The screen version of C.S. Lewis’s The Lion, the Witch and
the Wardrobe hit movie theatres nationwide Dec. 9th, 2005. Many good and important commentaries have
appeared on the internet, and in due course I hope to make reference to at least
a few that I think especially helpful or significant.
Yesterday I came across New Testament scholar Ben Witherington's blog. I was delighted to
see that he has offered some observations on the movie, the first of which I hadn’t seen talked much about elsewhere. Concerning his various observations, he wrote:
The first is
Lewis' profound conviction that "we are all in this together" by
which I mean he stresses that the whole of creation is feeling the effects of
the fall and all of it, including nature must be redeemed. Romans 8 has a good deal to say about this if
we would but listen-- "for the creation was subjected to frustration not
by its own choice... but in hope, that the creation itself will be liberated
from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children
of God" (vss. 20-21). Lewis also
stresses that humans are the crown of creation, meant to rule over it. Though he loved an animated creation and creatures,
he did not worship Mother Nature nor think that humans are merely a part of
nature.
Good points, those. Witherington continues:
The second major
theme, is that indeed there is a deep moral logic undergirding and overseeing
the world, and that when the times are out of joint, they must be set right.
But that which sets things right is a free act of sacrificial love, which while
not setting things back like they were before the fall, instead carries
creatures and creation to a whole new act of creation. . . Especially telling
in this version of the Christian story is that Aslan dies in particular for
Edmund-- Edmund the liar and betrayer. Jesus
himself reminds us in the 4th Gospel that while a person might die for their
friends or for a good person, but who would die for a betrayer or liar or
enemy? The answer is Jesus would,
showing that his love is pure grace--- unmerited favor freely bestowed,
undeserved benefit freely given.
This is good, solid stuff.
There are lots of Christian touches in the movie that the
astute reader will pick out, like the fact that Aslan revives God's frozen
people by breathing on them (see John 20) or like the moment at the end of the
battle where Aslan kills the witch and says "It is finished" (see John.
19). It becomes clear that this Christ
figure owes most to the Gospel of John. Let us hope that the Christian themes
of the movie are not so unobtrusive that audiences will largely be oblivious to
them. Let us hope they at least fall in love with
true goodness and beauty and thereby with truth. Let us hope enough go to see this movie, that
the next episode in the Chronicles of Narnia will be a lovingly and well
filmed.