Okay, with all that said, I just heard about Daniel Craig saying that he wanted James Bond to have a same sex scene.  http://www.contactmusic.com/news.nsf/story/craig-wants-gay-bond-scene_1014906

         The fundamental problem I have with this is that James Bond is a very specific character.  Ian Fleming introduced him in his 1953 novel Casino Royale as a sauve ladies man.  The films have lead even more into this image by putting an ephasis on the Bond Girls.  This is a character that has existed for over sixty years.  Why would you change that?  I bet Fleming was rolling over in his grave when Craig said that.

          I’m not against movies or televisions shows changing characters if there really is a reason to.  The only example I can think of off the top of my head is hearing that the writers of Glee changed the character of Curt after meeting the actor and falling in love with him.  His character fits perfectly and it doesn’t fell like the show is just doing that to push the envelope.  That is when it bothers me.  Why do we have to force something? 

           Changing James Bond character isn’t going to do anything for supporting human rights.  It is just going to feel like they are trying too hard.  I mean, add in all the male on male and female on female stuff you want but leave Bond alone please.  I mean the two basic parts of him are that he is a spy and he is a ladies man.  Why not give him a new job while you are at it?

          I  guess this kind of comes down to how much a movie or book can deviate it’s characters from the books before it becomes a big deal.   My feelings are pretty mixed on the issue.  I bet I’m not making much sense as I type because I’m going back and forth.  I think if you are going to change the character, have it make sense.  If any of the people on Gossip Girl have same sex relationships that they didn’t have the in book series, fine.  It could fit in with the story.  If some of the vampires on True Blood go same sex, well they better anyways because that is definately in the books.  If Harry Potter has a scene making out with a boy, I don’t feel like that would make any sense. I don’t know, what does everyone else think about this?  Where is the line for changing a book character?

          Most books that appear on list in regards to being banned are actually being challanged.  This means that you can still find the book everywhere still.   For example, many Cicily Von Ziegesar including Gossip Girl are in challanged status.  Obviously you can still go to the bookstore and buy these books.    When a book is actually banned, it is completely taken out of bookstores and libaries. 

          Another thing I found interesting was that many commonly challanged books are young adult/youth novels.  The reason they are on this list is that the subject matter and/or language is being questioned for the group of readers they are intended. 

          Decisions to have books banned can later be lifted.  Ulysses by James Joyce is one example of this.  The book was banned for sexual content.  If you have read it, you know the scene they are talking about.  The book was taken off the list after a court win that concluded that the book needed to be looked at as a whole and that they majority of people are able to read the book without getting offended.  This case was huge because it changed the standard on book content.

          Book banning is not something that just happens in the US.  It is all over the world.  It is interesting to read some of the reasons that books are banned.  For example, one that stuck out to me, was that Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll was banned in Hunan, China because the animals were as smart as humans. 

          It is also possible that a book can become restricted.  This means that perhaps it is deemed inapproprate to have in a certain location but it is available else where.   This is super common.  Think about how you don’t find say Fight Club at an elementary school.

          Hope this helps clear up some questions on book banning.  This week I’ll definately write more on my personal thoughts on book banning and books I own (and some I really love like Looking For Alaska by John Green) that are being challanged. 

          There are tons of websites dedicated to knowledge on this subject.  Here is a few that I looked at. 

http://www.ila.org/pdf/2009banned.pdf  (this tells details on certain banned books.  Very interesting)

http://bannedbooksweek.org/info.html

http://www.cfnews13.com/News/Sidebar/2009/9/28/books_up_for_debate_in_lake_county.html?refresh=1

http://www.amnestyusa.org/events/banned-books-week/page.do?id=1101492

http://book-censorship.suite101.com/article.cfm/why_books_are_banned

As requested by KonstantinMiller, here is some more thoughts on tv shows verses books. 

          I came across this on YouTube and thought it was quite fitting.  I loved that Stephen Moyer has read quite a few of them.  It seems weird to me that the other two stopped.  More so that there reason’s for stopping was that they wanted to take their characters in their own direction.  Those two characters were not present in the least in Dead Until Dark. 

          In Season Two, Tara is staying fairly close to her character in Living Dead in Dallas.  In the book she is Sookie’s friend from high school that is dating a guy named Eggs.  Yeah, that matches perfectly.  Towards the end of the book we see them in a situation similar to the party scene that was in S2 E3 of True Blood.  Tara’s reaction to the party seemed to be similar in the two.  Like she was there on her own accord but it was making her uneasy.  The writers of True Blood are doing a good job of filling in Tara’s story for us.

          As for the Maryann character from the show, she is deviating a long way from the novel.  In the book we only see her as what she really is which they haven’t competely covered that yet. If you have seen interviews or read any, they have been openly discussing that though.  In the books Sookie and Bill leave to Dallas and something obviously happens between Sam and Callisto. Maryann’s name is Callisto in the book.  I don’t know why they changed it.  I liked Callisto better since the tattoo on my rib is actually the Callisto constellation from my favorite Greek myth.  I named my cat at my parents’ house that too. Anyways, in the tv series they are obviously going to have Bill and Sookie leave soon.  Following with the rest of the tv show, the writers are finding themselves trying to write stories about what is happening in Bon Temps completely on their own.  It is going to be very different from the book but I think as long as they keep the characters in tack in isn’t going to bother me too much.  Plus I love Sam don’t mind seeing more of him.

          Another book series that is now on tv that I realized I have read is Gossip Girl.   I think I’ve read about five or six of the books.  I do intend to someday finish them.  They are extremely fast to read.  Perfect for a break after a lengthy or dense book.  Like True Blood, the show Gossip Girl is staying fairly close to the books.  The characters are there and some of the story lines are but we are seeing lots of differences too. 

          Some characters are completely different. Eric van der Woodsen for example is the older brother that has a thing with Blair in the books but a younger gay brother on tv.  Aaron Rose appears in the books as Blair’s stepbrother who has a crush on her. On the show he is a random dude that Serena dates.  I actually didn’t watch most the second season so I don’t know if they did more with him or not.  The parents play a lot more into the television show as well.  I really like the story the tv producers came up with Rufus and Lily.  Personally I wouldn’t mind if they show mostly focused on them. 

          The spin off doesn’t sound all that appealing to me though.  Maybe I’m just getting old and teen drama’s aren’t as much my thing.  Although I did absolutely love Priveledged.  I think it got canceled already though.  Very sad. The main character was attempting to be an author.  It is another show based on a book.  How to Survive the Filthy Rich by Zoey Dean.  Maybe I will try to find it next time I’m at the book store.  It would be interesting to compare how a book series converts to a tv series verses a single book being made into a tv series.  I do have Sex and the City by Candace Bushnell but haven’t read it yet.   Ah the list of books I want to read in the near future.  I really do have stacks and stacks of them.  Just call me Alaska Young.