Prince Caspian and Indiana Jones 4 - Boge

For those of you enamored (like me) in the worlds of The Chronicles of Narnia and Indiana Jones, the movie world has provided you with the excitement of two installments in these memorable series. Albeit, they are very different movies.

Prince Caspian, part of C.S. Lewis’ Narnia series, is another brilliant investigation in the life of a Christian. In particular, it investigates what it means to be a follower of Christ – what it means to follow Him when others won’t. Is our faithfulness to God’s call dependent on other people also being faithful?

The book to movie transition isn’t always what you would expect. For those who wonder about the road not taken – about what might have or could have or should have been…Aslan in the movie says that ‘we can never know’. But the book says, “No one is ever told.” So what’s the difference? In the book, Aslan is still omniscient; he simply chooses not to tell you what might have happened if you took the left at the fork instead of the right. In the movie, Aslan doesn’t seem to actually know. It makes you wonder why the filmmakers chose to change that.

I was speaking with a friend of mine who is not, yet, a follower of Jesus Christ. I was curious about her take on Aslan. Especially in the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. I wondered if she would pick up on what Lewis had intended. She gave her thoughts. None of which mentioned the symbolic connection between the lion in the movie and the Lion of Judah.

That’s the thing with symbolism. It’s a language. Sometimes we miss out on the symbolism and lose the meaning behind the film, having it reduced to a ‘cool movie with cool battles and great settings’. She had missed the point of Lewis’ Aslan.

Or did she?

I wonder if symbolism can speak to people and plant seeds in their hearts – if it can communicate to people’s hearts and leave an imprint, even if it is not consciously understood. Like a parable. I mentioned the symbolic connection between Aslan and Christ to my friend. She thought that was interesting.

I also saw Indiana Jones 4 (and American Graffiti/Close Encounters of the Third Kind/Star Wars - what a blast they must have had making this movie) and wondered about why the relic in this movie was not Christian (or Judeo-Christian) like it was in Raiders or Last Crusade. My friend, (a different friend, guy friend this time) said that he preferred a non-religious relic because at least there’s no risk of distorting the Christian faith through the myth of a relic. Interesting point. Everlasting physical life from drinking from the Last Supper cup of Christ versus everlasting life from drinking from the life of Christ.

Spielberg and Lucas had a new type of vision for Indy 4 than they had for 1 and 3. It makes me wonder what could have been if the movie centered on an investigation into the Christian faith through an archeologically significant piece.

But, of course, Aslan says that’s not possible to know.

At least not for me.

Paul Boge