Aslan as an Allegory for Christ

I once read an article that God’s love was conditional. It was shortly before my mission, and it really concerned me. I had been talking with one of my friends who left The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, when I told her that God’s love was unconditional. She said it wasn’t and I researched it on the Church’s website. After reading the article I found, I decided to talk with my bishop. He had also come across the same article and it troubled him at first, but then he used the last book in the series of “The Chronicles of Narnia” to explain it to me. He told me about three groups that enter the same shed, but find very different things there. It was then that I understood God’s love is always there, but we will not always feel it.

            Religious allegories make eternal truths accessible. C.S. Lewis’s “The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe” uses fantasy to appeal to children and makes the biblical story of Christ interesting and understandable. With these affordances, however, there are also limitations to further appreciation and interpretation.

            “The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe” holds a comparison similar to the one used by my former bishop. When Aslan’s name is mentioned for the first time, “everyone felt quite different…. Edmund felt a sensation of mysterious horror. Peter felt suddenly brave and adventurous. Susan felt as if some delicious smell or some delightful strain of music had just floated by her. And Lucy got the feeling you have when you wake up in the morning and realise that it is the beginning of the holidays or the beginning of summer” (p. 67). They each felt something different because of their poor or proper behavior. In LDS doctrine, we talk of feeling comfortable in the presence of God. We can only feel comfortable in His presence because of Christ’s sacrifice, but our actions will have an effect on our guilt. Edmund had been deliberately deceitful to his siblings and, as such, could not feel good about the prospect of meeting the King.  Peter, Susan, and Lucy were delighted because they were not weighed with guilt. In the end, we are all unworthy to be in God’s presence of our own accord, which is why they tremble when the opportunity to meet Aslan finally comes. The allegory is very didactic, telling children they must be good to be happy with God. While this is true in part, it forgets that the Atonement is not only for obvious sins, but for everything. “The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe” states that Aslan died for Edmund, but children may not expand that understanding to realize that Christ died for everyone.

            “The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe” is a good beginning, but it does not allow for a full comprehension. I am grateful for the metaphor my bishop used to help me understand an eternal principle that was hard to grasp, but I know there are nuances that I do not understand. The same will be for children who read the story of Aslan and these children, and they will need to look to other books to learn beyond the allegory.

Side note: I never understood the reference of this song by one of my favorite bands in high school. Now I do :)

"Brave" and Independent Women: The Fall of Fatherhood and Family in Film

I am grateful for the increasingly positive portrayals of motherhood in mainstream media, but not when it comes at the expense of mocking fatherhood. As a true feminist, I believe in equality of respect for both genders in whatever role they choose to take on. "Brave" (dir. Mark Andrews and Brenda Chapman, 2012), although it holds an uplifting message about mother-daughter relations, insults fathers with its one-dimensional dad.

"Brave" follows the story of Merida, a Scottish princess with a pushy mother. Her mother, Elinor, encourages her to choose a suitor, but Merida, feeling unready, finds a witch and asks for a spell to change her mom. The potion ends up turning her mother into a bear and it is only through reconciliation that the magic can be undone.

At the beginning of the film, typical gender roles and stereotypes exist. When Merida's father gives her a bow and arrow for her birthday, the mother is mortified and repeats later that weapons aren't proper for a lady to possess. Elinor teaches her that princesses must be lady-like, and the ultimate goal is to become a queen and prepare to wed a king. Writing under the assumption of LDS doctrine that families are essential to God's plans, I also believe this is our ultimate goal, but a family consists of a husband and wife working together to care for children.

Unfortunately, being a nurturing father is not seen as honorably masculine. Masculinity is characterized by aggression and independence. And nowadays many media portrayals characterize men and fathers as useless and incompetent. "Brave" limits men to this, too. First, when the other tribes arrive, they fight about their greatness. King Fergus laughs, and it is not settled until Elinor interrupts and brings order. The tribes fight again when the queen is missing and has not come to give a decision for the betrothal. The king involves himself in the mess and Merida saves the day this time. Finally, as the tribes fight the Mor'du, it is only the mother as a bear that is able to defeat him. Merida and Elinor never need Fergus. The family does not come together to work as a team. This sends a message to men that they are unnecessary and incapable within a family. Viewing themselves as pointless within family life, men avoid preparing for a family and focus on acquiring attributes other than nurturing. The times that Elinor and Fergus are together, their parenting styles conflict and there is continual discord. Can’t parents work together in unity? Don’t we need some good examples for children to see?

