 |
I probably would never have watched Anne with an E if it wasn't for my daughter. I didn't think I could like it. I was wrong.
Anne with an E is cute, but it is also surprisingly heavy at times. There is friendship, family, hard work, and adventure, but also loneliness, prejudice, bullying, abuse, and the very real limitations placed on children — particularly girls — at the time.
It is a coming-of-age story, but it doesn't pretend growing up is always pretty.
Anne's Imagination Is More Than Imagination
What interested me most about Anne (Amybeth McNulty) is how she constantly escapes into fantasy.
At first, this can seem like simply part of her charm. Anne is imaginative, dramatic, endlessly talkative, and can turn almost anything into a story. But once we understand what she has experienced, her imagination feels less like a quirky personality trait and more like a survival mechanism.
Fantasy is where Anne has some control.
When reality has been cruel and unpredictable, she can create another world where she decides what things mean. She gives herself stories, characters, and possibilities when real life hasn't given her many.
That makes her imagination both adorable and heartbreaking.
Her relationship with books is equally interesting. Anne has an enormous vocabulary and loves showing it off. Sometimes it is funny, sometimes it is irritating, and sometimes it feels like we are watching a child desperately trying to prove that she is worth something.
Words give Anne power.
She is intelligent, and she knows it, but I don't think that is all there is to it. Being clever is also part of how she defines herself after spending so much of her childhood being made to feel unwanted and inadequate.
Anne Can Be A Lot
And this is where I think the show deserves some criticism - Anne can be exhausting.
She talks constantly, gets carried away by her own ideas, and doesn't always notice when other people have had enough. There are moments when she seems completely unable to read another person's expression — someone is shocked, tired, or uncomfortable, and Anne simply keeps going.
I found myself thinking more than once: Anne, please stop talking.
She isn't socially awkward in the stereotypical quiet, shy way. She is almost the opposite. She fills every available space because silence probably isn't a particularly comfortable place for her.
The problem is that the series sometimes confuses intensity with wisdom. Anne is often presented as being morally or emotionally ahead of the people around her, and while she certainly has a strong sense of justice, she is still a child. Some of her reactions and decisions feel a little too conveniently wise for her age.
The Family She Changes
One of my favorite parts of the season is watching what happens to Matthew (R.H. Thomson) and Marilla after Anne arrives.
Anne doesn't simply become part of their family. She changes it.
Matthew seems to rediscover a part of himself through her, while Marilla (Geraldine James) has to gradually reconsider what family means and what she is willing to sacrifice for someone else.
And this is where the series' idea of family becomes particularly beautiful.
Family isn't presented as something that only comes from biology. It can be built through friendship, loyalty, neighbors, and community.
Anne arrives looking for a home, but she ends up changing the home she finds.
Sometimes It Is A Little Too Much
The biggest weakness for me is probably the melodrama.
The show deals with serious subjects, and many of them are important. But at times, Anne with an E seems determined to make absolutely sure we understand how important something is.
Some scenes could have been allowed to speak for themselves, but instead the emotional message is pushed a little further. Characters sometimes behave in ways that feel designed to create conflict rather than completely natural reactions.
It can also feel as though the series has several lessons it desperately wants to teach us, more than telling a story.
Watching It With My Daughter
This was probably my favorite part of the experience.
My daughter kept asking questions about the time period. Why did people live like that? Why couldn't girls do certain things? Why were children treated that way? Why did people think some of these things were normal?
And suddenly we weren't just watching a TV series. We were talking about history, society, gender roles, family, and what has changed — and what hasn't.
There were also moments when I looked at her and saw tears in her eyes, and I think that matters.
A story doesn't have to teach a lesson by explaining it. Sometimes children learn because they watch something happen to a character and feel it.
Watch It With Your Kids
I went into Anne with an E because my daughter wanted to watch it. I stayed because I became genuinely interested in Anne and the people around her.
It isn't perfect. It can be overly dramatic, some of its messages are a little too obvious, and Anne's endless energy can be exhausting. At times, the series seems to want to teach us rather than simply tell us a story.
But there is so much heart here that those problems are easy to forgive.
Anne is the real reason the series works. She is intelligent, imaginative, stubborn, socially awkward, intense, and sometimes completely infuriating.
She is also full of life.
I would absolutely recommend Anne with an E for children around 10 to 13. In fact, I think it is particularly good when watched with a parent because it creates so many opportunities for conversation.
My daughter learned about a different time and a different way of living. She asked questions. She got angry. She laughed. And sometimes she cried.
That's probably the strongest recommendation I can give for a story.
It made her feel something.
Comments
Post a Comment