Movie Sign!

[zfreelance]

Here's the review: Good movie.

Here are the thoughts:
I understand how these books were written with a clear Christian slant, and how they can be used as metaphors for many books of the Bible.

But I don't like how C.S. Lewis tells the stories. Not because they're not engaging, but because they are just frustrating. And the movie didn't help matters.

The moral of the story is that Narnia is a place for children. When you grow beyond it, you're no longer welcome. Susan Pevensie is completely excluded from The Last Battle because, "she's interested in nothing now-a-days except nylons and lipstick and invitations."

Many, many people have argued about what that means. Some believe that Susan is not welcome in Narnia because she has grown to love material things, something Lewis considered evil. Others believe that because Susan came into womanhood, she is no longer a "friend of Narnia." And there are some, like me, that believe that Lewis considered the very thought of adulthood abhorrent.

It doesn't strike me as misogynistic. Both Peter and Susan were told in Prince Caspian that they could never return to Narnia, because they were too old.

It's just frustrating.

Growing up is not something you can stop. Short of dying, you have to get older. And when you get older, you have to accept greater and greater responsibilities that will weight you down. And, as you get older and gain greater insight, you realize that you can't go back to what you were, no matter how much you may want to.
And, yes, you stop dreaming. If you can't have what you want, you settle for what you can have, because otherwise you'll go crazy.

And Lewis condemns that. Hell, he seems terrified of it. The world he created has no place for adults, even young ones.

But in his world, children are forced to grow up. They make adult choices, to kill or be killed, save one or save a hundred.
The movie only illustrates that.

How is that at all fair?

Lewis locks Narnia from Aslan's heaven, leaving behind those who could not stay young.
Also, he kills most everyone in a train crash so he can keep them young.
It's like a parent picking favorites.

You judgmental prick.

Allegory or not, the Narnia I believe in is not some kind of exclusive clubhouse that is so beautiful you don't want to leave, but kicks you out and locks the door when you're too old to be what they want.

And I don't think I'll be watching any more Narnia movies.