Expelled from Narnia: Is Intelligent Design just another fairy tale?

"That's all nonsense, for babies... Only fit for babies, do you hear?"

"Who has been telling you all this nonsense?"

"Who has been telling you this pack of lies?"

"And never let me catch you talking -- or thinking either -- about all those silly stories again. ... do you hear?"

Prince Caspian has been telling his uncle, Miraz the usurper, about Aslan and the Old Days of Narnia when animals could talk. Miraz' response sounds like the reaction of many to those who believe God, or some Intelligence, had something to do with life as we know it today. Agnostic academics, such as Richard Dawkins and P.Z. Meyers, clearly want God left out of science. Miraz expels Caspian's Nurse from the Knigdom, and if the movie Expelled can at all be believed, biologists who even mention the fairy tale of "Design" are being expelled from the Academic Kingdom.

Of course, detractors of the film claim that the "expelled" were not removed from their jobs because they questioned whether unaided and unguided evolution was enough to give us the complexity of life (and in lifeforms) that we have today. But the "expelled" in the film at least perceive that this was the reason. It does seem evident to me, just from reaction to the balanced coverage Greg Wright has been doing on the movie, that opposition to the concept of Design is fierce. So it is not hard to deduce that there must be something to this.

But what of Intelligent Design? Is the concept credible? Or is it just Creationist Fable? The movie, as well as I.D. opponents, seem to lump Creationists and I.D.-ers into one basket. Stein, et al., are a bit inconsistent, at one point trying to show their differences, but, ultimately, failing to differentiate the two at all. The film, especially the closer we get to the end, seems to be about contrasting the agnostic approach with any approach that includes God. Theistic Evolutionists included.

Is it really so incredible to include God in science? Or do we need to push Him as far out of the debate as possible to avoid the conflict of Church and State? Or is pushing Him out of the debate an affront to our freedoms, as Stein asserts? There certainly seem to be political agendas on both sides.

I like what the Webmaster at Hollywood Jesus, David Bruce, had to say about all this:

Nearly everyone believes there is something more behind creation of the
universe than just mere chance. Is it any surprise that most evolutionists
believe in God? The big question is not evolution, but rather what are we
doing to connect with both the creation and the creator?

This article also appears on Hollywood Jesus, in a slightly altered from.

Prince Caspian: Anticipation is keeping me ... speculating

Four weeks from this coming Friday, I am scheduled to take flight (in an airplane--although I expect to be flying high emotionally, too) to New York to see a pre-screening of the new Chronicles of Narnia film, Prince Caspian. I plan to write a preview article the early part of May, and then a more complete review the weekend the movie is released across the U.S. (Prince Caspian hits theaters May 16.)

In light of rumors about the film (some apparently well-substantiated), I thought a preview before the preview was in order. The movie is not going to be exactly like the book, to say the least. This is unsettling to many Narnia fans, but apparently necessary. I reported in Hollywood Jesus' Narnia News Blog in February that NariaFans.com had posted an exclusive interview with Douglas Gresham, C.S. Lewis’s step-son and co-producer of the Chronicles of Narnia movies. Here are his comments about the changes:

Well we did have a bit of a problem with making Prince Caspian the book into
Prince Caspian the movie. You see, its largely a book of walking and talking.
The kids arrive in Narnia and then Trumpkin arrives and they all sit down and he
tells them the story of Prince Caspian. So if we had stuck to the book half the
movie would be four kids and a dwarf sitting round a camp fire talking. And then
they all get up and go for a nice long walk in the woods, arrive at the other
end and there’s a battle. Now this all works very well in the book, but it would
make a very poor movie. What we needed to do was to find a way of making the
story of Prince Caspian integral to that of the four Pevensies and carry both
through the whole movie. The raid is a part of that process. Its never as easy
as you think.

The "Night Raid" was one of the first "changes" to the book that hit the Internet rumor mills. This is as good a place to start as any.
Warning: The balance of this article will contain spoilers and speculations about the movie.

