It's so true, you know -- that song so prominently featured in the movie Shrek 2 -- especially in modern adaptations of old books. This came to light for me watching Prince Caspian this past weekend. I'm a huge fan of the Chronicles of Narnia, and have been since I was a kid. And when movies are different from the books, it bugs me, especially as an author, myself.
Pet peeves aside, there is one trend in Hollywood that I find disturbing. Why in heaven's name do they have to take a perfectly good hero and flaw him?! I loved the Lord of the Rings films, but I have to say the one thing that spoiled them for me is the fact that they had to take Aragorn and Faramir, men of honour and integrity, and make them directionless wafflers. Why can't a man know right from wrong, have a destiny, and stick to it?
They're at it again with the Narnia movies. In the books, Peter, Edmund (eventually) and Caspian are worthy heroes. They inspire rather than demand respect. The film version paints a different picture. Peter and Caspian spend most of the movie in a belligerent show of one-upmanship that is just plain stupid.
And what happens to the girls in all of this? Female characters get pumped up, agressified. They're usually always right and they rarely make mistakes.
So what kind of message are we sending all the men in our lives? Are we telling our men that we don't need them? Are we showing boys that responsibility is to be avoided at all costs or worse, that the way to the top is a power grab? Why can't we show them an example of what to be instead of what not to be? Personally, I'm sticking with the book version for my son. I'm holding out for a hero.
2 comments:
Enjoyed your post very much, Erin! I agree it is disturbing to see.
I noticed that about the Narnia movie, too. The character development was so poor. It seemed they were so into the special effects and the action that they forgot to tell the compelling story we find in the books.
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