Hey everyone. Although I think I deserve some credit for the photo posts, I don’t think they really count all that much. As most of you know, there has been a lot going on recently that isn’t really the best for internet wide broadcasting, so I honestly haven’t had much to say. But enough excuses, on with the post!
So last night I went to a friends for a very nice dinner (thanks!) and watched The Chronicles of Narnia. I hadn’t seen it before. Now, I did not read the series as a kid, only reading the one when I was in high school. (Mostly because it was suggested by a girl I had a crush on. What? Can you think of a better reason to read a book?) As a result I can’t really comment on how close the movie was to the book, but I don’t remember howls of outrage from people when the movie came out, so I am hoping they did a good job. It did feel to me however that they pulled most of the religious overtones out of the story; I can see why they would, but it seems wrong to take out one of the underlying themes of the books in making the transition.
As a contemporary (and friend) of J.R.R. Tolkien, it is interesting to see the way in which the authors handled a difficult time in their country’s history in their work. I see the The Chronicles of Narnia as more a parallel to The Hobbit rather than the Lord of the Rings as the story (although having tragic events in the middle) pretty much turns out positively in the end. I am no literary scholar, but I found it interesting that C.S. Lewis took the route of basing his story on children who were being displaced due to horrendous events while J.R.R. Tolkien wrote stories that although they dealt with struggles paralleling the real world, had no direct connection to them. On a less serious note, I’m not sure it would be a blessing or a curse to live probably 20-30 years in a magical realm only to find yourself transported back to your adolescent bodies all of a sudden; probably a little bit of both.
And for whatever reason, the movie resulted in me having some seriously wacked out dreams last night. Very strange.