THURSDAY AT THE MOVIES

Prince Caspian and Christianity.
On my days off, I either write something on my Moleskine or watch a movie at a nearby mall when something good is out.

This week, The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian came out! I can never be more thankful for having Christian parents who instilled in me the value of books and reading. The Chronicles of Narnia were stories I heard at bedtime from them until I was old enough to dish out books from the school library and read them on my own. My early exposure to the stories wired me to like the movie.

The novellete Prince Caspian is not exactly the strongest in the seven-book Chronicles. It's more of a transitory section to advance the series. 1300 years after the Pevensie kids left Narnia, the Telmarines have invaded and populated the land, driving the original Narnians to extinction. The inhabitants purportedly found their way to a then-leaderless Narnia after "a great famine". More importantly, it is also the site of a 'chink' that leads from Earth to Narnia. Six pirates and their wives from our world were shipwrecked and fell through this gap into Telmar, producing lines of proud, warlike descendants, the Telmarines. These are the Telmarines who eventually invade Narnia, at the time in disorder, after a famine in their own land and attempt to rid the country of its magic. It is from this line of Telmarines that Prince Caspian is descended.

Aslan is portrayed by Lewis as the Jesus Christ. Aslan's father (the "Emperor-Over-Sea") is God the Father. Some believe the story is a parrallel to Moses and the freeing of the Israelites. Edmund and Lucy assist Prince Caspian in his attempt to get to Aslan's country (over the sea) in Lewis' The Voyage of the Dawn Treader.

More obviously, the new Narnia can be seen as a parallel to the modern world, in which old beliefs are scoffed at. "Who believes in Aslan nowadays?" asks Trumpkin when he first meets Caspian. Those who "hold on", like the badgers, are praised: this links with Lewis's views on religious faith. Faith is another of the major themes of the book.

Ben Witherington writes: It ıs always a dilemma for film makers as to how strickly to hew to the original story lıne and this film certainly takes more lıberties than its predecessor for sure sacrıficing a literal renderings or reproduction for better action and flow.

I actually don't much mind this since the original story needed a bit of help but it would certainly have been more helpful to keep in some of the more Christian philosophy of Lewis (quoting the line 'Things never happen the same way twice' is insufficient to explain things). Lewis was perhaps the most influential non-Calvinist apologete of the 20th century and these films have an opportunity to explore that and so explore a world where all things are not predetermined by the active or passive will of God. The opportunity is missed to pursue this line of thought more effectively. Oh, and wait, I love the closing song, The Call by Regina Spektor.

A Trip to the City.
One of the things I most appreciate about being single guy having two very-special-and-in-every-way-platonic female friends to hang out with is I get to watch intelligently-written chick flicks like Sex and the City without having to observe other men look at me like I'm some other gender-confused guy. I have seen a number of mostly enjoyable and intelligent chick flicks with my two friends. And, my two friends don't mind watching man flicks with me-- like the boring and almost-a-silent-movie, The Assasination of Jesse James (but I have the feeling they went with me because of Brad Pitt and nothing else).

Back to SATC.
While I do not approve the values it sublimenally promotes, I like the writers' style and how some social realities are revealed (and I'm happy for the necessary cuts made by the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board, cleaning up the movie a lot). As a Christian, it made me think about the values, expressions, felt and deep needs of 21st-century humanity. It got me to thinking: How do people continue the process of maturing and advancing on their spiritual journey? I think at the heart of it, spiritual growth has to do with one’s capacity to first love him or her self in a way that inspires constant renewal and personal transformation – and then through the grace of God, love others as we love our selves.

The movie was long with too much talk- well, the talk is part of why I like about it- but that's just it, while I did not fall asleep, I did think that the movie could've been shortened, and the writers could have gone straight to the point-- 2 hours and 20 minutes of PURE talk is just way too much for a man who likes words! For a time during the movie I thought I'd rather watch car chases and sword fights than a group of 40+-aged ladies in an Upper East side restaurant talk about boys!

But I must say also that we guys should watch stuff like that once in a while for our own benefit. We get to enter the world of women without being intrusive- we don't have to ask them questions that would reveal who and how they are, all we need is observe. It may help men understand how women are wired. That's why I'm glad I have these two friends I get to watch with. A quip like, "She was an smart until she fell in love" jokingly said though it was by a female reveals a lot of the female psyche!