Narnia's Popularity -- Messiah Narrative?
Posted: Feb 28, 2010 1:59 pm
I read the following on Yale Daily News Online while going through Narnia news last week. The writer, Stephen Marsh, was commenting on someone else's review of his Feb 16 letter to the editor, "Critically Reading."
So, what are your thoughts? Are the Narnia books and movies popular right now because they contain a Messiah narrative [at least LWW] or is this incidental?
Let the discussion begin!
Construction of a narrative, regardless of how complicated or well-done it is, even if that narrative is plot-driven on surface, is still critical because of the underlying assumptions and arguments it makes.
Narnia's actually a good example. The reason Western society reacts so favorably to Narnia and to messiah narratives in general is because of the historical influence of the Jesus myth. Perhaps you can write out a descriptive plot summary or whatever of what happens in Narnia, but that's not how anyone actually functions and that's not how anyone reads. We read, knowingly or unknowingly, profoundly influenced by the Judeo-Christian narrative, and that influences how much we either like or dislike a book, how we think about the characters or whatever, the list goes on.
So, what are your thoughts? Are the Narnia books and movies popular right now because they contain a Messiah narrative [at least LWW] or is this incidental?
Let the discussion begin!