| Beloved Betas
Coming to us from books and movies, these are the beta guys who continue to capture our hearts.
1. Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy in Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen.
2. Peter Parker in the Spider-Man movies directed by Sam Reimi, from the comic created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko.
3. Lord Henry Trevelyn in The Changeling Bride by Lisa Cach.
4. Clark Kent in the Superman movies (various directors), from the comic created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster.
5. Jackson Farley in Nerd in Shining Armor by Vicki Lewis Thompson.
6. Lloyd Dobler in Say Anything, directed by Cameron Crowe.
7. Mr. George Knightley in Emma by Jane Austen.
8. The heroes in the books by Kathleen Gilles Seidel: Again; The Same Last Name; Summer's End.
9. Westley in The Princess Bride by William Goldman (and the movie adaptation by Rob Reiner).
10. Jedwin in Wild Oats by Pamela Morsi
11. C.L. Sturgis in Tell Me Lies by Jennifer Crusie
12. Will Turner in Pirates of the Caribbean, directed by Gore Verbinski.
13. The heroes in any number of traditional Regency romances from Georgette Heyer.
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Darcy is a beta? I know he isn't domineering or outgoing but he still leads the pack. Everyone looks to Darcy for approval and advice, that makes him an alpha in my mind.
ReplyDeletei guess mr. rochester is far too alpha to be beta, but he's not completely alpha, either. kind of a alphbet.
ReplyDeletewould you count donald farfrae in "the mayor of casterbridge"? maybe even good ol' pip, with his unrequited love for estella? and even david copperfield, who is pale in comparison to james steerforth?
A terrific list, but why do you list the directors and not writers of the films? The directors didn't come up with those great beta characters. For instance, you mention the movie adaptation of Princess Bride as being "by" Rob Reiner. In fact, William Goldman wrote the adaptation of his own book. (Though admittedly Cameron Crowe did write AND direct Say Anything...)
ReplyDeleteI enjoy your blog immensely. This just happens to be a real hot button for me. Screenwriters get little enough credit/prestige/acknowledgment as it is, it behooves us in the publishing world to give our fellow scribes their due.
*hopping off soapbox and going back into lurk mode*
Yeah, I agree. Mr. Darcy and Mr. Knightley aren't betas, at least, not the way I see them.
ReplyDeleteLove the rest though!