This postI’m not entirely sure what’s going on, but I feel busier than I’ve been in a long time. Objectively speaking, though, I don’t think that’s actually the case. It’s weird. At any rate, this perceived busyness is the reason I haven’t been posting quite every day. (Much to everyone’s relief, I’m sure. ;))
But that’s not even what I wanted to blog about tonight. I just got back from seeing Prince Caspian. I haven’t read the book in a long time, so comparisons there are useless (because I frankly can’t remember what was in the book and what wasn’t, though there are a few bits I know for sure weren’t in the book :)). Overall, though, I liked it. It wasn’t perfect, and it’s not my favorite movie ever or anything, but it was worth it.
Over the past few years I’ve noticed an interesting evolution in my tastes. Before, I was all over Narnia. Loved it. Ate it up. Said they were my favorite books. But since then I’ve started siding more with Tolkien — make no mistake, the Chronicles are still dear to me, but they now feel more…hmm…pastiche is the word Tolkien used, I think. And that’s part of it. I don’t really know how to describe it, other than to say that Tolkien’s Middle-Earth feels like it fits better together, like it’s more realistic (in a fantasy way), more believable, more grown-up. (Sidenote: since Narnia was ostensibly written for children, of course, that’s not a fault of the books; I’ve just grown up, that’s all.)
So, the stories of Narnia no longer feel like the best writing in the world, no. But the real reason I loved them, and the trait that remains in them even now, is the Christian symbolism. I don’t quite know why it works so powerfully (at least for me), but it does, and it’s amazing. And it makes up for whatever faults the tales may have. The deeper story is what counts, in spite of the chinks in the surface armor.
Anyway, my favorite bits from the movie were the Christian parts, definitely. But the fight scenes were quite well done, I thought — I felt gripped and involved in a way that usually doesn’t happen. And I didn’t mind the additions that weren’t in the book.
In summary, Prince Caspian isn’t a great work of art the way the Lord of the Rings movies are, but it’s still worth it. (And LOTR’s Christian symbolism isn’t exactly overt. It’s there, and that’s good, but it would really be nice to have something else that mixes Narnia’s symbolism with LOTR’s artistic pinnacle. Or at least I think it would be nice; maybe it wouldn’t work. Who knows?)
