Lo's Diary was Bad (REVIEW): ADAPTING LOLITA, Episode 1 

I would apologize to anyone with the burden of the name as well :(

Nah, if his name's "Humbert Humbert" major red flags🤨😕🙅‍♂️

Humbert Maze in Goatcreek watching this:

I didn't know it wasn't a well known name in English. In Spanish (my first language) the name Humberto is a very common, so when I read the name Humbert I always thought "yeah, that seems about right". I really liked your interpretation that Humbert is a combination of humble and pervert, that's the kind of thing that I have a hard time picking up on because although I've spoken English a huge chunk of my life it's hard not to take words at face value, when they're supposed to be a combination of words or something similar (it happens to me all the time with puns, for example).

There's a short four part documentary on youtube called 'The Lolita Effect" you may like if you're not already familiar...

@AND ANDREY ISN'T HERE obviously not, no one said such thing ...but we are talking about this specific book that tries to make lolita look like.a sexual manipulator instead of as a victim.

@nessyness5477 OH MY GOD IT’S NATASHA PIERRE AND THE GREAT COMET OF 1812

Agreed. Also, kudos for mentioning the audiobook (Jeremy Irons, I assume?). It is a strangely different experience than reading Lolita.

Ms. Lola theres a pretty big difference reading words on a page in your own internal voice and listening to a grown man voice the deeply disturbing stuff within the text.

Ms. Lola also helps or maybe doesn’t help that he played Humbert in the 90’s version

The characterization of Lolita as manipulative doesn't stand up to the description in the novel. Humbert rather describes her sexual curiosity. A bona fide curiosity, I would think, in a girl her age. The astute reader will understand the complex dynamic here, and know that Dolore's budding sexuality and mischievous personality are normal parts of herself, and not directed at or belonging to Humbert. The genius of Lolita is in its nuance. Dolores's personality is genuine, not archetypal, as a purely innocent asexual victim of abuse. Her sexuality and grief and stubbornness all signal the complexity of her actions and reactions to the man who hurts her.

@@soulsunshine108 I agree that that she's more sexually curious than manipulative and that for most of the book she is not manipulative at all really, but I do think that when he describes the first time they have sex that Humbert is trying to show her as sexually manipulative to take at least some of the responsibility off of him. I think that by telling the reader it wasn't her first time and by making it seem like she invited him to do it it makes it seem as though Lolita is equally as responsible as him. Humbert often tries to convince the reader that he is a victim to his own sexuality or the nymthetes, I don't think Lo is sexually manipulative, but I do think that in that part of the novel that is what Humbert wants us to believe so we sympertheise with him.

💯

Exactly!!!

I need this on a poster.

THIS!!

Your way with words is amazing

Hey I know you you're that bloke from the transparency server

mood. htought it was like hubert but weird

Sjjsjfjjw I mean I knew a guy named "Humberto" so I thought it was just the English version of that name???

I didn't think about it either. It's an uncommon name but it is a real name.

Lmao ME

Humbert is a real name it's just not popular at the momeny

Love your content and also completely agree with this statement

At least E. L. Jame's fanfiction was pretty much an original story anyway just with Stephenie's characters. Not a word for word recreation lol

YES

Lolita is also about America on a deeper level. People get caught up in the pedophilia they don’t peel back layers

Agreed. I've read that book twice so far. I'm a survivor of this kind of thing, so I immediately knew that she wasn't at fault. But the second reading WRECKED me. I actually cried a couple times because I saw just how bad Humbert hurt her.

u ever watch a movie, and see that people google the most basic questions? How could U not think people are quite literal and totally miss the point? Just saw the quiet place, and ppl are googling if the baby dies, and if the dad comes back for the sequel. Dont have much hopes for books.

Bruh in some cases he was clearly Shifting the blame on the victim. The whole Nymphette concept is laddered with victim blaming. How can be peeps be so blind-

That should live in the horror section.

But also it sounds really good.

There's a similar one called my dark vanessa which has a great analysis of how this kind of thing affects the child.

