Old Enough for Fairy Tales
Thank God I can still enjoy fairy tales, no matter whether we call them fantasy (Lord of the Rings; Wheel of Time), sci-fi, fiction, or The Chronicles of Narnia. With the opening of the much-awaited Narnia this weekend, this feeling is again being celebrated. I will probably not see the film this weekend, but I can hardly wait to see the un-safe Lion.

But what prompted the title and this musing is a really decent article at PopMatters Book Features about the complex person of C. S. Lewis, the controversy over his "true" faith, and this new movie. It is a really good read and brings to the front some of the controversies about Lewis's flawed (but all too real) humanity, his less than fundamentalist faith, and the multi-sourced imagery of Narnia.

For me, as I have said before on these posts, is the power of story. It isn't about allegory (where every point has to have a meaning,) but about parable-- story-telling-- where the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. It is a fine line to walk between making sure that the allegorical elements are present and turning the story into a dull, character by character imitation of something else. The Lord of the Rings and The Wheel of Time books do it well. They pull you in and engage you, the characters are characters. They are caught up in the great drama of life and the Great Drama of Good-vs-Evil. Fantasy can deal with those in powerful allegory, muted and empowered by parable.

In Narnia-the books the allegory is real and potent but still within the context of the story. I hope that balance can be maintained in the movie. Not because it would be a shame to lose either of those elements (which it would, of course) and not because of the "Christian" theme of the book getting lost but because Jack Lewis wanted it that way. It was his vision, his creation, his story-to-tell. He balanced the two with great clarity and wisdom. The real shame would be the loss of Lewis's vision, story-telling, and witness to his life and faith that Narnia represents.

I write this today- before seeing the movie- in order to set my parameters. Without being awed by the movie or turned off by it, I wanted to make sure I knew what I was looking for from a literary stand-point. I would use this same general approach to the filming of any great book. Is it true to the original vision of the author, regardless of what changes had to be made to fit the book to the screen?

And, in light of the title and the article at PopMatters, I would hope above all that it keeps the children's story/fairy tale elements and doesn't become heavy with the allegory in a strong-fisted way. Let the story tell the Story. Let the children come! Even if they are gray haired. If they want it to be something "serious" and "deep", let them see it in the eyes of a child, since, I remember reading that Someone, perhaps even a Lion, has said that unless we can become like the little children we may not be able to see the Kingdom.

I'll let you know what I think when I finally see the movie.