This bold statement was put forward by a journalist writing for The Guardian newspaper.
The article itself looks at the role which the media plays in the controversial religious debate.The newly released film, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, an accurate adaptation of the classic novel by C S Lewis, has been placed under scrutiny for promoting the film as religious.The writer of the article, Polly Toynbee, makes no conscious effort to disguise her own opinions and thoughts of both the novel, the film and Christianity.It has been suggested that C S Lewis, a devout Christian, integrated his religious beliefs and the Christian ideology into his written series, The Chronicles of Narnia. Narnia itself is said to be a mixture of wonderful magic and mysticism, alongside Christianity.
However, according to Lewis, God is not the omniscient divine presence as we are all led to believe. Christ is in fact a Lion that goes by the name of Aslan. It is alleged however that due to our increasingly secular nation, young British children would not pick up on the message that Lewis is trying to convey. On the other hand, nations such as America have seen the release of the film as an opportunity to educate the young people into understanding the power of religion, and how good shall always be rewarded.
Jeb Bush, the Presidents brother and the governor of the state of Florida, has set up a scheme so that every child in the state will red the book. the co producer of the film has even set up a seventeen week Narnia bible study course for young children. Many people may find such schemes outrageous as true religion is being tainted by make believe.The director of the film explained that the Christian themes in the movie are open to individual interpretation. Polly Toynbee argues however, if it was so and the religious undercurrents portrayed in the subtext of the film were merely down to interpretation, why then were there two separate, contrasting soundtracks to the movie released? One that appeals to a more secular nation, consisting of an up beat pop genre.
The other consisting of religious music. She also argues that it is only possible to interpret a meaning that has been intended.The basic story tells of the rebellion of a young boy called Edmund who escapes his bossy and interfering sibling to take refuge in an alternate world. Edmund has been related to the "son of Adam" who sinned against God. Edmund is redeemed by Aslan who willingly sacrifices his life to save the child and repent his sins.
This shows a strong relation to the crucifixion of Christ. Surprisingly, if not predictably, the Lion is resurrected in order to teach the boy a life long lesson.Polly writes that "the most repugnant moment is the notion of Christ, who took our sins upon himself and sacrificed his body in agony to save our souls. Did we ask him too?" That statement alone confirms Ms Toynbee's position on the subject.
The purpose of the film and the novel was an opportunity for Lewis to invade the minds of children with his Christian iconography that initially demonstrates a fairytale of wonder and joy but is heavily laden with guilt, blame, ungodliness and sacrifice which expresses a story dark with emotional sadism.Aslan is said to be an emblem for all that an atheist would object to about religion. It is hugely biased and can be seen as a way of preaching belief to the mass audience.So there is one question I would like to ask.
Should our younger generations minds be manipulated by the power of fantasy, the one thing that maintains their youth and naivety?
