Will Poulter and Georgie Henley Discuss Spiritual Themes
Hollywood Jesus has posted some interesting quotes from Will Poulter (Eustace) and Georgie Henley (Lucy). Read it here.
Will: “I guess the biggest challenge for me was trying to represent Eustace as he is in the book. Everyone has a vision of what he looks like. I messed that up before I stepped on set, because he has dark hair. I was just very nervous about that.”
Toward the end of the report, they both talk about the spiritual themes of the book.
Georgie: “The books are classics, and they appeal to so many people. I don’t understand why people would think that it should be sidelined to a different audience—like a Christian audience or whatever. We have themes in the film that if you want to look for you can look for. And you will find—of course you will. That’s the way C. S. Lewis wrote the book. But I’m glad you said they’re not forced on you; I don’t feel that at all.”
I very much agree with Georgie. I think it's important that Christian themes in the Narnia films be as subtle and discoverable as they were in the books. I don't think a mainstream audience (including myself) would want to see the Christian themes in Narnia beaten over our heads for the sake of appealing to that one demographic or audience. I feel strongly that there are things that people of other faiths or of non-faith can take from Narnia.
I'm a Christian, and I don't think the Christian themes in the story are at all subtle, unless a baseball bat is subtle. I'm glad they are there, and I'm also glad people can read the books or watch the movies without finding offence. Everyone, enjoy!
It's a lovely interview; I'm glad to hear more from these two, and I'm glad their pushing Will in the promotions; He will carry the series forward…
I'm a Christian, and I don't have a problem with the themes being less-than-obvious. Lewis stated that he wrote the books to take Christ, in a way, out of the church and make him accessable, to sneak religion 'past watchful dragons' who keep it hushed and holy. I don't think he wanted the themes to be ignored (duh), but he definitely didn't want to be completely overt in his meaning. As long as the theme-content presented is similar to that of the books, I have no problem.
Georgie's and will's interview is lovely….i'm a muslim and i guess i am attracted to the films by not looking at the christians themes…but some of it is similar to our beliefs like we need God to help us in our hardships and to also obey him…and a couple others….but i guess this is good as more audiences will watch the series and therefore allow all the books eventually become a film…hopefully
I totaly agree. I'm a Christian too, and I think people who aren't belivers would be turned away if narnia was all like "repent, ye sinner!" And it has just enough Christianity (At least the other ones) in it that people can find Christ. I like the way they are doing it!
Nice. Remember Prince Caspian airs tonight and tomorrow on USA channel. Get your cameras ready if you see anything Dawn Treader related.
Georgie put that so well. i personally love seeing all the christian themes in the books and movies, but what i especially love is Lewis wrote the books with the importance that they appeal to all people, and not just one grouped audience. thats what makes Narnia so special, is that anyone, no matter their religion or beliefs, can enjoy Narnia in itself. and i believe that whether you're Christian or not, one will always get something out of Narnia, whether its a life-changing experience, a revelation, or simply a wonderful time that they can cherish. this is what makes Narnia Narnia. its what makes it so amazing and phenominal.
Whenever we hear from Will Poulter, he always sounds so gentlemanly and humble, i just love that :-D. i love that he takes the importance of doing a character justice and doing it well so much. i admire him for that. this is always giving me confidence in Eustace's character and telling me that Will has done a fantastic job, and that i will really enjoy watching Eustace. cannot wait!
very well put, Raticus! that is exactly what i absolutely love about the books, and what i love seeing in the films, is that the themes are "discoverable". Lewis did an excellent job of putting those themes in there so perfectly where those who understood them would find them and love them, but he didnt push it in our faces so much that it bothered others who werent as keen of seeing them. thats whats so perfect about Narnia. he made those themes discoverable, so that any person, whatever their beliefs, would enjoy Narnia for reasons of their own, whether they love the magic or epicness or those deep hidden elements. everyone has their list of why they love Narnia, and every list is right, because its all there. my list contains the love of those christian themes that i adore, the ones i love to discover, and thats wonderful. what makes Narnia so amazing is that ANYONE can enjoy it, and love it for what they love it for 🙂
ABC is playing LWW for their 25 Days of Christmas specials.
Christmas specials? we are in November! but it would be great!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Random, but Poulter's comment about "messing up" everyone's vision of Eustace because the character is described as having dark hair made me laugh. My introduction to VotDT was the BBC version, in which Eustace was also blond, so I always pictured him that way and never registered that description in the book when I read it. But unless a character's hair-color is a major part of that character's story (ie. Anne of Green Gables) an actor with different-colored hair doesn't phase me.
Its interesting because I don't recall Eustace ever being described as dark haired in the book. The illustrations depict him as dark haired but is it in the text? Caspian is described by Lewis as golden haired in Dawn Treader but in Prince Caspian, the illustrations depict him as having dark hair. Same with Lucy. So I agree, hair color doesn't matter much to me either.
I appreciate Will's comments about how seriously he took the role and how hard he worked to get it right. He is very professional and seems to genuinely care. Its important that audiences like Will's performance. He is the one who will drive people to see Silver Chair. The reviews are positive about his performance so far. I can't wait to see him!
Like ChristProclamer said, while Lewis wanted the themes to be subtle, he didn't want them to be ignored. The point is to get past people's biases, not to disappear in the face of them. I think that's an important distinction that's often overlooked.
I am a christian to and the christian elements are def THERE but i think that "we" would notice them more because were looking for them if u werent looking for them they arent obvious
HAHA same here i grew up on BBC versions never thought about what he was supposed to look like.. guess that shows how much we REALLY know bout Narnia huh?? LOL 🙂
Me too! I can't exactly remember what color I thought his hair was when I first read the book… brown, I suppose, but it really didn't matter to me.
Reepicheep never says "I just have this feeling that I was made for somewhere else, and that there must be something more." But if we ponder Reep's journey, we realize that is what is going on.
By "subtle," I just mean that they are not spoon fed to you. You have to reflect on the story and ponder its meaning. True art requires interpretation, and that’s what CS Lewis did.
I could go on and on about why subtlety is so important, and why it makes the themes of the story MUCH more powerful, and why Lewis was so good at saying so much with so little. This is what the movie “Inception” is all about: In order for the inception to be successful, it is crucial that the subject not be consciously aware it is happening. If the subject becomes aware that ideas are being planted in his mind, he will immediately reject them.
This is why Lucy's line "you just have to have faith about these things" bothers me. It's not subtle at all. That's a baseball bat.
it's neat that you're muslim, and I'm really glad that people of different faiths can all enjoy Narnia. 🙂
sweet Annabeth…thanxs for your kindness…i'm glad also it attracts different religions….this proves how special the series is….i hope you enjoy watching The voyage of the dawn treader and to everyone else…so bring your glasses and take the best ride of your life…lol 🙂