My view on the movie Narnia
So, we're back to the subject of the movie The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe. My mom gave me this article to read by Stephen Hume (from the Vancouver Sun) and I absolutly hated it. Anyways. I wrote him back. But first here's some of the article by Stephen Hume.
"Most of the story makes no sense at all as Christian allegory.
For example, if the Messiah is characterized by both the Biblical prophets and his disciples as a lamb of peace, how does this square with the movie's portrayal of the Messiah as a gigantic carnivore? If the Messiah came not as an all-powerful king but as a humble peasant born in a roadside manger, what's with this majestic imperial persona? Jesus came not as Caesar in a tent embroidered with gold thread, he lived with poor people and prostitutes and was executed in squalid conditions among thieves and murderers.
Furthermore, isn't the lion an icon for the persecution of Christians? Weren't the martyrs thrown to the lions in the Roman arena? In fact, doesn't Peter characterize the devil as "a roaring lion?"
Then there's an eruption of deliciously vengeful violence as the wicked queen and her followers get their just deserts. How does this square with the Christian injunction to the faithful to love their enemies, do good to those who do them ill and, most important, to turn the other cheek instead of striking back?
Christ said of his tormentors while on the cross, "Father, forgive them." If the injunction to forgive is the defining Christian value, how does the retributive butchering of opponents find congruency?
In the Garden of Gethsemane, when Peter cuts a Roman soldier, Christ orders him to put up his sword and heals the man's wound. In Narnia, the so-called Jesus figure of Aslan provides the kids with swords, arrows, daggers and sets them off on the path of bloody slaughter.
Then there are the bad guys themselves. While the supporters of Aslan are handsome, beautiful and proud, supporters of the White Witch are misshapen and physically unappealing. They hobble, limp, drool, lumber, have spastic movements, are too big or too small.
Dwarves and giants serve as representations of wickedness. In other words, the stereotypes of conventional beauty define what's good, while attributes that fall outside those stereotypes are associated with evil.
Frankly, this kind of association should disturb everyone, not just Christians. In the Christian gospels, Jesus ministers to the halt, the lame, the blind and the mad. And he warns his followers that "What you do to the least among you, you do to me." In other words, don't make judgmental distinctions on the basis of appearance in the way the movie does.
Now, Narnia is still a rousing good yarn - 85 million books sold testifies to that. But does it work as Christian allegory? I think not."
Now, for those of you that don't know, this is my absolute favorite movie. I really didn't like what this guy said so I wrote him back:
At the end of your article, you asked if the movie, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, works as Christian allegory. You answered that question by saying, “I think not.” Well, here’s my answer: I think so.
In the beginning of this story, Lucy Pevensie finds this most amazing world. She tries to tell her three older siblings about this world she has found but fails to get them to believe. It is only after the professor argues Lucy’s side that their eyes are opened. Only when they have an inkling of faith do they enter and see this world that Lucy has found.
When Christians tell non-believers about their faith, most of the time, the non-believers think that this person is crazy for believing the things they do. They don’t necessarily see or understand the “world” that this Christian lives in. But when, and if, they start thinking about what was said, they will start to see what this “lunatic” sees.
The first time that Edmond Pevensie enters the world of Narnia, he meets the White Witch. She bribes him into thinking that she is good by giving him Turkish Delight and telling him that he could be king of Narnia someday. Edmond falls into her trap and betrays his brother and sisters. The devil uses worldly things, such as money and status, to try and lure people away form the truth.
And now for Aslan; let me say that having a “gigantic carnivore”, a lion, represent the Messiah, Jesus Christ, in my opinion is very smart. May I remind you that C.S. Lewis wrote this series specifically for children. If you were to ask a child what animal would represent a king, what would they say? A lamb? I don’t think so. Lewis used a lion because kids see lions as kings. After all, the lion is the king of the jungle. Also, in the Bible, it says the only thing we should fear is God. He is dangerous yet at the same time, He is merciful and peaceful. In the book Susan asks the beavers, “Is he safe?” the beaver replies by saying, “’Course he isn’t safe. But he’s good. He’s the king.”
