wizards often sought out answers to problems from books in the library (magical stones, spells to breathe underwater, regular teenage stuff). Who among us didn’t dream of attending Hogwarts? Or of sneaking into the restricted section of the library under a cloak of invisibility?

 

Image via RadioTimeS

Beast’s Library, beauty and the beast

 

Image via Telegraph

This library, literally from a fairytale, is as dreamy as you can imagine! Were you as shocked and surprised as bookworm Belle when you first saw the Beast’s library? Who wasn’t jealous of her for being gifted this incredible room? It almost makes the whole hostage thing okay.

 

 

Jedi archives, star wars

 

Image via Scyfilove

Just imagine historical records dating back thousands of years, with maps and geographical archives of entire galaxies. This library literally contained ALL the information about cultures and species spanning centuries of time and space. All of that knowledge in one place sounds like the most complete library to ever exist (in our minds, at least).

 

 

the library, Doctor who

 

Image via Pinterest

 

A planet-sized library containing every book ever written? Sounds like the perfect planet to me. It even has a teleportation system to ensure that you can find your next read with immense speed. I can’t think of a better planet to live in than this one!

Sunnydale high library, buffy the vampire slayer

 

Image via Fandom

The nostalgia is creeping in with this 90’s cult classic. Who didn’t want to have old supernatural texts and medieval weapons in their school library? So many emotional moments happened to the Scooby Gang in this very spot. With a library like that, we definitely wouldn’t mind staying after school to study.

 

Erudite headquarters, The divergent series

 

Image via Amino Apps

Described as a large library with bookshelves covering the walls, the compound is where Erudite members study and work in their expertise: knowledge. Thought to be set in a dystopian version of Chicago’s Millenium Park, we’re pretty sure this tops the “Bean” sculpture when it comes to tourism.

 

Image via Fandom

 

The breakfast club library, The Breakfast club

 

Image via Zimbio

The Breakfast Club library was where a brain, an athlete, a basketcase, a princess, and a criminal found out they weren’t so different after all. Not only did this movie give us all the feels, but it sort of made us want to be sent to detention. This one’s less about the books and more about the iconic moments and relationships built amongst them.

Which library do you wish was real? Check out the video in full here.

Featured Image via Fandom


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The Chaos of Chaos Walking

Stay strong, Chaos Walking fans, one day our film will come – maybe.

The Chaos Walking adaption has been a long time in the making. The first book in the series by Patrick Ness, The Knife of Never Letting Go, was published in 2008 by Walker Books. In 2011, Lionsgate acquired the rights to a film adaption of the entire trilogy. As a massive fan of the series I, like many others, was excited. The original story was well-written, fleshed out, exciting, all the ingredients of a stellar film version were there.

 

image via the scroll

What’s more, news about the adaption was gaining traction, especially after some of the cast was announced. Tom Holland was brought on board as Todd, the story’s 12-year-old protagonist, alongside Daisy Ridley as Viola. Filming started in August 2017 in Montréal, Québec, with a tentative release date of 2019 that quickly became 2020. The movie underwent re-shoots after the first cut was considered “unrealeasable” and since then, the fate of the film has been somewhat uncertain.

 

 

A big part of the issue with the re-shoots lies in the actors’ schedules. For one, Daisy Ridley and Tom Holland have had a busy few years. Between saving distant galaxies and the less distant Manhattan as Rey and Spiderman, both were unavailable for shooting for a number of months. When they returned, it seemed that making audiences believe either of them were in their early teens would be no small feat.

 

 Image via variety

The real kicker of the saga is that the times have simply changed. In 2011, dystopian fiction was huge. The world was ending left, right and center! Katniss was volunteering for The Hunger Games, Tris was jumping on trains, Bella was… well we’re still not entirely sure what Bella was doing. Point is, the tidal wave of dystopia has since passed and it simply isn’t the same market that it once was. Allegiant, the third film adapted from the Divergent series, didn’t receive a great critical response and Rotten Tomatoes awarded it a meager 11%. Ouch. The final movie was scrapped, too.

A Chaos Walking film could have been a massive success back in the era of apocalypses, factions and romance-against-the-odds. Now, it may not have the same appeal. Fans of Ness’ work may fill cinema seats but the question of profit is sticky. Between re-shoots and the constant pushing back of the release date, Lionsgate may find themselves with long term consequences.

 

 

The good news is that fans remain hopeful that the film will eventually see the light of day. Plus, the constant change in release date means that traction is still there as audiences wait for a final deadline. If nothing else, the drama comes as a great excuse to re-read the series from the beginning.

featured image via imdb


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Five Fearless Divergent Memes

There are so many directions to go with divergent, but even ignoring the fact that her brother goes on to play her boyfriend, there’s so much. What faction are you? Honestly, I want some “My Life as a Background Slytherin” style content about what it would be like to just be kind of… chilling in Dauntless while Tris does all this dramatic stuff?