I... THAT WAS LITERALLY HOW I BECAME A PEDO VICTIM... My teacher and I used to talk about Lolita, and then I started to think of myself as a "nymphet" for him, and he used me like this (I was 13, he was 45). This traumatised me so much, to this day I haven't grown up off my Lolita obsession just because he made me think that the Humbert x Dolores relationship was how every relationship should be, and this is still scarred on my mind.

@@nana-cr1vc I am so very very sorry to hear that. I hope that you have found, or are capable of finding professional help. Nobody should go through unpacking such trauma alone. Also, trust yourself when finding such help, not every therapist is a good fit. Sending strength to you dear, as much as I can spare.

That would be incredible, actually. Formatted as an actual diary (which idk if Lo's Diary is or not), we are introduced to our 12-year-old narrator, very childish but constantly rationalizing, claiming she's in control, outlining how she manipulated the situation. And then, as time goes on, the cracks start to show, and toward the end the narrative voice is frantic, panicky, and finally grasping the full effect of the situation. Maybe looking back with abject horror, maybe in the moment as she feels herself "losing control" (which she, of course, never really had in the first place). That would be an excellent book.

@@d.lan3y that's it, someone has to write this.

An actual trauma response being well handled with beautiful and upsetting film language??? Something we desperately need put on screen, and a horror film adaptation of Lolita would be potentially one of the best ways to deliver that kind of storytelling? That’s gonna have to be indie produced if we ever wanna see it (I wanna see it.)

@@d.lan3y okay but the way this structure done well could really, REALLY benefit young girls- I am not a survivor of csa but I remember been a teen girl in the 00/10s alt scene, and the feelings of rebellion and control especially if other forms of abuse are already going on, makes people more vulnerable to predators. Thinking that I was in control, demanding that I must be in control, and be using someone’s interest in my body as a kind of power I thought I had over them- and being _wrong,_ thinking I was pulling the strings in the relationship with the person who SA’d me and finding out I had been wrong more and more as I grew up, and it would be so fucking great if people who have been through similar/worse could have a narrative that explains that to children before they think they’re able to hold that power themselves. It’s not power. It’s still being used.

A few years ago I read a review of a movie that tried to do that: it was about a grown woman coming to terms with the fact that her first sexual relationship was CSA, and one of the ways they showed that was that in the first flashback, she's played by a actress who looks about 16, but then her mom shows the adult her a photograph of how young she really was, and suddenly the casting switches to an actual tween. I think it was called The Tale? It was based on real events. I haven't seen it though, and apparently it got pretty graphic. Like it didn't glamorise the situation, but people were walking out of the theater to throw up. If anyone here saw it, I'd be really interested to hear what you thought about it. I never saw anything about it but that one very article.

*ZOOMS IN ON ANGRY FACE*

*we woo we wooooo we woo wooo*

TheCrimsonMoon the pedophiles are just standing there... *MENACINGLY*

I would definitely want to see The Whole Plate version of Lolita.

@ the It thing spoilers ur talking about Eddie right? Its crazy how much crap he was put through in that movie only to die

@@sigh824 Eddie and Stan. They did my boy stan dirty, he had a lot of potential as a character, but stephen king threw everything out the window because he couldn't think of a better connecting device for the adult characters coming back to Derry and of course (spoilers) he killed the only Jewish character that was relevant to the story.

“All was well :)” all was not fucking well if the status of the predator being alive is unchanged More so, if the thing that causes the problems to go on unhindered if not enabled isn’t changed, then all is not well. Ugh

As a 16 hear old boy with hip problems I agree

@@auggiemain 15 year old trans boy. same.

@@archibaldthejester42069 I'm a, now 17 (I've aged!) Year old trans boy. Happy pride.

how are you gonna explore a creepy dude character without giving the reader a chance to get sucked in, the fact that you sometimes surface with little mentions of dolores crying every night to realize just how awful what you're reading is, is what makes it work. you cruise along with that guy for so long that you get used to it, its never explicitly sexual just implied, if you had to read that whole thing with no chance to distract yourself from 'grown man raping 12 year old girl' it'd just be an awful experience honestly, nobody really wants to think about it

It also makes a really important point that predators aren't monsters, they are people. Most likely people that you know and like are predators. You never get to see every side of another human being.

