Corrupting A Classic

Today sees the release of Walt Disney & Walden Media's live-action/digital feature adaptation of the C.S. Lewis classic The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe, the first installment in The Chronicles of Narnia 7-part book series. And I couldn't be more excited about it. I have been a huge fan of The Chronicles of Narnia since I was a little boy. In fact, I have been of fan of every book I have ever read by C.S. Lewis, especially The Screwtape Letters. What I am not excited about, what does in fact piss me off is how C.S. Lewis' epic Narnia is being used, manipulated and corrupted by the Religious Right to justify their anti-Christian political agenda. There manipulation is so evil that it has actually forced liberal voices to mobilize against the story itself and therefore the message of the Narnia story.

A little background on C.S. Lewis, taken from the Yahoo! Encyclopedia:

(Clive Staples Lewis), 1898—1963, English author, b. Belfast, Ireland. A fellow and tutor of English at Magdalen College, Oxford, from 1925 to 1954, C. S. Lewis was noted equally for his literary scholarship and for his intellectual and witty expositions of Christian tenets. Among his most important works are The Allegory of Love (1936), an analysis of the literary evolution of romantic love during the Middle Ages; The Screwtape Letters (1942, rev. ed. 1961), an ironic treatment of the theme of salvation; and a history of English Literature in the Sixteenth Century (1954). He is also the author of Out of the Silent Planet (1938) and That Hideous Strength (1945), outer-planetary fantasies with deep Catholic and moral overtones; the "Chronicles of Narnia," a series of allegorical fantasies set in the mythical kingdom of Narnia, including The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (1950) and The Silver Chair (1953); many works of literary criticism, including Studies in Medieval and Renaissance Literature (1966); and the autobiographical Surprised by Joy (1954). From 1954 until his death he was professor of Medieval and Renaissance English at Cambridge.

C.S. Lewis was a Christian theologian, yes, in fact, he was if not the most prolific, the best known Christian theologian of the 20th Century. That does not mean he was a right wing, neo-con Christian fanatic like George W. Bush and the Moral Majority bastards who have corrupted Christianity in this country. Lewis was first and foremost a humanitarian. He believed in liberty. He believed in freedom of speech. He believed each person had their own right to believe whatever they wanted to believe! I have no doubt, Lewis would see the modern-day right wing religious movement in this country as downright anti-christian. And to think now that his classic epic "The Chronicles of Narnia" is being used to convert innocent children into adopting the warped and evil interpretation of Christianity held by American right wing, neo-con Christian fanatics makes me absolutely sick.

I first read the 7-book Narnia series when I was in elementary school. At that time and up through my high school years these same right wing, neo-con Christian fanatics who are now trying to use Narnia for their own evil purposes were, at that time, denouncing Lewis' works. They perported Lewis was encouraging black magic and devil worship by setting his story in lands were witches and satyrs were as common place as human beings. In fact, by having talking beasts like the benevolent and brave lion Aslan, these Christian fanatics claimed Lewis was saying common beasts were of greater value than human beings...which, in my opinion, they probably are. But that's a discussion for another time.

Now that these right wing, neo-con Christian fanatics are using Narnia for their purposes, liberals are coming out to try and stop children from seeing the new movie. Having not seen it myself I can't account for it's adaptation, but the effect upon reading Lewis' brilliant literature will no doubt be dramatic. Yes, it is true that Aslan is an alegory for Christ, but the Christ-figure is an archetype and dates back thousands of years before Jesus of Nazareth walked the earth. Lewis was trying to instruct children in moral behavior, but he was insistent on not using any direct religious references, let alone his own Christianity, to convery these moral messages: unconditional love, sacrifice, hope instead of fear, innocence protected from corruption. He knew that the Bible was not written for children and that stripping down the complex, oftentimes contradictory messages of the Bible to be ingested by children was flat-out wrong. So, he created an amazing tale of wonder, magic and make-believe to which children would respond.

I heard on the radio Randi Rhodes speaking out against Narnia. It was clear she wasn't sure what the books were about, but because the right wing, neo-con Christian fanatics were screening the new film in their churches as they did with "The Passion of the Christ," she was speaking negatively against the entire film and book series. I am a huge fan of Randi, and I realize she didn't know what she was talking about; however, I blame the right wing, neo-con Christian political movement in this country for making voices like Randi attack literature and films which are being wrongfully manipulated and corrupted.

When I've had a chance to see the film I will comment further on the film itself. But I could not sit back and not defend Lewis and his classic fantasy epic which was as important to my childhood as Tolkien's "The Lord of the Rings," or the King Arthur stories, or any of the many ancient mythologies I read over and over and over again.