Asking the Real Questions

Image via AwwMemes

Listen. Listen. I know there’s probably a reason you invited me to your apartment. But you have to understand. I have two interests in this life. I want your wifi, and I want to know if you have a pet. A cat that wants to walk back and forth between my feet? A dog who wants to rest its head on my knees? Even a bird or a fish or something, I guess. But as long as you have wifi, I do really have all I need. Tell your dogs I love them.

 

They’re so Tough

Image via Pinterest

Literally, how do these people function? What on earth is Candor society? You’d know everything about everyone! How do you bounce back from that? It’s worse than living in a small town! I wouldn’t even mind about telling the truth, I don’t think, but knowing things? What a nightmare. I’d rather be in Amity, where they very clearly know nothing. Except how to farm. They truly are the Huffleepuffs of the Divergent series.

 

Meta

Image via WeHeartIt

Look, not to be that guy, but it’s definitely not a metaphor. It’s not even actually ironic. It’s maybe just a little bit on the nose, honestly. Plus, I’ve got serious questions about Four’s name. When Tris arrives in Dauntless, they tell her she’s gotta use a name FOREVER. She’s never been in the fear simulation. So how did he know he’d have four fears under the same circumstances? He didn’t know yet! How was he named before he had a reason to be named that?

 

No One Likes You!

Image via BookBub

It really, really should have been. No one even likes that guy! He’s literally the worst. I might be forgetting someone, but I’m going to go ahead and call him the worst brother in literature. And honestly, all these people know Tris. How do they not see her choices coming and prevent them? It’s like the high stakes version of me and my best friend trying to spy vs spy pay for lunch. Of course she was going to try to sacrifice herself. It’s what she does!

 

No Talent, One Talent

Image via Tumblr

It’s only a flesh wound, I’ll bite your ankles off! It’s true, though. And I get that they’re sort of like cops or whatever, but what does a society that’s not at war need a fifth of their people in the military for? Look, I know the experiment was designed this way, I know, but the internal logic? Spotty at best. How much violence can there possibly be to stop? Who’s the head of the government again? Barty Crouch Junior? Constant vigilance!

Featured image via BallMemes

5 YA Genres That Are Totally Dead

Young adult fiction is undeniably one of the most popular genres of all time. It was first categorized around the 1930s with Lauren Ingalls Wilder’s series Little House on the Prairie. Teachers and librarians were slow to accept books intended for younger readers, but young adult books today focus on issues in society with such a passion that even older adults love to read them.

YA subgenres have ebbed and flowed over the years, and the two ever-reigning subgenres seem to be fantasy and contemporary fiction. You can always find a unique new release of a fantasy novel or a self-aware contemporary love story. But what genres are so dead that publishers in 2019 will rarely publish them and why did young adults stop reading them?

 

 

1. Dystopian

Image result for the scorch trials city"

image via crosswalk.com

 

Ah, yes. Dystopian. Nostalgia for 2012, anyone? Maybe it was because everyone was talking about the Mayan calendar and the end of the world, but people were in a craze over dystopian society books like The Hunger Games and Divergent. Books about post-apocalyptic societies like The Maze Runner weren’t too far behind in the craze, either. Most dystopian subgenres are based on sci-fi and these particular subgenres started to oversaturate the sci-fi genre. Because of the immense popularity of books like The Hunger Games, every author wanted to replicate that fame and success. Understandably, readers got bored.

We became sick of tropes like “the chosen 16-year old who has a special ability that allows him or her to rebel and change dystopian society.” Readers began to pay attention to different genres and new authors, and the dystopian genre and its tropes slowly died out as YA readers found more relevant books. With the upcoming release of Suzanne Collins’ Hunger Games prequel, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, it’ll be interesting to see how this dystopian writer tackles this so-called “dead” genre.

 

2. PARANORMAL / URBAN fantasy

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image via empireonline.com

 

When you think of paranormal YA, think vampires, werewolves, and zombies. So basically Twilight minus the zombies. For a while, the Twilight series was the reigning series for the paranormal subgenre. Teens were obsessed and buying t-shirts to show off their pride in Team Edward or Team Jacob. So what happened? Well, other authors tried to replicate the success of Twilight, and teens kept reading vampire and werewolf books until they wanted a taste of something different. Once the movies were released, Twilight stirred up even more controversy as readers began to release that Bella and Edward were an unhealthy relationship portrayal for young teens.

 

 

Still, it seems a bit disappointing that the whole vampire subgenre should die out because of one bad portrayal— especially when there’s so many amazing vampire stories, like Anne Rice’s Interview with the Vampire. But never fear for those readers who were into paranormal or urban fantasy books other than Twilight, or even those who were into Twilight (no shame here)— these subgenres are making a slow return, starting with Renee Ahdieh’s new vampire novel The Beautiful.

 

 

3. STEAMPUNK

image via the portalist

 

Steampunk is one of a few YA genres that has never taken hold of a readership. Any successful steampunk books are technically classified under other YA subgenres and only have small steampunk elements. Those books that did attempt to focus solely on steampunk, an attempt that surged around the early 2000s, were usually adult books and were just too similar to each other to claim a place as a real subgenre.

