THE LAST BASTION NETFLIX SERIES MOVIE
THE LAST BASTION NETFLIX SERIES PLUS
THE LAST BASTION NETFLIX SERIES SERIES

It would have meant the world to me if there had been LGBTQ+ representation in the BSC books. 4) Inclusion of Queer and Trans Characters Check out one of Claudia’s very Cher Horowitz outfits too. ( Clueless itself being another TV/film adaptation of a beloved classic - Emma by Jane Austen - that excellently translated to a contemporary context).

THE LAST BASTION NETFLIX SERIES MOVIE

There’s no way to read Kristy’s voiceover in the first episode saying “when it came to life, I guess wasn’t totally clueless” as anything other than a reference to Silverstone’s iconic role in the 1995 movie Clueless.

THE LAST BASTION NETFLIX SERIES SERIES

There’s also the fact that by casting Alicia Silverstone as Kristy’s mom, the series sends a clear nod to its ’90s kids audience. But old BSC fans like me recognized it right away. It’s not one of the rereleased BSC books or one that Raina Telgemeier has adapted as a graphic novel.

Recent readers and anyone under 30 would likely never have seen this cover. It looks exactly like the original cover of Super Special #2, Baby-sitters’ Summer Vacation, the book on which the last two episodes are based. In the final shots of the last episode, “Camp Moosehead Part 2,” the babysitters pose for a photo in front of the camp sign, leaning together and laughing. Other little tidbits refer to the ’90s like when Kristy says that Dawn is “alternative in a ’90s kind of way.” When Claudia comes up with the logo for the club, the retro drawing she sends Kristy is the original one. (It wouldn’t fit the tone of the show at all if it were.) But there are some sly references that show the writers are aware of The Baby-Sitters Club as nostalgia and important cultural touchstone. The Netflix series is certainly no bastion of metanarrative. No one remembers the original BSC books as self-aware or self-referential by any means. Martin had added her specifically for non-Christian representation). (There was also the late addition of Abby Stevenson, a Jewish character who similarly felt like Ann M. They made the BSC appear racially diverse and inclusive while still being majority white. But looking back, it’s hard not to see them as at least partial tokens. I don’t want to diminish the importance of Claudia Kishi for Asian American (and Canadian, etc.) girls and Jessi Ramsey for Black girls. It seemed a given that we’d never get more than one character of any non-white racial background, even though there were many different white girls. The original BSC members were mostly white with two girls of color characters. 2) The Inclusion of Girls of Color Beyond Tokenism It also does not actually humanize the people affected by any oppressions being discussed. As important as any argument might be, didactic storytelling is just not very much fun. They fit effortlessly into the story, rather than feeling shoved in to make a point. But it presents them in an emotionally resonant rather than a preachy way. It takes on some of the same issues as the books, such as Stacey’s diabetes, as well as new ones like the rights of trans kids to be correctly gendered. The Netflix series does a wonderful job of not doing that. But there’s a sense that the writers are forcing the story to present a certain thesis, rather than the story itself coming first. (In fact, usually it appears the creator is trying very hard to prove a progressive point).

These kinds of books could easily translate to cheesy “Very Special Episodes.” It’s not that the take on these themes is problematic. Here are four reasons why: 1) Issues Aren’t Presented DidacticallyĪs much as I loved them, a little too often the original BSC books felt very much like capital-i “Issue Books.” Like, “this is the one where we address the racism inherent in Thanksgiving celebrations,” or, “This is the one about teenage drinking,” or, “This is the one where we teach you about internment camps for Japanese Americans.” And so on and so on. I am so happy to say after blazing through the entire first season, that I think Netflix The Baby-Sitters Club series is even better than the original books. And I wasn’t sure how well the books would translate to 2020 as they kept the core concepts but modernized. After all, I am keenly aware, as an adult, of the books’ faults. So of course I was so excited to hear about the new Netflix show! I had high hopes, but I tried to temper them. I had a crush on the sporty, bossy Kristy. (She was the nerdy oldest child of a bunch of siblings and obsessed with reading and writing).

Dreaming of being sophisticated and resilient like Stacey, I was actually more Mallory.

THE LAST BASTION NETFLIX SERIES PLUS

I owned over a hundred of the books (including super specials and mysteries), plus that chain letter one that had actual physical letters and postcards to and from the BSC members. Have you watched the new The Baby-Sitters Club Netflix series yet? If you were a ’90s bookish kid like me, there are fewer things more nostalgic than The Baby-Sitters Club.

The last bastion netflix series