The Night Raid
In a recent Disney Insider, director/producer/co-writer Andrew Adamson gave some insights into the ideas he incorporated into the movie. “I thought it would be interesting if mythological creatures like the Narnians invaded Miraz’s medieval castle. It’s an image I’ve never seen before.” This is apparently the Night Raid that has been talked about on the Internet since at least last September. It is hard to imagine how this is going to fit, as it happens (according to Rpin Suwannath, previsualization supervisor for the movie) "only halfway through the story." I hope that this sequence is not all about the Narnian creatures taking revenge on the Telemarines. I am concerned by what Quint from Ain't It Cool News said in his report about the 45-minute preview he saw: "...these young teens and CG creatures [were] wantonly killing hundreds of soldiers." How this reconciles with Andrew Adamson's statement to MSM that the movie is "more intense, but it’s not bloody or gory," I'm not sure. Anyway, accoring to Quint, the "Raid" does not go well, and humbles Peter, who planned the attack.

Conflict between Caspian and Peter
The impression I get from the reports I've seen over the past several months is that Prince Caspian meets up with the Pevensies much earlier in the film (perhaps at Cair Paravel) than in the book. This gives more time to develop the tense relationship between Caspian and Peter. In the Disney Insider interview, Adamson remarks that "at one point Caspian’s consumed with vengeance, further escalating the conflict between him and Peter." I think this could be a good thing. Caspian has gone though the crucible, and it will be good to see the inevitable emotions worked through and resolved.

Reepicheep's Size
This might seem a very minor point, but it was important enough to C S Lewis that he described Reepicheep's size more than once, and Lewis is not big on details. From the small amount of footage (in trailers and commercials) I have seen, it looks that Reepicheep might appear on screen as a regular-size mouse. He is almost two feet in the book. I can't find it right now, but Lewis says somewhere in the books that the smaller talking animals are bigger than "normal," and the bigger ones are smaller than their non-speaking counterparts.

The White Witch
Narnia fans have been perplexed about the appearance of The White Witch in Prince Caspian. Isn't she dead? I think what the film creators are trying to do is to reproduce in a visual way the intensity of the scene in Chapter 12, "Sorcery and Sudden Vengeance." Talking about conjuring up her ghost works for the book. Visualizing her "in ice" might just work better on film.

The Relationship Between Caspian and Susan
Adamson has said that one of the prevailing themes in the movie is "the passage into adulthood." Part of growing up is learning to relate to the opposite sex. It has been reported that in the movie, Caspian and Susan flirt with each other. The reaction by fans of the book seems to be overwhelmingly negative to these reports. "This can't be; it doesn't line up with what happens in the other books." I happen to disagree. Although there is no hint of flirting in the book, I think this might be a good thing. Let me try to explain.
As I've indicated before, Lewis does not provide much detail, so it seems appropriate to "read between the lines." I think this is a good read. Here is an exiled prince (at the hight of puberty) with no human companionship except the four Pevensies. Among them is an attractive girl about his age who is obviously cultured and refined. It only seems natural to me that there would be some kind of "spark" between them. Of course, this cannot become serious (especially if Walden and Disney are indeed serious about completing the series), but I see no problem with a bit of flirting.
We do know that Susan is left behind in this world in The Last Battle, but we do not know her final fate. She has put her social life (lipstick and nylons and invitations) above her belief in Narnia, but what affect will the death of her siblings have on her? Will she be restored much as Narnia is restored in Prince Caspian? I suspect we will still be left hanging when the movie series is completed--unless they decide to read between the lines...

This post also appears as an article at Hollywood Jesus.

