Those that know me well might be surprised to hear that as a child I was rabidly addicted to the C.S. Lewis Narnia books. My mother bought me the paperback set of them, and I read them until they fell apart. I adored the powerful children, the idea that these kids could become kings and queens, and could fight evil and win. They could talk to animals, befriend fawns, and command armies…these were the children that I wished I could be.
Discovering that the stories were Christian propaganda was disappointing, to say the least. But I still remember being riveted to the tales, and reveling in the adventure of it all. The morals contained within the stories (greed will cause you heartache and pain, loyalty and bravery will always win the day, love really will make everything right) are universal morals, not just Christian ones. I suppose I can live with the thinly veiled character re-writes of christian mythology, if only because the stories are so very part of my nature.
In any case: now comes the movie, and the trailer. I’m not sure how all of these came out at once, and May became “movie trailer month” on the blog. But I promise that we’ll go back to our regularly scheduled copyright issues, blog defending, and library stuff soon. For now, I give you: The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe. Grab a piece of Turkish Delight and enjoy!
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7 replies on “The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe”
SAAHWEEET I’m really excited..
I just hope Hollywood doesn’t destroy another one of my childhood favorite books..
I can’t even think of LOTR now without seeing Orlando Bloom’s stupid, stupid face.. Crap!
Thanks for the trailers, although, to be quite honest, I’m concerned with your remark that discovering that the Chronicles are “Christian propaganda was disappointing” for you. I’m not quite sure that “propaganda” is the most accurate description. The fact that the Chronicles are written by C.S. Lewis, one of the greatest Christian apologist in modern times, would suggest that Christian theology played an extremely important part in the development of the story and its “universal” morals. I understand what you mean by saying that they are universal, but I argue that these morals lose their virtue when separated from their theistic context.
If a moral loses its virtue when separated from its theistic context, the moral never truly had any virtue.
Not sure what possessed Al to make that somewhat contentious philosophical statement. There are dozens of philosophers who do indeed base their ethics in theology, and if one is a deist, it is a perfectly reasonable assertion. I can’t turn on a Talk Radio station without hearing statements like “The reason that the country is falling into a moral abyss is that we are distancing ourselves from God.”
Of course, that’s a bunch of codswallop. So I suppose I agree with Al…but like a good philosopher, I thought I should at least point out the other side. 🙂
You know, I remain fascinated with these books. As part of the English degree, I did a series of papers on the concept of Story within the Narnia chronicles. It was actually fun to write the papers and led me to the love of fairy tales I have today. My point, in the papers, was that while the Narnia books may most certainly be viewed as Christian propaganda, the stories themselves were often lost in that viewpoint. Children read the books not for the Christianity, but because the story draws them “further up and further in…”. So don’t be disappointed in the series at all, and appreciate them as you did when you were a child – as stories full of talking animals, royalty, love, and adventure.
Eric:
Well, better minds than mine have described them as “propaganda,” although Lewis himself described them differently. My disappointment comes from my humanist leanings, combined with a firm realistic/scientific bent for the ontological. In other words, I’m not exactly what you’d call a fan of religion of any sort, especially that of most Western mythology.
But as fantasy novels, I’m pretty happy with the Narnia books. I should re-read them and see what I think these days.
Thanks for the trailers, although, to be quite honest, I'm concerned with your remark that discovering that the Chronicles are “Christian propaganda was disappointing” for you. I'm not quite sure that “propaganda” is the most accurate description. The fact that the Chronicles are written by C.S. Lewis, one of the greatest Christian apologist in modern times, would suggest that Christian theology played an extremely important part in the development of the story and its “universal” morals. I understand what you mean by saying that they are universal, but I argue that these morals lose their virtue when separated from their theistic context.