[lbo-talk] Narnia

Bitch | Lab info at pulpculture.org
Tue Dec 20 00:00:45 PST 2005


At 12:56 AM 12/20/2005, Liza Featherstone wrote:


>To all who have pointed out that resurrections appear in non-CHristian
>stories: yes of course, but...the Narnia movie (based on the book by
>Christian writer Lewis) contains the following New Testament events in the
>exact same order that they appear in the NT: messianic figure's return
>which is supposed to save everybody, betrayal, forgiveness, voluntary
>self-sacrifice on the part of said messianic dude (in order to SAVE)
>others, his death at the hands of evil-doers, two female mourners
>attending the body, a resurrection (followed by springtime). it is
>impossible to argue that this is not supposed to be a christian allegory.
>I'm not saying there are not many other ways to enjoy it. I myself love it
>because it's about the secret lives kids have, that adults don't know
>anything about (or like the professor in the movie, may have some idea, or
>curiosity/sympathy, but can't access). And I agree the magic is all
>wonderfully pagan, as are the groovy centaurs and fauns. But there is no
>doubt that Jesus is Lewis's major inspiration here, and the film is quite
>faithful to that.
>
>Liza

While I don't care one way or another, I used to read about mythology and the argument is that the Christian story is actually from Egyptian and Greek religious rites, complete with all that you mention. The story was originally based on a female death and resurrection, Persophone and Demeter for instance, but evolved out of that myth to feature a male. So, naturally, there are other stories. Joseph Campbell was the one who heavily influenced the mythology exemplified in Star Wars since Campbell, a Jungian, believed that there were common elements in myth that could be found the world over. He spent a lot of time pointing out the similarities, etc. etc.

Like I said, no dog in the fight and I can't see why anyone cares whether its Christian or whatever....

I know nothing about the book == not more than what I read as a kid == but I read so much as a kid that I quickly moved on to my mother's book shelves. Consequently, kids' books don't stick in my head like they seem to others.

Bitch | Lab http://blog.pulpculture.org



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