You also said, “Jesus came not as Caesar in a tent embroidered with gold thread, he lived with poor people.” Let me ask you to remember what the White Witch lived in: a huge castle complete with a moat. Aslan’s tent (note: tent not castle) was maybe the size of the dungeon that Edmond was in. And, all the creatures on Aslan’s side lived in the same type of shelter as Aslan himself, showing that he was no better than anyone else.
Aslan sends someone (Father Christmas to be exact) to bring Peter, Susan and Lucy swords, arrows and daggers, yes, but he does not “set them off on the path of bloody slaughter.” He gives them these things to prepare them for what he knows is ahead. He doesn’t say, “Here, take these and go make war.” To Susan and Lucy he says, “I do not mean you to fight in the battle. … battles are ugly affairs.” And to Peter he says, “The time to use them is perhaps near at hand. Bear them well,” meaning use them for good. God has given us all weapons for our own use in this world. They are commonly known as the armor of God and we are to use it in battles of the spirit. God would rather us not fight at all, but since evil has entered the world, He sees fit that we are prepared for what will come to us.
You are right; we as Christians are supposed to turn the other cheek. When you watch the scene where Aslan dies, do you see him fighting back? No. You don’t. Lucy even realizes this and asks a very good question: Why? Could it possibly be because he is turning the other cheek? This is also referring to when Christ died on the cross. Aslan died on the stone table in place of Edmond whose crime was betrayal of Aslan. He took Edmond’s place because he loved him and he knew that his blood could take the place of Edmond’s. Aslan died on the stone table as if he had committed a crime. Jesus Christ died on the cross as if He had committed a crime. He took the punishment for our wrong doings.
Next is the great battle. In the book of Revelation it says that there will be one last battle between God and Satan; between good and evil. In The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe, Aslan kills the White Witch in a matter of seconds. In Revelation it says that in one single moment, all evil is gone.
You also talk about the bad guys (supporters of the White Witch) being completely ugly, “misshapen and physically unappealing. They hobble, limp, drool, lumber, have spastic movements, are too big or too small.” Let me say, once again, that these books were written specifically for kids. Followers of the White Witch have “ugly” hearts and evil spirits. How are you supposed to describe that to a child? They won’t have a clue what you are trying to say. Lewis made these creatures ugly because he knew that kids would understand physical ugliness more than they would spiritual “ugliness”. Making the bad guys ugly automatically makes them seem evil or bad.
So, let’s ask that question again. Does the movie, and book, The Lion, the Witch and The Wardrobe work as Christian allegory? In my opinion, it most certainly does.
He actually e-mailed me back but I have no idea what he's saying. His words are a little too big for my liking.
Dear Ms Thiessen:
You, of course,are perfectly entitled to interpret anything you like in any way you wish. However, I do note that C.S. Lewis, the author of the Chronicles of Narnia, was quite specific when he said the books were not Christian allegory and he was bemused by the attempt by adults to portray them as such. Why would adults do this? Because they wished to colonize his stories and appropriate them as propaganda for their own religious ideologies.
I think you are confusing the movie and its marketing -- which was the point of my column -- with Lewis's books. How Lewis portrays the "bad guys" and how the movie portrays them are quite different. In my opinion it is destructive and flies in the face of Christian ethics to associate physical disabilities with evil. To try and make that equation with impressionable children is even more reprehensible. For the most part, evil, as Hannah Arendt has observed, is characterized by its banal and seemingly benevolent face. Thus the Nazis were not drooling, spastic degenerates but were handsome fellows in snappy uniforms who made sure the trains to Auschwitz ran on time, then had dinner with their families and went out to the opera. Indeed, if I remember rightly, Hitler said in Mein Kampf that he was doing God's work and the uniform of the German army carried the slogan "Gott mit uns" -- God is with us. Not the first tyrant or general to claim to be doing the Lord's work with fire and sword. I daresay not the last, either.
By the way, a standing ovation to all of you who actually read this whole thing. I know that I wouldn't have!
Mom, Dad, and Larissa.
Nathan and his girlfriend Katie. They chose to have the 2 seats that we had to buy. If you look close enough, you can see some people way up behind them. That would be the rest of us.
Me! Yes, my hair is naturally kinda curly.
Chelsea and Darren.
This was probably one of the most exciting parts of the night: the one and only fight. It was great.
This is how the fight ended. The reffs piled up on top of them. (the reff in the corner has our last name!)
