Prince Caspian

[dragojustine]

Look, Prince Caspian is not a very good book. I LOVE it, don't get me wrong, but objectively, you know. It is, along with the Silver Chair and above all the Last Battle, an object lesson on the problems of letting allegory trump story. He goes on and on and on about the necessity of faith, despite the total absence of all proof, and the entire book is stamped in neon letters, "Moral: your strength, your intelligence, your best efforts, are worth nothing. Only your blind faith is of value." So, basically, I loved this book when I was six and hated it with a seething fiery passion when I was 12, and now I'm just a little sorry for Lewis, for everyone else who really believes that, and for the stories that could have been if Lewis was less set on allegory.

On the other hand, the movie was apparently made by people who are convinced that if some huge epic battle is good, lots of epic battle is better. This is, above all, a battle-adrenaline-gore-fest. Interestingly, while the allegorical thrust of the story is reprehensible, and the overwhelmingly battle-focused aesthetic of the movie is a bit tiresome, the two of them work directly at cross purposes to each other (because glorifying battle implies that the children's own strength and efforts are of some inherent worth, thus undercutting the allegory) and the end result is that I didn't object to the movie at all.

*headscratch* Yeah, I don't know either, I just know the end result was far better than I was afraid of, and one hell of a lot of fun.

Other note 1: Reepicheep! He was my invisible friend for two whole years after I read this book, and I am convinced that after the Dawn Treader Reepicheep is assured a place in the top 5 greatest characters in all childrens' literature. There wasn't as much of him as I would have liked, but what there was was perfect. *loves*

Other note 2: Caspian! Dude. Caspian is HOT. I mean, really, distressingly, astonishingly hot. Wasn't he supposed to be like 12? I felt like an entire pervert all movie trying to determine how old he was, but it turns out the actor is a very young-looking 27 so I'm safe. I mean, WOW. Really. WOW. And the hair. And the accent. And... WOW.

While the shallow side of me is happy they aged him up (because... WOW), there are actually problems with that. The book is very much coming-of-age and Caspian's journey to feel that he is ready for the burden of kingship, which is a far different story for a 27-year-old than a 12-year-old. Caspian's reaction on meeting the Pevensies, also, is problematic- for a 12-year-old to be dismayed that his saviors are just kids like him, when he had been hoping desperately to hand his responsibility back to adults, is an entirely different thing from a 27-year-old looking down on the kings and queens of old for being just kids, you know? Also, aging him up so far gives us Caspian/Susan, whereas my heart will always belong to Caspian/Lucy during the Dawn Treader era.

But: FUN!


The Stargate verse as a whole is pure, concentrated, unadulterated crack. They gave us bodyswap! And body-sharing! And age regression! And amnesia! The baseline normal canon in this verse is a level that would be considered "total crack" in saner fandoms. Hell, there was that moment when it looked like "Long Goodbye" was going to be a John/Elizabeth "Aliens made them do it" in the most time-honored fanfic tradition! Seriously. It's WONDERFUL. Also, yes, I am shipping John/Elizabeth quite a lot. And Ronon/Teyla a little. And Sam/Rodney still. How did this happen? WHEN did I become a hetshipper? What is this show DOING to me?

Comments

[miriad.livejournal.com]

I don't think that Caspian was supposed to be 27 in the film, despite his real age. I go the impression that he was supposed to be 17 or 18 MAYBE, which worked for me. It's still young enough to still want to give things over to the grownups but old enough to have a thing for Susan.


re: Stargate being crack. WORD, YO!

I don't, however, really see the John/Elizabeth. I don't like her- well, more to the point, I don't like the actress that plays her. She seems so much older and even though I know that John is around 40, he seems so much younger than she does plus the chemistry just isn't there for me. But, yeah, the Long Goodbye made me think that there could be something...

Have you finished watching everything at this point?

Now, to get you hooked on NCIS... hee...

[dragojustine.livejournal.com]

I already watch NCIS- I watched religiously for a season or two, and I think Mark Harmon is a FOX, but crime procedurals don't really hold my interest past about two seasons...

And yeah, I was SHOCKED when I realized how old John was supposed to be. I seriously would have believed he was, like, 32-34. And the fact that David Hewlett is actually YOUNGER than Joe Flanigan? Craaaazy. But Elizabeth doesn't look that old to me...

Anyway, I am liking the character of Elizabeth a little less by season 3, but at least mid Season 2, from the "John turns into a bug" episode to The Long Goodbye, I ship them pretty hard.

YAAY I will see you in less than a week!

[fakymcfakerson.livejournal.com]

It's been roughly... a million billion years since I read the books, but doesn't at least one of them really, really emphasize the fact that he is soooo young? He does stupid things that only a 12-year old would do, Susan et all have to scold him, makes silly assumptions, etc? I think it was whichever one had underground bits in it.

(I read through them all, once or twice, when I was in 5th/6th grade (gave me something to read during church, they were on the sunday school bookshelves), and then someone revealed to me that they were christian commentary and it spoiled them for me (context clues were never my strong suit), so I haven't read them since. i suppose I could revisit them by now.)

[fakymcfakerson.livejournal.com]

(and by "someone revealed to me," I meant "I read the last book, which was totally way over the top, and then my dad tried to engage me in a conversation about the books at the same time and then it all became TERRIBLY CLEAR.")

[dragojustine.livejournal.com]

Yeah... I loved them all when I was six, until the last book which I thought was weird and depressing, then reread them at 12 when I was having Major Religion Issues and it was like cold water in the face. So I totally know that "TERRIBLY CLEAR" feeling of which you speak. I don't object to the fact that they ARE Christian allegory- but I sure as hell object a LOT to several of his specific points, you know?

That said, Wardrobe and Dawn Treader (the first and third) are both really great children's literature, without the more objectionable bits of theology. If you ever do feel the need to revisit.

[v1cky6680.livejournal.com]

I feel the same.