Newswise — "There's no doubt that the marketing of 'Narnia' is following the lead of Gibson's 'The Passion of The Christ,' though with one difference. It seems that the 'official' marketing of the film is trying to be as main-stream as possible, while there are active sales to out-of-the-ordinary groups."
So says Brent Plate, assistant professor of religion and the visual arts at Texas Christian University in Fort Worth.
"Indeed, Motive Marketing," continues Plate, "which worked with much of the grass roots aspects of Gibson's film, was hired by Disney for the marketing of 'Narnia.' I think 'The Passion' worked on one level, grass roots, while Narnia has the backing to work on both levels.
As to "Narnia's" Christian' content: it is in no way a "Passion for kids," notes Plate.
"The thing is, this story, like the 'Lord of the Rings,' mixes Christian mythologies with those of Greco-Roman, Celtic, Norse and other traditions.
"While CS Lewis was without a doubt a Christian apologist and meant for the stories to convey a certain form of Christianity, he was also a good literary and mythology scholar and realized the ways that good myths work: Recast them in a new form, mixing some of the old with some of the new.
"This is the same thing Tolkien did with 'Lord of the Rings.' Both stories are open to multiple interpretations, like all great myths. When one group tries to shut it down and give a singular interpretation, they miss the larger points that the film/story makes. The thing with the 'Lord of the Rings' is that the film caught on before 'The Passion,' and stands on its own good storytelling and not on the marketing.
Some people saw the Christian significance of the Rings trilogy, Plate says, as exemplified by the title "Return of the King," but many just saw it as a great action story, and others in a more existential light reminiscent of Star Wars and other hero stories: we are all journeyers in this thing called life, and we are all called upon to be heroes at times, to battle the bad guys and monsters and work toward a common good.
"'The Chronicles of Narnia' are also great storytelling and they do something similar. Unfortunately there will be too many groups trying to shut down the interpretation and give a single meaning to the films."
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