Sentiment at the Movies

Usually my wife and I are too frugal (or cheap if you wish) to see many new releases in the theater. We have netlfix and prefer to wait until they come out on DVD. Recently we've broken this habit for two new releases. However, I really wish we hadn't.

The two movies we deemed worthy of our hard earned money were Prince Caspian and Indiana Jones. I must say, I was sorely disappointed with both. Now I'm no movie critic and I certainly don't want to persuade anyone to think one way or another about these films, and for all I know, no one even reads this blog yet, so I guess it makes no difference; but, I have had several conversations about these films in recent days and thought this would be a good place to say some things I've been thinking.
1. I think that there should be a law passed that alerts the movie goer that they are about to see another alien movie before they purchase a ticket. Seriously. Indiana Jones is NOT supposed to be about aliens! Oh well.
2. Whoever owns the rights to C. S. Lewis' works needs to be drug out into the street and shot for allowing Hollywood to butcher his work. I was aghast at what the producer and/or writer did to Prince Caspian. Not only are there entire sub-plots in the movie that are not even suggested in the book, but the whole thing smacks of Americanisms that are simply not there in the book. I noticed this problem first in the movie version of The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe. In that movie the children behave like bratty, spoiled, self-centered Americans. In Prince Caspian the acting has improved (I suppose the age difference might have something to do with it), but the annoying 21st century influence is still there. In the book Peter tells Caspian that he hasn't come to take the kingdom but to give it to Caspian. Not so in the movie. Instead the writers thought it would be better for a power struggle to play out for a little while. Also, Lucy found Aslan more toward the beginning of the story, and there was no disobedient self-reliant raid on Miraz's castle. A central theme of the book that has been undermined in the movie is that of faith and trust in Aslan. The movie simply destroys the characterization so central in Lewis' work, and in doing so, the rich symbolism is almost lost.

These were just some of the things that bother me most about these two movies. Why do these things even matter? one might ask. Well, for me, I guess it's the sentimental attachment I had to the stories told by each. I grew up watching Indiana Jones and I remember how much fun those movies were. This new one doesn't convey the same sense of "believability," if you will. And I've read the entire Chronicles of Narnia a few times and they've become one of my favorite fiction works. It seems then that the primary issue is that of expectations. Someone who knows nothing of the old Indiana Jones movies or of Lewis' written Narnia series probably won't take much issue with these movies. But someone with enough experience to know what great things could be, but what is painfully not, is negatively affected by these films.

As I sit here typing out these thoughts, one thing moves to the front of my mind. This is a very good analogy of what is happening to today's Churches. Those who have actually felt true community with both the Head of the body, Christ, and with the body itself, the church, are becoming increasingly disappointed by the 21st century, American-dream, consumer-driven, man-exalting "churches" that do such a poor job at accurately portraying the true church as described in the written Word of God. From conversations I've had about these two dissimilar subjects, it seems to me that this younger generation, mine, is ready for a genuine attempt at accurately presenting the original Author's story and message.