Susan Bones yes, predators are people you know and like, but they’re still monsters. I don’t care that they’re multi-dimensional. I don’t care if they’re favorite type of ice cream is strawberry and they take their grandma to tea on sundays. If you’re a rapist, you belong in a wood chipper. If someone makes the decision to ruin someone’s life with trauma for momentary selfish pleasure, they’re a monster.

@@frostyskeletons8950 You may be right, and they do deserve to be punished. But I have a hard time labeling a person as a monster. What lead them to that place? What systemic issues have they faced that didn't allow them to get the support they needed? I prefer to blame the system over an individual. Dehumanizing people leads to terrible things, and props up a prison system that funnels people right back into crime instead of rehabilitating them. Its 100% valid if you choose to believe they are simply evil, but that isnt a choice I can make. I think a lot of things bring people to the choices they make, feelings of powerlessness being lead among them. I can blame people for making bad choices, they of course have personal responsibility, but I stop short at thinking they are less than human. (Exclusions apply for those who create the system, AKA capitalists and the lawmakers they own). I hope you are doing alright in this very scary world we live in. I wish you all the best. Take care, friend.

@@frostyskeletons8950 the point of pointing out that so called monsters are people isn't to gain them sympathy. The point is to understand how they function and how they manage to exist in an allegedly civilized society.

@The Dark Overlord I'm no great fan of Dolores's mother, I feel as though she failed to protect her child and viewed Dolores as the enemy. But the wordplay is an interesting point given that this novel was originally written in Italian, which I'm sure presents some opportunities for cleverness that I can't even understand as someone who doesn't speak it.

@The Dark Overlord her mother was abusive too.

Yeah her mother called her Lo. Guess it was her nickname

The title has to be recognisable to readers

Well I mean atleast she called her one of her pre-Humbert nicknames and not “Lolita”.

Hi there! This is so great to hear firsthand. The Italian translation looks to be one of the best in print and I hope it's brought a lot of joy. Thanks for writing!

Whats the authors name btw

What's the authors name, plz tell us

Author is me lol, I am author haha. look up Lolita Child and my name.

gnome: ooh Not a gnelf, not a gnoblin I’m a gnome, and you just got gnomedddd

Except that Pia Pera is a woman

yltraviole I know, I just really wanted to work in that name-pun. Should I change it? But to what?

@@warlordofbritannia Nah, don't change it. Pia just doesn't seem like a common English name, and I didn't want there to be a misunderstanding and have the creepiness of the book be attributed to the perceived maleness of the author.

Alexander Stern yep! You’re correct. This is a point I really tried to nail home I think.

Ms. Lola And you did. I read “Lo’s Diary” when it was first published in English (and was a bit of literary scandal). Happily, I never bought a copy. I was working in a bookstore which had a liberal lending policy for employees (hardcovers only) and I took the opportunity to read it (as a massive Nabokov fanboy). I was profoundly disappointed. As you said, it was clear that the author had no first hand knowledge of America and was nowhere near N.’s level as a writer. Part of the fun of the original is the wordplay and literary allusions that fill the text (and make it a treat for rereaders). There’s nothing of that. Just a rote recitation of a grimy plot, lacking in any wit or real joy. I don’t doubt the author loves “Lolita”. Why else would she be moved to write a parallel text? But you have to add something that was missing in the original text, and the only thing she adds is the very thing Nabokov wisely left out: The gross sex bits. It’s also important to remember that the first third of the (original) book was written as a parody of pornographic best sellers: It escalates the erotic tension right up until the actual deed, but then he shuts the blinds. Sex happens in the rest of the book, but it’s almost incidental and pretty much always “off screen”.

@@AlexanderBlues1228 Have you seen Philosophy Tube's "Beauty" yet? If your really into Nabokov you will love it:)

Susan Bones: I’ll check it out. Thanks!

