InsaneJournal

I stare in puzzlement



After an apparently poorly translated interview with William Mosely where he is asked if Andrew Adamson is very religious, and he says Adamson is, someone comments in the entry where the excerpt was posted to say that Adamson is not that popular at Narniaweb because he’s stated that his Narnia movies are not religious. The interview is a little weird because it makes it look like *Will* is uncomfortable with Adamson’s "religiousness". *blinks*

Now, it’s not the fact that I know that at least some people on that set are not religious. Um…leaving aside the whole part where no one is being clear on what they mean by “religious”. Religious like me, or Jerry Falwell religious? British religious, or American religious?

I would not have in fact figured that anyone in the cast or crew was particularly religious. Why should anyone think that? It wouldn’t have even bothered me that some of them make a point of saying that they’re not religious. People make movies and tv shows about stuff they don’t believe in all the time, that’s why they’re called actors. Eric McCormick wasn’t really gay, and Rock Hudson wasn’t really straight, Rob Lowe and Alec Baldwin both play Republicans on tv and are well known for their liberal politics in real life.

What bothers me is that some people involved in the Narnia films- Andrew Adamson and Skandar Keynes in particular, have stated that they don’t believe they are making religious films. Which, I dunno, says to me that maybe they really actually don’t have such a great bead on the whole thing after all. Which is quite disillusioning. The best portrayal of Narnia ever is based on a deliberate attempt to bypass the entire point of the books. Well, that isn’t quite true. Adamson says he “respects Lewis’s message but he wants to tell the story his way.” And Skandar seems to understand Edmund so well, how can he be such a bloody perfect Edmund and fail to understand one of the major things that makes his character tick? He can be an atheist if he wants, what bugs me is the part where he doesn't understand that Edmund is *not* one. And he has to go and be so hot and be playing one of my favorite characters of like, any book I've ever read while he's doing it.

Why are all the good religious fantasy movies and tv shows done by people who don’t believe in it? How do they do that? I believe. I try and I try and I try to write stories that incorporate that and they are never as effective or well received as the ones by people who, it turns out, don’t even frigging care. Is not caring the big secret? The minute anyone suspects you really believe in what you’re talking about, suddenly they want nothing to do with it unless they can change your message to one that is more palatable to them. And one of the few times this century that a Christian author with a story identified as Christian from the get go (Harry Potter doesn’t count since JKR didn't tell us from the start that it was and the Christian community has still not embraced the series) has managed to gain respect and popularity from a secular audience and what happens? They go and make it theirs. I don't even want this to be an "us versus them" thing, but I don't know how else to put it.

The Christianity of Narnia, it seems, is considered by a certain sector of fans, to be its major flaw. "Oh no, here he goes, talking about God again, that just isn't gonna work for me." *sticks fingers in ears* "Lalalalala, tell me when he's done blabbing* about Jesus".

It's the spirituality that makes Narnia more than just a pioneering mid twentieth century children's fantasy series that's a bit of a cut above the others.

I guess what I’m getting at is, why can’t you let us have this? Don’t get me wrong, I’d rather have these stories in the hands of people who don’t believe this stuff than in the hands of scary fundamentalists but … I’d kinda hoped they’d be able to refrain from being in such denial about what it is they’re actually filming.

**which he never really does in Narnia. They are right that these aren't proselytizing books, but they do still have important religious content. There is such a thing as a middle ground, people.