Christianity in the BookIn the novel, C.S. Lewis uses his own Christian ideals in order to create a strict and rigid form of this religion. This is present through his books, The Screwtape Letters and Mere Christianity. Both texts identify common Christian themes such as morality and justice from a philosophical and theological perspective. These themes are critical within Narnia as Aslan must fight against the immoral ways of the White Witch in order to provide his world with a sense of justice and peace. The Witch acts as the resistance to salvation by manipulating his people (Edmund, in particular) and causing chaos and mishap to occur continually throughout the novel. Aslan is generally portrayed as a more rigid figure who is governed by traditions and laws rather than compassion and love though. While kind, he is not depicted in the novel as emotionally as the film portrays him. He represents the side of Jesus that focused on teachings and morality rather than on kindness and compassion for others. Thus, C.S. Lewis provides a strict and defined sense of the morality of Christianity in Narnia.
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Christianity in the Film In the film, Disney portrays a focus on compassion and love in Christianity rather than strict rules as the novel portrays. One of the situations in which Christianity is interpreted as more kind and gentle is in the scene when the children meet Aslan for the first time. The book suggests that they could not look upon his face and bowed in subjugation to him. The film portrays this meeting in a vastly different way as the children view him more so with acceptance and comfort rather than awe and shock. Despite these minor inconsistencies in comparison to the novel, James Russell suggests that Christians were ultimately the target audience for the Disney film. He explains that "over $5 million was spent on niche marketing which targeted Evangelical Christians, much of it suggesting that The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe was a potent evangelical opportunity and a profound expression of principled Christian faith" (60). Thus, Disney put in a lot of time and money to ensure their target audience was satisfied with the children's story and Christian themes within it. Therefore, the film by Disney may convey a gentler form of Christianity, but also attempts to match these religious themes that the book by C.S. Lewis illustrates.
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References
A Case for the NovelRussell, James. "Narnia as a Site of National Struggle: Marketing, Christianity, and National Purpose in "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe"". Cinema Journal, Vol. 68, No. 4 (2009): 59-76. Web. Summer 2009.
Craig, Patricia. "Narnia Revisited". Irish Pages, Vol. 3, No. 2 (2006): 160-174. Web. 2006. |
A Case for the Film |