Although “Brave” limits the portrayal of fatherhood, it does redeem itself by showing the importance of motherhood. It expands motherhood beyond homemaking by placing Elinor in a position of power where her influence is significant, but the film also teaches the significance of her role as a mother with an emphasis on the effect of loving, listening, and understanding within that relationship. It also calls children to do the same. Not all responsibility is on the parent to create a harmonious home. Merida has to humble herself and appreciate her mother before the curse is lifted.

Children can learn from Queen Elinor and Princess Merida’s examples to be patient and full of love, but they are limited to seeing men as aggressive idiots because of King Fergus’ example. These portrayals hinder an understanding of healthy family relationships and an ability to see fatherhood as an important part of masculinity.

Additional viewing: One of my favorite films, "Waitress," does the same thing. The men are lustful and abusive. Kerri Russell's character progresses more without them. It is an important story about a woman surviving and overcoming harmful relationships, and it is an important representation of a different family dynamic, but does good fathering have to be sacrificed for strong mothers?

The Importance of Dad's: Fatherhood--Our Eternal Destiny

I Wish: Child-like Perspective on Miracles and Traditions

Before we began “I Wish” (dir. Koreeda, 2011), our professor asked us how the child’s perspective is privileged in the film. Through cinematography, story elements, and assumptions made about children’s beliefs, the film is able to “understand children,” as one critic said.

            “I Wish” is the story of two brothers. One of them, Koichi, who lives with their mother, hears a myth from a friend that when two bullet trains pass each other, a miracle happens, and upon seeing can make miracle happen in the viewers life. He plans a trip with the same friends to watch and make their wishes. He tells his younger brother, Ryu, who lives far away with their father, and he proposes to his friends that they also go. When they finally meet to witness the miracle together, it’s been six months.

            As we see their lives parallel, participating in similar activities such as school and spending time with friends, we also see the contrast in their perspectives. Koichi wishes for their parents to get back together so they can live together again. Koichi dreams of how they used to be with his family enjoying a picnic together. It affords child perspective because Koichi himself narrates it. Not only does the audience see what Koichi sees in his dream, but we also hear how he interprets it. Ryu on the other hand dreams of how their parents were constantly fighting. He also narrates. Viewers experience first-hand accounts, and moreover does not limit children to idealists as Ryu’s dream contrasts with Koichi’s.

            Another way in which the film “understands children” is through the camera’s position. It is always leveled with the children. One particularly memorable shot is when Ryu prepares to ask his father for money. The camera is stationary as Ryu sits. The father is forced to come into the frame by sitting cross-legged on the floor in front of his son.

The film creates a believable backdrop to the story with its presumption about kids and the merit they give myths. Just like it is children that are able to believe in Santa Claus, it is also children that pursue this bullet-train-miracle-legend. A child’s perspective is one that hopes in fictional possibilities because they are not jaded by reality.

Children’s media is important in perpetuating legends, and legends are often a significant factor in family traditions. In “I Wish,” Ryu and Koichi start a tradition by traveling hundreds of miles by train to see each other. It is hinted that they will do it again. But it started because of a Japanese tradition of seeing two bullet trains pass each other produces a miracle. The film is rooted in tradition and legend perpetuating the old and creating new. “My Grandmother Ironed the King’s  Shirts” (dir. Kove, 1999) also represents this effect of tradition and tales on family and childhood. The grandmother of the filmmaker created the legend by doing what is depicted in the story. The filmmaker perpetuates tradition in creating the film that will continue telling the story for her, but also preserves a family tradition of storytelling just in a different medium (film vs. spoken). Both films create and perpetuate tradition of familial and cultural significance.

            “I Wish” provides children’s perspectives to be explored. Director Hirokazu Koreeda helps us to understand children by helping us see how they see, dream how they dream, and believe how they believe.

While I was watching "I Wish," I was reminded of another film ("Little Manhattan", dir. Levin and Flackett, 2005) that shows the perspective of a child coping with the divorce of his parents. (It's Peeta before he was Peeta!)

And this film ("A Little Romance", dir. George Roy Hill, 1979) is another example about belief in legends providing for a childhood adventure. (Diane Lane when she was a teenager!)