{"id":156710,"date":"2023-05-01T00:34:23","date_gmt":"2023-05-01T00:34:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/culture.org\/?p=156710"},"modified":"2023-05-02T00:35:21","modified_gmt":"2023-05-02T00:35:21","slug":"judy-blumes-career-renaissance-film-adaptation-and-documentary","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/culture.org\/art-and-culture\/film-and-tv\/judy-blumes-career-renaissance-film-adaptation-and-documentary\/","title":{"rendered":"Judy Blume&#8217;s Career Renaissance: Film Adaptation and Documentary"},"content":{"rendered":"           <!--  <script type=\"text\/javascript\">\r\n                jQuery(document).ready(function() {\r\n                    jQuery(\".key-accordion-item .key-menu\").on(\"click\", function() {\r\n                        if (jQuery(this).parent().hasClass(\"active\")) {\r\n                            jQuery(this).next().slideUp();\r\n                            jQuery(this).parent().removeClass(\"active\");\r\n                        } else {\r\n                            jQuery(\".key-content\").slideUp();\r\n                            jQuery(\".key-accordion-item\").removeClass(\"active\");\r\n                            jQuery(this).parent().addClass(\"active\");\r\n                            jQuery(this).next().slideDown();\r\n                        }\r\n                    });\r\n                })\r\n            <\/script> -->\r\n\r\n\r\n            <!-- start html -->\r\n\r\n            <div class=\"news-key-takeaway-wapper\">\r\n                                <span style=\"background-color:#4db2ee;\">Key Takeaways<\/span>\r\n                <ul class=\"news-key-nbox\" style=\"border-color:#4db2ee;background-color:rgba(77, 178, 238, 0.1);\">\r\n                                                        <li>At 85, beloved author Judy Blume is experiencing a career renaissance with back-to-back film projects, the documentary Judy Blume Forever and the film adaptation of her classic novel, Are You There, God? It's Me, Margaret.<\/li>\r\n                                                                    <li>Blume was selective when it comes to Hollywood adaptations of her work but was convinced that the writer-director Kelly Fremon Craig and producer James L. Brooks were the right team for Margaret. She shared her insights with the filmmakers to ensure the film's authenticity.<\/li>\r\n                                                                    <li>The film adaptation of Margaret has brought renewed attention to the novel's themes, including anti-Semitism experienced by Margaret's grandparents, demonstrating the novel's depth and enduring relevance.<\/li>\r\n                                                                    <li>Blume acknowledges the unique experience of having both a documentary about her life and a film adaptation of her work released so closely together, but she sees them as separate entities.<\/li>\r\n                                                                    <li>Blume's novels are celebrated for their openness about teenage concerns, and the film adaptation of Margaret remains faithful to the book while offering a fresh perspective, capturing the same sense of honesty and self-discovery.<\/li>\r\n                                                <\/ul>\r\n            <\/div>\r\n            \n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">At 85, beloved author Judy Blume is experiencing a career renaissance with back-to-back film projects.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The documentary Judy Blume Forever is now available on Prime Video, while the long-awaited film adaptation of her classic novel, Are You There, God? It&#8217;s Me, Margaret, hits theaters on April 28.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The former offers a biographical account of Blume&#8217;s life and career, while the latter has been eagerly anticipated by her fans for years.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><strong>Judy Blume and Hollywood Adaptations<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Blume has been known to be selective when it comes to Hollywood adaptations of her work. However, writer-director Kelly Fremon Craig&#8217;s Edge of Seventeen convinced her that Craig and producer James L. Brooks were the right team for Margaret.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The author shared her insights with the filmmakers to ensure the film&#8217;s authenticity, even correcting the portrayal of the iconic &#8220;We must, we must, we must increase our bust&#8221; exercise.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><strong>Acclaim for Margaret&#8217;s Cast<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Blume has praised the film&#8217;s cast, particularly Abby Ryder Fortson (Margaret), Rachel McAdams (Barbara), and Kathy Bates (Grandma).<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">She appreciates how the film provides a more nuanced portrayal of the adult characters compared to the book, which is written from a 12-year-old&#8217;s perspective.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><strong>Rediscovering Themes in Margaret<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The film adaptation of Margaret has brought renewed attention to the novel&#8217;s themes, including anti-Semitism experienced by Margaret&#8217;s grandparents.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Many adult readers have expressed surprise at not having noticed this theme in their childhood readings, demonstrating the novel&#8217;s depth and enduring relevance.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2>                        <!-- <div class=\"container-c\"> -->\r\n                        <!-- <div class=\"row justify-content-between\"> -->\r\n                        <!-- <div class=\"col-post-800\"> -->\r\n                        <!-- start html -->\r\n                        <div class=\"blockquote-wapper\">\r\n                            <div>\r\n                                <span class=\"text_quot\">\r\n                                    <p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The film adaptation of Margaret has brought renewed attention to the novel&#8217;s themes, including anti-Semitism experienced by Margaret&#8217;s grandparents.<\/span><\/p>\n                                <\/span>\r\n\r\n                                <div class=\"quot_icon\">\r\n                                    <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/culture.org\/wp-content\/themes\/culture\/icons\/i_quot.svg\" type=\"image\/svg+xml\">\r\n                                <\/div>\r\n                            <\/div>\r\n\r\n                            <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"quot_tick\" src=\"https:\/\/culture.org\/wp-content\/themes\/culture\/icons\/i_quot_tri.svg\" type=\"image\/svg+xml\">\r\n                        <\/div>\r\n                        <!-- end html -->\r\n                        <!-- <\/div> -->\r\n                        <!-- <\/div> -->\r\n                        <!-- <\/div> -->\r\n                                    <\/h2>\n<h2><strong>Documentary and Film as Bookends?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Blume acknowledges the unique experience of having both a documentary about her life and a film adaptation of her work released so closely together.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">However, she sees them as separate entities, with the former being an emotionally challenging but beautifully handled portrayal of her life and the latter being a product of her imagination.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><strong>The Power of Judy Blume&#8217;s Writing<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Blume&#8217;s novels are celebrated for their openness about teenage concerns such as sex, menstruation, and bullying.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">However, their enduring appeal comes from the author&#8217;s sensitivity, compassion, and understanding of young people&#8217;s struggles.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Are You There, God? It&#8217;s Me, Margaret remains her best-selling book and has permeated popular culture.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><strong>Faithfulness and Honesty in the Film Adaptation<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The film adaptation of Margaret, directed by Kelly Fremon Craig, remains faithful to the book while offering a fresh perspective.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Craig was struck by the novel&#8217;s exploration of the divine and aimed to capture the same sense of honesty and self-discovery in the film.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This commitment to authenticity extends to scenes depicting the use of sanitary pads and the infamous bust-increasing exercises.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><strong>Responsibility to Judy Blume and Her Fans<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Craig feels a tremendous responsibility to Judy Blume, her fans, and those who have yet to discover her work.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">With the release of both the documentary and film adaptation, a new generation of readers can experience the transformative power of Blume&#8217;s writing, while long-time fans can revisit her stories in a new light.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":18,"featured_media":156711,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3384],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-156710","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-film-and-tv"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/culture.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/156710"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/culture.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/culture.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/culture.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/18"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/culture.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=156710"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/culture.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/156710\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/culture.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/156711"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/culture.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=156710"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/culture.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=156710"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/culture.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=156710"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}