Classic Lit Bracket

classiclitbracket propaganda

Les Mis propaganda #1

Les Mis propaganda #2

Les Mis propaganda #3

Les Mis propaganda #4

Les Mis propaganda #5

Lord of the Rings propaganda #1

This bracket was mainly inspired by @classiclitbracket and people in @latinotiktok talking about the potential of a Latin American lit bracket.

Feel free to make your submissions/talk to me in English, Spanish or French. I unfortunately cannot speak Portuguese but I understand a fair amount of written Portuguese (as is usual with people who know Spanish), so, while not preferred, that is also an option.

classiclitbracket propaganda

Les Mis propaganda #1

Les Mis propaganda #2

Les Mis propaganda #3

Les Mis propaganda #4

Les Mis propaganda #5

Lord of the Rings propaganda #1

classiclitbracket propaganda

Les Mis propaganda #1

Les Mis propaganda #2

Les Mis propaganda #3

Les Mis propaganda #4

Les Mis propaganda #5

Lord of the Rings propaganda #1

I know LOTR is currently winning the poll because it’s popular, but as a counterpoint I’d remind people that LOTR has essentially become like the Star Wars franchise—- frozen in the state when the corporations have decided it was most profitable, incapable of growing and changing or reinterpreting the story in a way that might be new and possibly less profitable, with every official derivative work of LOTR not trying to tell a story but trying to remind you of the most popular/ nostalgic state of franchise’s life.

Les Mis, by contrast, has really benefited from being in the public domain for so long! It is one of the most adapted novels of all time, and has a wealth of beautiful moving reinterpretations made by people genuinely attempting to find new valuable things about the source material. And there are Garbage adaptations too like the bbc miniseries, but unlike with LOTR the Garbage Les mis adaptations don’t legally own Les Mis in any meaningful way. The musical is currently rhe most famous and beloved adaptation, but versions like the Arai Manga adaptation or the Lelouch film that uses Les Mis to process the director’s own feelings about escaping the Nazis during WWII, all add so much depth to the source material’s legacy.

i agree that classic comes down to impact, and i completely agree with lotr's genre + creativity impact. but i still completely voted les mis with no hesitation.

les mis is famous for being the book of the downtrodden, the book of revolution, etc. within les mis, hugo spoke for the marginalised, and not just in the 'old 19th century white man' way re romanticising injustice. he actively demonstrates within the book how absolutely horrific circumstances can be, but also presents a message of hope about rising above these circumstances and giving voice to those marginalised.

eugene debbs, a pioneer of american socialism, was literally given the middle name 'victor' after our man VH, read les mis repeatedly throughout his life and through it, was inspired to create the international labour union 'Industrial Workers of the World', which has continued to impact upon labour movements even recently (see: 2011 wisconsin protests, etc)

closer to its publication, les mis had a HUGE impact on french socialism, especially the paris commune. revolutionaries fighting for the commune read les mis for courage when realising their death was imminent. furthermore, louise michel, a major french anarchist figure and someone who led the paris commune, literally called herself enjolras after the main revolutionary in les mis, and used the novel and that title to further her work. her social justice publication influenced thousands throughout europe.

les mis was used to fuel anti-colonial sentiments in mexico during the second french intervention (ironic, i know). wilkie james, a civil war officer of the 54th massachusetts (a free black regiment, for my fellow non-americans) was white, but was passionate about the abolishment of slavery and was greatly affected by les mis in achieving this aim. 'do you hear the people sing' is a protest song used worldwide to signify the fight against oppression.

if 'classic' can be defined by impact (which i agree with, and agree that lotr's impact is massive) i still continue to think that les mis had such a significant social and cultural impact that it is definitely worthy of winning this poll.

if anyone read to the end of this long post, thank you, and i will leave you with something hugo himself wrote to an italian minister:

"You are right, sir, when you say that the book Les Misérables is written for all people. I don’t know if it will be read by all, but, I wrote it for all. It speaks to England as much as Spain, to Germany as much as Ireland, to republics that have slaves as well as to empires that have serfs. Social problems know no borders. The wounds of the human race, those great wounds which cover the globe, do not halt at the red or blue lines traced upon the map. Wherever man is ignorant and despairs, wherever woman is sold for bread, wherever the child suffers for lack of a book to instruct him and a hearth at which to warm him, the book Les Misérables knocks at the door and says: “Open to me, I come for you.”

Les Mis propaganda #1

Les Mis propaganda #2

Les Mis propaganda #3

Les Mis propaganda #4

Les Mis propaganda #5

Lord of the Rings propaganda #1

I know LOTR is currently winning the poll because it’s popular, but as a counterpoint I’d remind people that LOTR has essentially become like the Star Wars franchise—- frozen in the state when the corporations have decided it was most profitable, incapable of growing and changing or reinterpreting the story in a way that might be new and possibly less profitable, with every official derivative work of LOTR not trying to tell a story but trying to remind you of the most popular/ nostalgic state of franchise’s life.

Les Mis, by contrast, has really benefited from being in the public domain for so long! It is one of the most adapted novels of all time, and has a wealth of beautiful moving reinterpretations made by people genuinely attempting to find new valuable things about the source material. And there are Garbage adaptations too like the bbc miniseries, but unlike with LOTR the Garbage Les mis adaptations don’t legally own Les Mis in any meaningful way. The musical is currently rhe most famous and beloved adaptation, but versions like the Arai Manga adaptation or the Lelouch film that uses Les Mis to process the director’s own feelings about escaping the Nazis during WWII, all add so much depth to the source material’s legacy.

You can answer if your tourney is still running btw.