Delayed entry. Last weekend I had the pleasure of seeing Chronicles of Narnia: Price Caspian. It's a servicable film, but I'm not here exactly to review it. It inspired some thoughts from The Elsewhere, and I'm here to share them.

Traversing the Veil

As we all know, Narnia is about children from the here and now being thrust into an otherworld. In a way, all fantasy is like that, and a good deal of suspense/thriller as well. Even if the protagonist is not every(wo)man, the reader has to be somehow introduced to the alternate reality.

However, to simply be presented the otherworld, such as in Lord of the Rings, as opposed to having a normal person transit between the worlds as our proxy, serves to remind the audience that they are just that: observers. By 'starting small', the creator welcomes us into that setting.

Which is better? Depends on the story, depends on the protagonists. If we are to engage in Walter Mitty-esque fantasies of incredible prowess, then simply dropping us into the world is better than reminding us of how fragile we are. If we are instead to experience the wonder of first discovery, then letting the protagonists evoke wonder may inspire it in our hearts.

Axioms Reversed

Once in Wonderland, if it is super-imposed with our common reality, then a common trait is to show "the real story." If the otherworld is completely disjoint from ours, this has no place. However, most co-existing fantasies have some tip of the hat toward sharing with the readers the secret truth behind public axioms.

Narnia has none, but the thought percolated to the surface because I had just caught up with Grim Tales from Down Below and there is a delicious reveal of one event in our shared memories. I say delicious, but others may say controversial. Either way, it is a powerful example of "so now you know the real story."

The Inconsequential Conflict

This is actually the driving point. I saved it for last so as to push my weary self to lay words for the other poitns.

In Narnia, there is a war. There is always a war. Given that, there will always be pitched battles. I found myself yawning in spite of the complexity of the fighting, the detail of the combatants.

Why?

The battle was meaningless. In Narnia, all battles are meaningless until Aslan roars.

Sure, there were personal conflicts and private contests of wills. Those I felt were unpredictable. However, where armies amass and the music soars, I know that the protagonists will not prevail, no matter how well they show at the time, until Aslan has opportunity to rescue them and turn the tide.

Yeah, it's rough. I've been out of the writing frame of mind for half a year. The engine will catch sooner or later. I just have to keep pushing.