Anyone watching SVU?

REOM

Is it Girl with the Dragon Tattoo-ish ?!

Or am I just obsessed...

geo44

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?Ripped from the Headlines? ? and a bit of Stieg Larsson

The latest episode of L&O: SVU, ?Branded,? certainly seemed like an original story, even without the usual disclaimer that ?the preceding story was fictional.?  But one of the characters ? even though ?no actual person or event was depicted? ? was too, too familiar.  Not necessarily to readers of daily newspapers, weekly magazines or the regular watchers of the evening news, but to anyone who has read The Girl with the Dragon Tatoo or The Girl Who Played with Fire by the late Stieg Larsson.

 It seems to me that so many of the personal and physical attributes of SVU?s Carmen character seem to be drawn from the Lisbeth Sanders character in Stieg Larsson?s novels that some mention of the source or influence should have been given ? even in the fleeting, uncapitalized credits that rolled at the conclusion of the program.

 I composed this list as I was watching the story unfold last night (10/20/10), a few days after I finished Girl...Fire.   I didn?t revisit any of Larsson?s texts or replay any part of the episode.  I certainly don?t present this as any type of L&O research, nor am I obsessed with Stieg Larsson.  It?s just a gut reaction to a specific episode of a well-respected television show.

STIEG LARSSON                                                         L&O: SVU "Branded"

 a skinny girl                                         a skinny girl

raped when she was young teen     raped when she was 14

decreed insane by court     ?that girl is   obviously mentally ill"

craziness was held over her                        ?branded?

extremely intelligent          extraordinarily high score on state aptitude test

super genius computer hacker                    ?she?s a hacker?

low self-esteem                                                ?I?m a nobody"

not very social         ?who?d believe the word of a little nobody?

foster homes                                                            foster homes

patient   allowed a lot of time to pass between her rape and revenge

inscribed message on chest on her rapist?s chest            inscribed message on chest on her rapist?s chest

While there are other similarities I missed, not every aspect of their character or life stories is parallel.  Lisbeth did not have a child (that we know of ) and certainly wouldn?t cry in a precinct house ? not even alone with Olivia.

I am not suggesting that anything was plagiarized or that the writers or the Story Editor had any obligation to validate their originality or explain their personal literary influences.  As a reader or viewer, it?s actually fun to enjoy those d?j? vu moments when you recognize a character (or similar one) from a different context.  It?s like listening to quartet play a piece where the saxophonist quotes a Coltrane arpeggio or the pianist some Red Garland harmonies in their individual improvisations.  You recognize it ? or you don?t.

 But if one of my students had written a story and paralleled a character so closely, that certainly would have lead to a discussions on everything from modeling a character on someone else?s creation or actually copying someone else?s text without some kind of citation or acknowledgement.

It seems to me that so many of the personal and physical attributes of SVU?s Carmen character seem to be drawn from the Lisbeth Sanders character in Stieg Larsson?s novels that some mention of the source or influence should have been given ? even in the fleeting, uncapitalized credits that rolled at the conclusion of the program.

geo44

Normal 0 0 1 479 2734 22 5 3357 11.1287 0 0 0

?Ripped from the Headlines? ? and a bit of Stieg Larsson

The latest episode of L&O: SVU, ?Branded,? certainly seemed like an original story, even without the usual disclaimer that ?the preceding story was fictional.?  But one of the characters ? even though ?no actual person or event was depicted? ? was too, too familiar.  Not necessarily to readers of daily newspapers, weekly magazines or the regular watchers of the evening news, but to anyone who has read The Girl with the Dragon Tatoo or The Girl Who Played with Fire by the late Stieg Larsson.

 It seems to me that so many of the personal and physical attributes of SVU?s Carmen character seem to be drawn from the Lisbeth Sanders character in Stieg Larsson?s novels that some mention of the source or influence should have been given ? even in the fleeting, uncapitalized credits that rolled at the conclusion of the program.

 I composed this list as I was watching the story unfold last night (10/20/10), a few days after I finished Girl...Fire.   I didn?t revisit any of Larsson?s texts or replay any part of the episode.  I certainly don?t present this as any type of L&O research, nor am I obsessed with Stieg Larsson.  It?s just a gut reaction to a specific episode of a well-respected television show.

STIEG LARSSON                                                         L&O: SVU "Branded"

 a skinny girl                                                      a skinny girl

raped when she was young teen                raped when she was 14

decreed insane by court                                    ?that girl is obviously mentally ill"

craziness was held over her                        ?branded?

extremely intelligent                                extraordinarily high score on state aptitude test

super genius computer hacker                        ?she?s a hacker?

low self-esteem                                                ?I?m a nobody"

not very social                                      ?who?d believe the word of a little nobody?

foster homes                                                            foster homes

patient                                    allowed a lot of time to pass between her rape and revenge

inscribed message on chest on her rapist?s chest            inscribed message on chest on her                                                                                                 rapist?s chest

While there are other similarities I missed, not every aspect of their character or life stories is parallel.  Lisbeth did not have a child (that we know of ) and certainly wouldn?t cry in a precinct house ? not even alone with Olivia.

I am not suggesting that anything was plagiarized or that the writers or the Story Editor had any obligation to validate their originality or explain their personal literary influences.  As a reader or viewer, it?s actually fun to enjoy those d?j? vu moments when you recognize a character (or similar one) from a different context.  It?s like listening to quartet play a piece where the saxophonist quotes a Coltrane arpeggio or the pianist some Red Garland harmonies in their individual improvisations.  You recognize it ? or you don?t.

 But if one of my students had written a story and paralleled a character so closely, that certainly would have lead to a discussions on everything from modeling a character on someone else?s creation or actually copying someone else?s text without some kind of citation or acknowledgement.

It seems to me that so many of the personal and physical attributes of SVU?s Carmen character seem to be drawn from the Lisbeth Sanders character in Stieg Larsson?s novels that some mention of the source or influence should have been given ? even in the fleeting, uncapitalized credits that rolled at the conclusion of the program.