Review of Michael Ward's "Planet Narnia"

Last November I learned that a new scholarly work on The Chronicles of Narnia was coming out. Michael Ward had written an article promoting his book, Planet Narnia, in the December 2007 Touchstone Magazine. (The book was released in January of 2008.) I came across the article online while searching for news articles about the coming Prince Caspian movie. I was immediately intrigued, and wrote up a report for the Narnia News Blog I write for HollywoodJesus.com. (For more on the premise of Planet Narnia, see by Blog report and Ward's web site.)

One reason I was so intrigued is that scholarly works on The Chronicles of Narnia are few and far between. Ever since Walden and Disney announced they were working on the movie The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe, there has been no shortage of books written about Narnia, but few of them would qualify, in my estimation, as scholarly. Certainly, these books have their place, and I'm sure many readers are grateful for the help they have received. But Planet Narnia portended to go deeper, beyond the fluff and quickly recognizable "lessons" that can be learned by the books. (Not that we don't need to be "hit over the head" with the obvious once in awhile.)

Don't let Ward's "deepness" intimidate you, though. As should be obvious to anyone who has ever read any of my articles, I am a person of not much more than average intelligence, yet I was able to follow the book very adequately. I do admit that some of the literary references were a bit over my head, and Ward's vocabulary is much more advanced than my own. But I was not more lost than I imagine an American motorist touring in Paris would be--the words on the street signs might be difficult, but the International symbols would be enough to give direction. He paints a vivid enough picture that you can figure out the "foreign" words--especially if you have a good dictionary handy. Armand M. Nichol put it this way in his endorsement of the book (from the back of the dust jacket):

Michael Ward presents an absorbing learned analysis of C. S. Lewis's best-selling and beloved series, The Chronicles of Narnia. Readily accessible to the average reader, Ward's book reads so much like a detective story that it's difficult to put down.

I had exactly that experience when I read the book. Having recently re-read the Chronicles myself, my reaction on page after page was "Yes. I see. I understand exactly what you mean. That makes so much sense."

The other reason that the book intrigued me is that it included a part of Lewis's life we do not hear much about. There have been books after books written about C. S. Lewis's Christianity, but little about his great love of poetry and medieval literature. The book centers around Lewis's fascination with the medieval concept of the Heavens. His poetry is filled with the Seven Planets, and his science fiction space trilogy (especially the last book, That Hideous Strength) is filled with medieval Planet imagery. How Lewis imaginatively integrated this love for the medieval cosmic understanding with his Christian beliefs is nothing short of amazing. It gives me a sense of what a genius he really was.

Not all Lewis fans are thrilled with Planet Narnia. In an interview Douglas Greshem, Lewis's step-son, did for Family Christian Stores, he called the idea that the Chronicles are based on The Seven Heavens "nonsense." Unfortunately, Greshem's objections seem to be based on a misimpression of what Ward is saying. I sincerely doubt that Greshem could have read the book. Ward does not believe that the books are "based" on the Seven Heavens, or Seven Planets, but that the Planets are purposefully hidden elements in the books. They provide atmosphere without being explicit.

Devin Brown, author of Inside Narnia and Inside Prince Caspian, apparently does not agree with Ward's premise at all. In an audio interview available from The Christian Studies Center at the University of Kentucky, Brown ridicules the "hidden element" concept. He likens this to someone noticing that The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe uses W's repeatedly and concluding that Lewis intentionally used W's as some sort of literary device to write his story. This seems to me to be a pile of straw. Ward's conclusions about Lewis's "imaginative strategy" (Ward's words from page 4 of the book) were based on Lewis's interests and writings, not just on patterns found in the 7 Chronicles. Lewis was not interested in something as insipid as basing a book on words beginning with W. He was definitely interested in medieval astronomy and hidden elements in Romance literature. I must conclude that Brown's reactions are based on an incomplete knowledge of Ward's book.

If you are interested in learning more about C. S. Lewis from someone who has studied his works much of his life, this book may be just what you are looking for. You will want to find a nice quiet place to read with no distractions, as this one will make you think. And it will make you appreciate the creator of Narnia more than you could have imagined.

