I was painting with my brother-in-law today and we started talking about the new "Narnia" movie. I haven't seen it but it looks like they tried to take the in-your-face and over-the-top, Peter Jackson epic approach to the film. It's not really how I pictured the story.
On my sister's referral, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe was the first book I ever remember reading. I could make out the words but couldn't follow the sentences. I was around kindergarten age. Since then, I have read the book more times than I can remember.
I started talking to my bro-in-law about how I liked children's books. I said reading a kid's book is kind of like people's attitude in Utah: The world portrayed in a secure, reasonable way, where unfortunate things set you back but, ultimately, all the right things happen because that is the way of our good world. Good is our natural course. It's a nice, safe feeling but has little to do with the world where we actually live. For that reason, the shine has rubbed off of Narnia and now the grim lessons of life as shown in the movie "Shadowlands" are more applicable. The blows that cut us so deeply are what make us perfect. Perfectly what? You will need to determine yourself.
I will watch the Narnia movie but not with the enthusiasm I once held to visit that dream. I'm too old to return to Narnia, I guess. You can call me a Negative Creep and I will almost deserve it. My brother-in-law said I complained a lot on my blog. But I think all of my claims are defensible as more than just whining and also serve to explain dark truths to those who may not have thought about them before. My words can just as easily be helpful to others as they are damning of our own behaviors. And I have never flat-out said that Man is doomed or that life is not worth living. With that in mind, I see myself as an optimist. There is a beautiful world out there... now, if we can only get to it. I'm not beaten and neither are you.
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3 comments:
I'm not coming to a blog just to read how perfect everything is in the world of happyhappyjoy and Jesus will be back to make things even better any day now.
Narnia was never worth it in the first place. The movie isn't great, but that's Lewis's fault. The books blow. The plot is entirely constrained by crappy Christian allegory, and the development of Narnia is half assed.
So I teach college freshman--mostly upper middle class freshman I would have to guess. They are all nice kids, but they lack some kind of sympathy for those less fortunate than they and a general lack of interest in digging into issues that may implicate their economic status. While they are young of course and will grow into bigger ideas (i hope) I often feel that they lack struggle. This Christmas I saw my nephew (he's 24) for the first time in 5 years. His step dad beat him alot when he was a kid, His mom died when he was 18. He dropped out of school and got his GED, he rides bulls (at least until he broke some ribs)--Yet I've only met a few people in my life with so much heart. Respect for the few good things in his life are evident in everything he says. I know in essence that I'm only repeating what you already said, but yes it seems that struggle makes us better. The kids in my classes who have parents paying their tuition and buying them cars seem hollow, underdeveloped. Sometimes it hurts, but I'll take real over easy anyday.
No way Shootingstar!!! Give me easy. Buy me cars and pay my tuition. If I could just find that elusive sugar mama, all my problems would be solved :-)
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