Jenkins. JPEG Goatscreek, VA’s (or possibly AL/MS) main export is meth and opiod addicts. The citizens of Goatscreek’s favorite passtime is resisting arrest and use of illegal fireworks

@@BobHoss4 oh, so waynesboro (va)?

Agreed, and I do think I should have covered this more clearly. Thank you for your feedback, it's wonderful to see such thoughtful responses!

@@LolaSebastian Anytime! Looking forward to your next video :)

whenever i feel weirded out about the increasing normality of japanese cartoon lolis i just remember that there are people whose fetish involves actual shat in diapers and i start to wonder if anything even makes sense to begin with, nymphets just wanna look childish for the sake of looking cute and innocent and young at least i can wrap my head around that

i think the aesthetic in the 90's movies and the outfits are on point, very cute and beautiful, and i use that type of clothes. the problem is when you call it "nymphet" or when you romanticise and misunderstand the movies or the book saying that you dress like that to "catch old man" and manipulate them. Also the thing that pedophiles have words to describe little girls as sexually attractive like nymphet or lolitas, is disgusting. the term of lolita is problematic because of that but the fashion itself it's okay imo

@La Sirène Rouge hi!! lol, some of us already use a word that wasn't used by humbert, it's 'doellette fashion'. or if i'm feeling even MORE detached i just call it 'vintage fashion', bcuz it's smth i avidly research n usually incorporate into my writings (all of which r period dramas so that fashion is the 'norm'), tho that's not exactly a frequently used term n so idk if it counts

that sounds like a very good read!! are you planning on publishing it anywhere, id love to read it

Kinda like freeway?? It's a little like Lolita. An adult becomes obsessed with a young girl but the obsession is because he wants to kill her.

Not really. But will make sure to check out Freeway because I'm a bit stuck right now. Thanks.

Is there anyway I can get updates about this book?

It made me feel uncomfortable always

I have been trying to read it since 7th grade (i'm currently 21) :D

im 15 and i thought it was good but absolutely hard to finish.

I haven't read it, but after watching reviews on it I am intrigued with the prose. My favorite book is White Oleander because it's written so beautifully. So I may like this also. If you haven't seen it yet, check out Philosophy Tubes video "Beauty".

i read it at 13 and loved the way it was written, but couldn't push myself to finish it because it was too uncomfortable, have been trying to finish it since even though i know the end

I’m from Rochester and I was also shocked that I hadn’t heard that either being relatively nearby

Lol

William Thomas Berk haha yep! It was a Weird Al reference.

I personally don't get the appeal of Lolita. Just hearing the premise makes me vomit.

@@jeremyusreevu237don’t judge before you try

@CrappyOneshots ...actually I have read fan-fic without the reading the original source but that was for..uh...."adult" material..which the original source isn't competing for in terms of readership

The only fanfic I would read of Lolita is one where she kills Humbert.

I completely agree! But it’s not even just misogyny, there’s a real creepy thing with Italian artists fantasizing about underage... well, kids of any gender. 🤮

BohemianScandalous omg yeah, like call me by your name! people romanticize it a LOT because of the gay relationship, but it’s soooo creepy

Can I ask you what else comes to mind? I'm italian, so I'd like to understand what are all these italian works of literature or movies that give the outside impression that our culture glorifies sexism or paedophilia in a way that others don't. It's a genuine question, not meant to start trouble.

Laura V. I'm italian too, i seriously don't get where they're coming from.

@@laurav.7905 I don't think I've ever mentioned that I think Italian media glorifies peadophilia or sexism cause I don't think it does. I just noted that the times I've seen Italian media a lot (not all!) seems to have the same misogynistic undertones that I think are rooted in machismo culture and catholic gender roles.

regarding renaming dolores - i think it was mentioned in lolita that haze is not her real name, but it rhymes with it, so i guess thats why the author changed it

I do still think Nabokov definitely intended Humbert as "humble + pervert" given he did name Dolores how he did with an equal sense of care since her name means "sorrow" and her life is, well, sorrowful. But Humbert is an actual name.

Thank you! It's a wonderful cover and it deserves to be heard.