The Darkside of Narnia by Pullman

July 15, 2006 at 11:26 am (Narnia, Pullman/His Dark Materials)

The Guardian
October 1, 1998
“The Darkside of Narnia”
Philip Pullman
Link

Why are we marking the centenary of CS Lewis’s birth with parties and competitions? His books were reactionary and dishonest, says Philip Pullman

The centenary of C S Lewis’s birth on November 29 is being celebrated with all manner of hoopla, much of it connected in one way or another with the Narnia books. There will be an adaptation of The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe presented by the Royal Shakespeare Company, a 100th birthday party at the toy shop Hamleys, a competition for children to draw greetings cards based on the Narnia stories, and fresh editions of the seven books, with newly coloured illustrations.

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CNN Transcript of Narnia as Passion for Kids Segment

July 15, 2006 at 11:18 am (Children's Literature and Film, Christianity, Film and Myth, Narnia)

Link

VERJEE: The new film “The Chronicles of Narnia” tells the tale of four children who tumble through the door of a magical wardrobe, then they discover a wondrous land where animals speak and unicorns roam.

CLANCY: Sounds really good. On the surface, “The Lion, the witch and the Wardrobe,” the whole setup doesn’t seem to be deeply spiritual story. But why are the marketers focusing so much on religious undertones as they promote the film?

Delia Gallagher has more on that.
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NYT: Evidence of Christians Directly Influencing Marketing of Narnia (1/21/06)

January 21, 2006 at 12:25 pm (Children's Literature and Film, Christianity, Narnia)

Television Cul-de-Sac Mystery: Why Was Reality Show Killed?
By JACQUES STEINBERG
January 21, 2006
Link

AUSTIN, Tex. – A year ago, Stephen Wright and his partner, John Wright, embarked on a sociology experiment that only a reality show producer could concoct: theirs was one of seven families competing to persuade the residents of a cul-de-sac here to award them a red-brick McMansion purchased on their behalf by the ABC television network.

The unscripted series, “Welcome to the Neighborhood,” was heavily promoted and scheduled to appear in a summer time slot usually occupied by “Desperate Housewives.” Stephen Wright, 51, who was already living in a nice house a few miles away with his partner and adopted son, said he participated primarily for one reason: to show tens of millions of prime-time viewers that a real gay family might, over the course of six episodes, charm a neighborhood whose residents overwhelmingly identified themselves as white, Christian and Republican.
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BBC: Pullman attacks Narnia film plans (10/16/05)

December 26, 2005 at 3:31 pm (Children's Literature and Film, Christianity, Film and Myth, Narnia, Pullman/His Dark Materials)

Pullman attacks Narnia film plans
Author Philip Pullman has attacked plans to turn The Chronicles of Narnia into a movie series, calling CS Lewis’ books “racist” and “misogynistic”.

The first film in the series – The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe – is due to be released in December.

His Dark Materials author Pullman said the 1950s stories were “reactionary”.

“If the Disney corporation wants to market this film as a great Christian story, they’ll just have to tell lies about it,” he told The Observer.
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Holy war looms over Disney’s Narnia epic (10/16/05)

December 26, 2005 at 3:30 pm (Children's Literature and Film, Christianity, Film and Myth, Narnia, Pullman/His Dark Materials)

Holy war looms over Disney’s Narnia epic
As the UK prepares for a CS Lewis movie blockbuster this Christmas, a row has broken out about its Christian message
by Paul Harris
Sunday October 16, 2005
The Observer

To millions The Chronicles of Narnia are a childhood tale of wonder and triumph now made into a film that could inspire millions of children to read. To others, including the celebrated fantasy author Philip Pullman, they are stories of racism and thinly veiled religious propaganda that will corrupt children rather than inspiring them.

