Prince Caspian
May. 17th, 2008 06:39 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
dragojustineLook, 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?
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?