 

4. Superhero

Image result for superhero ya books"

image via CBR.com

 

Superheroes certainly have a presence in comic books and movies, but this genre just isn’t present in YA. There’s no clear reason why superheroes are more popular in movies than books— maybe viewers would rather see sexy superhero actors and actresses blow stuff up rather than reading about them. Or maybe, like steampunk, superhero YA books have just been too similar with dead YA tropes like “the chosen one.”

 

5. TIME TRAVEL

Image result for time travel"

image via the next web

 

Time travel in YA sci-fi hasn’t been as successful as you might think, although time travel in YA fantasy has more of a presence. Maybe it’s because sci-fi books like H.G. Wells’ The Time Machine were written way back in 1895 and readers’ fascination with time travel has died out since then. Yet time travel is still popular in movies and TV, so it’s also up to speculation as to why this genre hasn’t taken off in YA.

If you’re interested in more about the book market or dead genres in publishing, check out this video by Alexa Donne, author of Brightly Burning. She explains all of these dead genres and tropes in-depth and also has some fascinating insights about the publishing world as well as advice for new writers.

 

 

 

Featured image via The Pilot Press

What Went Wrong With the ‘Divergent’ Film Series?

Tomorrow is the anniversary of one of the most popular YA dystopias of all time, Veronica Roth’s Divergent. Written while Roth was still an undergraduate, Divergent was a tremendous accomplishment, both personally and financially. Today, fans can celebrate the publication of one of their favorites! But they might still be wondering what happened to the movies, given their insanely popular source material. That story, unfortunately, ends in far less financial success.

In the early 2010s, YA film adaptations were popping up everywhere. Trying to replicate the success of Harry Potter and The Hunger Games, studios were trying extra hard to find the next big tween hit. Films based on Percy Jackson, Beautiful Creatures and The Maze Runner exploded onto the big screen. Some fared better than others, but most crashed and burned due to poor quality or lack of interest.

One of the most interesting cases of this phenomenon is the Divergent film series. What started out as a promising YA franchise quickly lost steam until it couldn’t continue. Let’s take a look at the book and film series and see what happened.

 

The Books

 

The Divergent Trilogy takes place in a dystopian society where everyone is defined by their dominant personality traits and forced to live in factions based on those traits for the rest of their lives. The main protagonist, Beatrice Prior, is classified as a Divergent, meaning that she does not fit into any group. The series follows Beatrice as she tries to navigate a dangerous world that kills those who diverge from the system and act independently.

Image Via Harper Collins. The fourth book, Four, was released later on and serves as a retelling of the first book.

 

The trilogy was easily compared to other series such as The Hunger Games and The Maze Runner. Nevertheless, the series was positively reviewed by critics for its action, characters, and themes of independence and identity, and each book became a bestseller. So, it seemed inevitable that a film series would come out of this.

 

The Ingredients For A Successful Film Franchise Were Already There

 

Studio Lionsgate purchased the rights to The Divergent Trilogy in 2011 with hopes to turn it into a film series, even going as far as splitting the last book into two films in the tradition of its moneymaking predecessors, Twilight and Harry Potter. With The Twilight Saga ending and The Hunger Games films just getting started, another YA blockbuster was a logical step.

The casting for the film was strong and well-received. Shailene Woodley, a rising star at the time, fit the role perfectly. A well-rounded cast featuring the likes of Miles Teller, Ansel Elgort and Zoë Kravitz gave the film a good amount of star power.

 

Image Via Screen Rant

 

With a modest budget and a dedicated fan base, everything was in place to make an amazing film.

 

Less-Than-Stellar Adaptations

 

When the first film, Divergent, released in 2014, reception was mixed. While the action and the performances were praised, the plot received criticism. Many reviewers called the film “unoriginal”, comparing it to other films in the YA genre. Still, the film did well at the box office, grossing over $280 million worldwide, and was well-received by fans.

 

Image Via Amazon

 

A sequel, The Divergent Series: Insurgent, came out in 2015. This movie was less well-received, with the same criticisms regarding the plot remaining. The film eventually grossed close to $290 million worldwide, but with a much larger budget the returns weren’t as significant.

 

Image Via Amazon

 

Things really turned south with the release of the third film, The Divergent Series: Allegiant, in 2016. Not only was this one the worst reviewed film in the series from critics and fans, it was also a box office bomb, grossing only $179 million against a $142 million budget.

 

Image Via Movie Insider

 

A Proposed TV Show

 

With diminishing returns, Lionsgate had to rethink its strategy. After slashing the budget for the last intended film, The Divergent Series: Ascendent, it was later revealed that the studio would wrap up the story as a television “event” series, set to premiere on Starz.

This revelation did not sit well with the cast, specifically Woodley. After almost a year with no news, Woodley finally revealed in 2017 that she would not be a part of the television series. Once the main star departed, other cast members showed a lack of interest in continuing, and the planned show was promptly cancelled.

It’s a shame that the series wasn’t able to continue, especially considering the last film ended on a cliffhanger. Given the series’ popularity, it’s likely that many fans are still hungry for more content. Fortunately, they can always re-read the books they love so much.

What are your thoughts on Divergent? Were you a fan of the movies?

 

 

Featured Image Via Screen Rant