Ahead By A Century

 I was scrolling through Netflix one evening, wondering what to watch. They say that you can't make a choice when you have too much to choose from. And guess what, it's true. So, I decided to just give any random show a try.

" Alexa, play Anne with an E. "

" now playing: Anne with an E, season one episode one, 

"Your Will Shall Decide Your Destiny".

And the curtains raised.

Anne with an E is a period drama that takes place in the late nineteenth century in a tiny little beautiful village called Avonlea, on the serene Prince Edward Island, Canada. In the very first scene, we meet stoic brother and sister, Matthew and Marilla Cuthbert, who are looking for a young lad to help Matthew with their farm. The  young lad is said to arrive at the Charlottetown station, from where he would travel to Green Gables, the ancestral home of the Cuthbert family. Matthew rides to the station, to receive their new guest, but, instead  is greeted with two braids of scarlet hair ,a blur of freckles, wide gray eyes and an even wider smile. 

Anne Shirley.

A confused Matthew asks the stationmaster for the young lad, but soon discovers there's been a mistake. They had asked for a boy, but they sent a girl instead! One look at the little girl's bright eyes and Matthew's heart melts instantly. He takes her home to Green Gables as " he ought not to leave a young girl all by herself". Meanwhile our heroine is quite excited by the idea of having a home. Anne is an orphan who spent the last eleven years of her life in an orphanage, and being sent to work as a caretaker in a few households. She describes her life to be " a perfect graveyard of buried hopes". She strongly believes that imagination, is not a state, but is the human existence itself. a defense mechanism she uses. She thinks, that it is her only escape from reality. On the way to green gables, we see Anne exhaust the entire English dictionary and our vocabulary by the exuberant use of big splendid words that she cannot comprehend, but " feels them" as she goes on to tell us, to describe the beautiful road to Avonlea, the place she already calls home. She tells Matthew, she thinks that it would be wonderful to belong, as she has never belonged to anyone before. 

Not soon before she realizes the true expectations of a perplexed Marilla Cuthbert as she rides to Avonlea beside Matthew. She has an emotional breakdown when Marilla tells her they didn’t want a girl, but a boy.

But, we see that something stirs up in Marilla's heart, sparks of emotions that were buried under the icy cold layer of snow. Then, we follow the personal trials of the siblings as they decide whether or not to keep the smart, funny, talkative and most imaginative person they’ve ever met. And, yes. Anne stays at Green Gables as the adopted daughter of Marilla.

 Anne Shirley-Cuthbert.

The original novel from which the series was adapted, is written by Lucy Maud Montgomery called Anne of Green Gables, way back in 1907. The screenplay of the tv show was created, adapted and written by Moira Walley Beckett.  Through the rest of the series, we follow Anne, Matthew and Marilla on their  journey  together, as a family, facing ups and downs in this superb roller-coaster they call life.

The thing I loved the most about this show, was that nothing looked created or artificial. It was  very real, authentic and relatable, even if it took place over  century ago. In every situation, we don’t always see what we wish to see but what it really is. And that’s the beauty of it. I personally think, that the most important thing, while writing a story, is perspective. The show uses the perspective of each and every character, to tell the story, to show how different people think and how they perceive the world around them, step by step, piece by piece. We see all kinds of people from all kinds of backgrounds, united under camaraderie and companionship of sharing the same home, the same struggles, the same prejudices, the same choices. Through Anne, the message of "being different" and her name given to "her kind of people" as "Kindred Spirits" strikes a chord down in the heart.  Just the thought that" tomorrow is a day with no mistakes in it yet" gives the courage to push through. No character is put on a pedestal and given the responsibility of being perfect. It portrays real human feelings, such as vanity, prejudice, anxiety, confined mind, fear, hate and guilt and shows ways to rise above and breakthrough. Each person is flawed, but worthy in their own way. The character development is beyond expression. We witness the portrayal of different kinds of love, throughout the show, namely 'philia' the love of friendship, 'storge' the love of family, 'eros', romantic love and finally, 'agape', the love that is unconditional.

At the end of the series, Marilla confesses to Anne that " you are the wish I never knew I was making", which shows the power of love, and the staunch belief that love conquers all. 

To be dealing with issues like racism, feminism, education, gender bias, foster care, human rights, beauty standards, indigenous history, sexual harassment, representation, lgbtq rights, healthcare, acceptance, censorship, classism and grief requires immense courage, to portray these, even more, and the entire team of the show has done an absolutely amazing job. The entire show is ahead by a century even back then, and even now. Anne, too was given the paradox of being " ahead by a century" as she spent her entire life in an orphanage, with no one to tell her the difference between right or wrong. She had a fresh independent opinion in every situation and was not biased due to a certain upbringing. The beauty of her character lay in the fact that she gave love freely, without expecting anything in return.

I watched this show with my parents, and they loved it as much as I did. we used to watch only one episode per day, as the impact each episode had on you, took some time to settle. we used to discuss and debate on what we thought about the story so far, every day. This is not a show to binge-watch.

The background score, supporting musical pieces and the aesthetic use of nature complement beautifully to the main themes of the show. And as for the acting, it just couldn’t get any better. I think the most wonderful thing was that I could find a piece of myself in each and every person, the way they wanted to be seen and to be understood. And that is the success of a team. The most important thing that I took away from this show can be beautifully summarized into a quote.

" It's not what the world holds for you. 

It's what you bring to it.

And you bring so much".

I think this is something we all need, when we're feeling low, helpless and misunderstood.

This show is highly recommended, its truly a masterpiece, and will remain in your heart forever.