It also brings her into conflict with Helen Corning, the cyber-bully’s soon-to-be ex-girlfriend.
*image courtesy of Nancy Drew and the Hidden Staircase (2019)Ĭlearly, this opening escapade is intended to modernize Drew for the target early teen demo and establish her resourcefulness. Consequently, when Marvin falls victim to a popular jock’s cyber-bullying, Drew masterminds a stinging payback caper. This Drew is not so happy her widower father Carson Drew decided to relocate from her beloved Chicago to the supposedly peaceful River Heights, but she makes fast friends with the brainy Bess Marvin and earnest Georgia “George” Fayne.
The latest movie reboot returns to the second Nancy Drew book ever published, The Hidden Staircase, reportedly longtime ghostwriter Mildred Wirt Benson’s favorite that was previously adapted for the screen in 1939, with Bonita Granville portraying Drew. Despite some nods to modern creepy internet culture, it is the old school doesn’t-suffer-dumb-cops-gladly Drew who is on the case in Katt Shea’s Nancy Drew and the Hidden Staircase, which opens nationwide this Friday. That changed in the mid-1980s, when Simon & Shuster updated the Nancy Drew packaging and added a spin-off line that cranked up the romance and high school angst.
Although the two respective series were written with either girls or boys in mind, there was a lot of crossover readership, because they always primarily focused on some sort of mystery. And then, once you’ve listened, leave us a comment and let us know your thoughts.For traditionalists, Nancy Drew mysteries were the ones with the yellow spines, whereas the Hardy Boys were blue. Whether you’ve seen the show, read the books, seen the movies, or none of the above, join us as we delve into all things Nancy Drew and try to convince you that there’s a lot more to her than you’ve probably guessed. We dive into the current show to investigate its appeal and the ways in which it is an innovative and important take on the character for both longtime fans and the uninitiated as well, as comparing her current incarnation to those of the past to discover if she was always as innocent as we seem to remember her (spoiler alert… yeah, of course not… but there’s also bonus racism and violence… there’s SOOO much to unpack here). On today’s episode Mav and Monica are joined by returning guests Nicole Freim and Corinne Matthews as well as new guest Sandy Eckard to examine the complex history of Nancy Drew and her cultural appeal across the ages. (spoiler alert… If you are a fan of our show, you can likely already guess). Is this criticism warranted or is it based in a sexist vision of the appropriateness for female focused literature. Like many CW shows, much of this criticism seems focused on the implied sexuality of the character and questions of the appropriateness of adapting a traditionally wholesome character in a more adult and illicit manner. Is there a reason for this or is it just sexism? (spoiler alert… it’s mostly sexism)Īt the same time, the current CW television reboot of the Nancy Drew show has seen frequent think pieces on the internet written that criticize its reinterpretation of the character and her mythos. And yet, for some reason there appears to remain some resistance to acknowledging its pop culture cache. The books are frequent mainstays of the New York Times bestseller list even today. Nancy Drew books have been referenced by Oprah Winfrey, Hillary Clinton, and Ruth Bader Ginsburg as the formative and inspirational literature of their youth.
Over the course of 92 years she has been featured in hundreds of novels, as well as half a dozen films and four TV series as well as several video games, comics and other media.
That said, she is nigh ubiquitous, in the history of American pop culture, even more so than her sister (brother?) series, the Hardy Boys.
And yet - outside of her devoted fanbase - does not seem to garner the same respect of many other pop culture figures of her time. First premiering in 1930, she predates Superman, Donald Duck, the Lone Ranger, two US states, FM radio, and the ball point pen. Nancy Drew may be one of the most enduring figures in American Popular culture.