For years, Christian activists in the US have boycotted Walt Disney for its getting overly inspired by alien cultures and endorsing non-Christian values through its movies. That eight-year boycott came to an end last Christmas, with the release of The Chronicles of Narnia: the lion, the witch & the wardrobe.

Pre-launch publicity of the movie, even in our local newspapers, tagged it as a Christian allegory and lingered on this aspect of the storyline, almost making it the movie?s USP. While world box office turnovers are testimony of its universal appeal, I was quite disappointed to watch a movie that?s threatening to establish itself as a classic with just five viewers in the theatre. I really hope that was one exception of a day, otherwise I?d be tempted to believe that Disney?s marketing strategy that worked so well in its homeland and in the Western world is having adverse effects on Mauritian viewers? So I took it upon myself to investigate how ?Christian? a lion, a witch, and a wardrobe can get.

It?s true that, as an academic, C. S. Lewis, author of The Chronicles of Narnia, had a penchant for the study of mediaeval literature, and that the story itself, though written in 1950, is in line with allegorical fantasies of the Middle Ages. It?s equally true that mediaeval literature is highly didactic, often meant to uphold Christian morality? though not always. As a matter of fact, one of Lewis?s best known works is The allegory of love (1936), which investigates the evolution of romantic love in Mediaeval literature. Therefore, even though Lewis?s fantasy tells the story of knights, fauns, witches and gnomes, and closely resembles mediaeval allegories, does it mean that Lewis ? or director Andrew Adamson for that matter ? really aimed at producing a New Age Christian sermon? ?Everything begins with images,? Lewis said. ?A faun carrying an umbrella, a queen on a sledge, a magnificent lion. At first there wasn?t anything Christian about them; that element pushed itself in of its own accord. It was part of the bubbling.? Though the novelist denied to the death that he had purposefully planted Christian symbolism into this epic adventure, he couldn?t deny its presence therein. Pevensie children are called Sons of Adam and Daughters of Eve. Edmund is unable to resist temptation and betrays his brothers and sisters for a few Turkish delights. It?s hard to tell whether Edmund takes more after Cain or after the Prodigal son. Or is it rather that the Pevensie children act as Aslan?s disciples, Edmund being Judas and Peter being Saint Peter? The two girls also follow Biblical precedent, being the first witnesses of Aslan?s resurrection. Needless to say, this can only hold true if we acknowledge Aslan as a Christ-figure. Aslan sacrificing himself to save the sons of Adam and the Daughters of Eve, and the humiliation prior to his death, rowdily echo Christ?s execution. But then, aren?t we more used to view Christ as the Lamb of God than as a lion that roars in battle and makes bold appearances as a mighty warrior? If you?re asking yourself the same question, read on. The biblical quote that follows might enlighten your thoughts ? or confuse you even more.

With justice he judges and makes war. His eyes are like blazing fire, and on his head are many crowns... He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God. The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean. Out of his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. ?He will rule them with an iron sceptre. He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty. On his robe and on his thigh, he has this name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS. (Rev. 19:11-16, NIV)

So much for the lion. Now, what about the witch and the wardrobe? As far as I know, there cannot be anything Christian about the exclusively pagan persona of a witch. Curiously, though, Lewis?s witch is white, whereas the name Aslan sounds somewhat Middle-Eastern. For the sake of etymology, allegory is a term derived from the Greek word allegoria, which means ?speaking otherwise?. So if an allegory can be read at surface level and interpreted at different under-the-surface levels, if we can read just about anything into an allegory, then why does The Chronicles of Narnia have to be seen merely through a Christian lens? Why can?t it rather be perceived as a psychological allegory in which the Wardrobe is the gateway towards a psychological escapist world for children weary of the disruptive atmosphere of war? Obviously the movie ? and the tale ? addresses spiritual themes like ?why do good people have to suffer??, ?What do we do when we feel disappointment in God??, ?Why can?t we resist temptation?? and so on. But these seem more like themes any believer may relate to, irrespective of his/her faith. Incidentally ? or maybe not ? Aslan?s ?return? when he is needed to fight in the name of righteousness and then silently going away once his mission is accomplished, with the promise of coming back whenever Narnia will need him, reiterates Krishna?s words:

Whenever and wherever there is decay of righteousness?And a rise of unrighteousness,then I manifest Myself.Bhagavad Gita (Chapter IV-7)

?The Christian audience is less in need of Narnia than the secular audience,? says Lewis?s stepson, Douglas Gresham.

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