Either way, one thing is certain: this Christmas, and perhaps the next six, depending on sequels, everyone will be talking about Narnia. Disney is already in the middle of one of the biggest marketing campaigns in recent cinematic history. It is trying to lure both mainstream filmgoers and evangelical Christians, who will respond to CS Lewis’s parallels between his characters and the Bible. HarperCollins is set to publish 170 Lewis-related books in more than 60 countries, many of them Christian-themed works. Disney has hired Christian marketing groups to handle the film.
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For the Love of Narnia

December 26, 2005 at 3:23 pm (Children's Literature and Film, Film and Myth, Narnia, Pullman/His Dark Materials)

Hello! I see that many people are coming to this spot to read the Michael Nelson article about Narnia that I’ve linked to below. Please feel free to look around the rest of the blog; though I began this blog only to save articles that interested me (as a form of e-newspaper clipping), I’ve begun commenting on many of the topics that the articles I cite discuss. These topics include the following: mythology, popular culture, films and books(like Tolkien’s books, Harry Potter, Narnia, Star Wars, and Philip Pullman’s books), fandom, some politics, and some religion. These are all things that I’m studying in graduate school today, so I’d love to hear your thoughts on these topics as well as your thoughts on my thoughts! Thanks for coming and enjoy the article!

The Chronicle of Higher Education: The Chronicle Review
12/2/2005

For the Love of Narnia
By MICHAEL NELSON

The strategy for marketing the movie The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, which will open across the country on December 9, resembles nothing so much as the strategy used to re-elect George W. Bush as president in 2004: Pursue mainstream voters, er, viewers in widely broadcast ads that stress martial valor and family values, and target Christian evangelicals with overtly religious appeals church by church, radio station by radio station.
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New Yorker Article on Philip Pullman

December 26, 2005 at 3:02 pm (Children's Literature and Film, Christianity, Narnia, Pullman/His Dark Materials)

The New Yorker
Fact
Life and Letters
FAR FROM NARNIA
by LAURA MILLER
Philip Pullman’s secular fantasy for children.
Issue of 2005-12-26 and 2006-01-02
Posted 2005-12-19

Every year at the University of East Anglia, in Norwich, England, a guest is invited to speak on the subject of religion and education Sometimes, a prominent bishop is asked to deliver a lecture, but, as a rule, the event isn’t exactly a big draw. This year, the auditoriu was filled, and another room, with a video feed, had to be set up for those who couldn’t fit into the main hall. The speaker, Phili Pullman, is fervently admired for his sophisticated trilogy of children’s novels called, collectively, “His Dark Materials.” In Britain his books have sold millions of copies, and his often contentious essays on subjects ranging from censorship to education—“We nee to ensure that children are not forced to waste their time on barren rubbish” is a typical declaration—appear regularly in the London papers.
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‘Narnia represents everything that is most hateful about religion’

December 7, 2005 at 10:37 pm (Christianity, Narnia, Pullman/His Dark Materials)

Guardian Article
Children won’t get the Christian subtext, but unbelievers should keep a sickbag handy during Disney’s new epic, writes Polly Toynbee
Monday December 5, 2005
The Guardian

Aslan the lion shakes his mighty mane and roars out across Narnia and eternity. Christ is risen! However, not many British children these days will get the message. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe opens this week to take up the mantle left by The Lord of the Rings. CS Lewis’s seven children’s books, The Chronicles of Narnia, will be with us now and for many Christmases to come. Only Harry Potter has outsold these well-loved books’ 85 million copies.
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Liberal Blogs on Narnia

December 7, 2005 at 10:28 pm (Children's Literature and Film, Christianity, Film and Myth, Narnia, Pullman/His Dark Materials)

Washington Monthly

HUFFING OVER NARNIA….I’m not an especially militant atheist myself, but I have to admit that it’s bracing to see one in high dudgeon occasionally. Today, the Guardian’s famously acerbic Polly Toynbee, honorary associate of Britain’s National Secular Society, takes on the Christian imagery of CS Lewis’s Narnia books:

Philip Pullman — he of the marvellously secular trilogy His Dark Materials — has called Narnia “one of the most ugly, poisonous things I have ever read”.
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Darker Tone of Children’s Movies – Part II

November 26, 2005 at 1:47 pm (Children's Literature and Film, Film and Myth, Harry Potter, Narnia, Star Wars)

Published in “The Age”
Harry Potter and the censors of doom
November 26, 2005

Dark films for children are responding to the harsh times in which we live. Richard Jinman examines the evidence for and against strict film ratings.

IT’S NOT EASY being a teenager dealing with pimples and ping-ponging emotions but being a teenage wizard is even harder. Just ask Harry Potter, who finds himself up to his neck in blood, slime and monsters in his latest adventure, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.

Directed by Englishman Mike Newell, the fourth Potter film has been described as the darkest, scariest yet. It has attracted a stronger classification than any of its predecessors and looks certain to have some younger fans squirming in their seats.
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