Prince Caspian Preview in New York City

This May I will be heading for New York city for a Press-only preview of the film Prince Caspian. I am told that this will be one of the first showings of the film after its "final cut." The screening of the film is scheduled for Friday evening, May 2, and there is supposed to be a time for interviewing those involved with the film the next day. See my previous post for information about my work with Hollywood Jesus.

Long Overdue Update!

Thank you for visiting my Blog. Due to a recent death in the family, illness, and just plain busy-ness, I have not been able to update my Blog for quite awhile.

Notice: The domain name of my eBay Bookstore is not currently working due to some miscommunication with the host of that domain. IHaveanInklingBooks.com will not take you to my Store at this time. Please use http://stores.ebay.com/iHaveAnInkling Thank you.

Update, 19March, 2008 -- The problems with iHaveAnInklingBooks.com have been resolved. You should now be able to use that link. Sorry for any inconvenience.

I have been continuing the News Blog for Prince Caspian at Hollywood Jesus. You can view that Blog at http://live.hollywoodjesus.com/?cat=24

Recently I wrote an article for Hollywood Jesus about the ABC-TV series LOST. I examined the possible infuence C. S. Lewis might be having on the show. If you are interested, please visit http://live.hollywoodjesus.com/?p=1608

New Prince Caspian Widget!

This is the new Prince Caspian Widget for the United States.

ABC's Lost's Narnia Connection Confirmed

This blog entry (in a slightly altered form) first appeared as a "Narnia News Blog Update" on Hollywood Jesus 02/16/08.

As I reported last week, ABC's TV series "Lost" has a new character named Charlotte Staples Lewis. The name is obviously derived from Clive Staples (C.S.) Lewis, the author of The Chronicles of Narnia series of seven children's books. Disney released the movie The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe in 2005 based on the first published book in the series. Prince Caspian, the second book to be published, will premiere as a Disney movie this May.

C.S. Lewis was called "Jack" by his friends, and it has been speculated that the character Jack in "Lost" somewhat represents C.S. Lewis's journey from Atheism (man of science) to Christianity (man of faith).

The first episode of Season 4 ("Confirmed Dead") was aired on February 7, and was rebroadcast February 14 in an "enhanced" version with clues and tidbits added to the bottom of the screen. This enhanced version is available online. (See below.) Starting at 23:56 in the episode, we receive confirmation that Lost's C.S. Lewis is indeed related to both the author and his books:

This is Charlotte Staples Lewis... she is an anthropologist. Her name is inspired by C.S. Lewis... author of The Chronicles of Narnia... a story of an unlikely passage... to a most unusual place.

Charlotte is seen in a flashback in a desert in Tunisia. She has learned about an archaeological dig there, and identifies some bones as that of a polar bear.

We've seen polar bears on the island... now here's evidence of the furry creatures... in another unlikely location.

Charlotte does some digging through the sand near the bones and finds a leather strap.

A DHARMA logo form the Hydra Station... the discovery is very important to Charlotte.

Polar Bears also come into play in Lewis's first Narnia book, pulling the White Witch's sleigh. It is also interesting to note that another of the "rescuers" is named Miles Straume*, which is a reference to "Maelstrom." "Maelstrom" originally referred to the tidal waters around Norway, and is important in their mythology. (In English, Maelstrom can refer to any Whirlpool-like phenomenon. The Asteroid Belt, which was thought by some scientists to be impassible, is often referred to by that name.) I mention this because the Disney Epcot Center ride "Maelstrom" in the Norway exhibit also has polar bears. Another inspiration?

To view the enhanced version of "Confirmed Dead" online click here, then select either 'Lost Season 4" or 'Lost Season 4 in HD Streaming" from the left-hand menu. Then click 'watch now" for "Confirmed Dead-Enhanced 02/15/08." (The date refers to when the episode was put online.)

*I am told Straume is also the name of a town in Norway.