Netflix’s upcoming “Narnia” adaptation is leaving BlazeTV host Allie Beth Stuckey with some concerns, especially considering the original author C.S. Lewis’ work has helped shape her to be the Christian she is today.
“His work really exists like in the backdrop of my mind,” Stuckey says, explaining that his work “drew [her] heart and [her] mind into wanting to understand Christianity better.”
“When you understand what he is trying to articulate when it comes to the battle of good and evil, the creation of the earth, the eternal plan of redemption that God is carrying off without a hitch, then those seemingly small and mundane descriptions in ‘The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe,’ they really just, they catch you,” she continues.
“And C.S. Lewis has an incredible way of doing that. And so I really care about this adaptation. I really care about how people are introduced to C.S. Lewis’ work,” she adds.
However, she doesn’t believe director Greta Gerwig is the right one to make the introduction.
While Stuckey admits that Gerwig is “very talented” and has directed films like “Little Women” and “Barbie,” she is now making headlines for “creating Narnia as what she describes as a rock opera.”
“And she’s cast Meryl Streep … as the voice of Aslan. He is the lion, if you don’t know, and he is the creator. He’s the one true king of Narnia. He is kind of the Christ character in C.S. Lewis’ fantasy series,” she explains.
Gerwig explained her reasoning as wanting “someone who was profound but not pretentious, who had gravitas but not morose self-seriousness. Someone who could communicate depth and pathos as well as joy and delight.”
“But Meryl Streep is a woman,” Stuckey says. “And Aslan is portrayed as a ‘he’ through this series. And it’s important.”
“Now I think there’s going to be a lot of guesses about whether or not this is some kind of message about transgenderism or gender fluidity or feminism. I don’t know. I don’t know. I mean, it is a strange choice when you think about a woman voicing a male character and continuing to be called male,” she continues.
“I don’t know if that is the political point that she’s trying to make, or if she’s just trying to do what a lot of artists do, and that’s blur lines and do things that don’t make sense,” she adds.
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