Faith and Film: C.S. Lewis and the Chronicles of Narnia

July 28, 6:29 PMFaith & Culture ExaminerDr. Bob Beltz

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It has been a big summer for blockbuster movies .  If you happen to be a fantasy film buff, then you have had a visual feast.  Of course, the latest example in this genre is the Batman film, The Dark Knight, which is breaking box office records left and right.  My personal favorite has been The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian.  I can assure you that the fact that I was part of the team that developed and produced the film has not biased my opinion in any way, whatsoever! J  If you haven’t yet seen the film, I would encourage you to rush out immediately and try to catch it at your friendly neighborhood theater before it is too late.

You might wonder what makes Prince Caspian unique when compared to movies like Iron Man, Indiana Jones, or the flying rodent?  One answer I would point out is the quality of the source material it is based upon.  Prince Caspian is an adaptation of a children’s novel written by the brilliant Oxford and Cambridge professor C.S. Lewis.  Shorty after WWII, Lewis started writing a series of children’s books that eventually numbered seven and became known as The Chronicles of Narnia.  Although the books were targeted at a children’s audience, Lewis once remarked that part of his motivation for writing the stories was that he might weave in deeper messages that targeted parents as they read these wonderful adventure stories to their children.  Those deeper messages had to do with faith.

Lewis spent most of his later youth and early adulthood as an atheist.  Through conversations and discussions with friends at Oxford, including J.R.R. Tolkien, author of The Lord of the Rings, Lewis came back to the faith of his childhood.  In his biography, Surprised by Joy, he humorously points out that the night it happened he became the “most reluctant convert in all of England.”  As a spiritual man, his faith naturally flowed into his writing, including The Chronicles.  Let me share with you four spiritual themes that I think you can find in Prince Caspian.

Message One:  The return to faith. 

When Lewis was asked about the main themes of The Chronicles, he used the phrase "return to the true faith" to describe Prince Caspian.  One year after their return to England from Narnia and the story of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, the Pevensie children (the main characters in LWW)  are "drawn into" Narnia again (another Lewis phrase.)  They discover that 1,303 Narnian years have elapsed, and that the current rulers of Narnia - the Telmarines - believe the stories about talking animals and the great lion Aslan are nothing but fairy tales.  They also discover that Prince Caspian’s father has been murdered by his brother Miraz, and that Caspian himself has been forced into exile by the usurper. Thus, the battle to defeat Miraz, and restore the throne to its rightful occupant, is also a battle to bring the truth of Old Narnia and Aslan back.

Message Two: We walk by faith, not by sight. 

One of the classic scenes in the book involves the first sighting of Aslan by Lucy Pevensie, the youngest of the four children.  As the children work toward a rendezvous with Prince Caspian, they lose their way.  Lucy sees Aslan.  He communicates to her that they are to follow him.  But, none of the other children see Aslan.  Lucy's route seems counter-intuitive to everyone, except Edmund. (When Edmund didn't believe Lucy in the first story - bad things happened!)  A decision is made to ignore Lucy's vision, and everyone, including Lucy, head off in the direction that seems best to them. The decision proves to be disastrous. Then Lucy has her second encounter with Aslan.  When she complains that the others wouldn't listen, Aslan confronts her about her own unwillingness to go against the majority and follow him anyway. Lucy finds herself once again facing her siblings and announcing that even if they don't follow her, she is going to follow Aslan.  Reluctantly, the group follows, and one-by-one, as they step out and follow, they begin to see Aslan.  It is a powerful image of the spiritual principle that often we “walk by faith, not by sight,” and that sometimes it is only as we believe that we truly see.  One of the advertising slogans used to market the film was, "Believe and See."

Message Three:  Three kinds of "people."

 Continuing with the theme of faith, Lewis created a number of characters that model different kinds of faith.  Three prominent characters stand out in this regard: Trumpkin, Trufflehunter, and Nikabrik.  They could represent three kinds of people that we can find everyday in almost every situation and circumstance.

 Trumpkin, the Dwarf, is the resident doubter.  He doesn't know what to do with the old stories.  Trumpkin begins to "follows the facts."  His faith begins to grow.  He eventually comes to complete belief when he meets Aslan face-to-face.

Nikabrik, the Dwarf, is the hard-core unbeliever. Ironically, even though he doesn't believe in Aslan, he does believe in the power of the supernatural.  When the children and Caspian face defeat, he suggests using the power that kept Aslan at bay for a hundred years; i.e., the power of witchcraft. 

At the opposite side of the faith spectrum we find Trufflehunter, the Badger.  He is a true believer.  He has complete faith that Aslan will show up and win the day.  In the end, he is the one who is correct.  His faith doesn't waver, and he becomes a source of encouragement and motivation when things look bleak. 

Message Four:  Fight the good fight. 

Of all of The Chronicles, Prince Caspian is by far the most militant.  As a professor of Medieval Literature, Lewis was an expert in the fields of medieval warfare and chivalry.  Having fought and been injured in World War I, and writing The Chronicles shortly after the end of World War II, Lewis believed there was a place for going to battle for the cause of good against evil.   Prince Caspian involves a number of battles.  Both in the book, and in the film, the forces of good are not always victorious.  Lewis had a very realistic assessment that spiritual warfare is not easy.  It is much like the great battles and wars of history where steadfastness and persistence are required to win.

So if you’re looking for something to do in the next few days, take a chance on Prince Caspian!  And if you find spiritual themes I’ve missed, let me hear from you!