So about the Susan thing...
*blows dust off LJ* You okay, honey? Trying out some new things playing with the image embedding tools. Hope it works!
And now for the actual entry!
Well, since everyone in the Narnia fandom seems to be frothing at the mouth over this thing, I thought it was time for a bit of common sense. I'm not sure if it's just the wankers over at NarniaWeb or what, but there seems to be an awful lot of outrage over a (quite blurry) still from the newest Prince Caspian TV spot.
For refrence, here's what's got everyone's knickers in a twist.
Apparently, Susan and Caspian kiss. Okay. Based on some of the earlier shots of Susan and Caspian, I really can't say I'm surprised. Here's what I'm talking about.
Cuddling on horseback:
Crossbow practice - Caspian loses his focus:
Yeah dude, check her out; you know she's hot!
And in this one, she looks very awed. I'm pretty sure she's looking at Caspian in this one:
For comparison, here's another shot of the same scene. Susan's on the ground in the lower right foreground, and Caspian's on the horse on the left:
The Narnia fans, can still wank with the best of them. Congrats! *salutes* Not quite as good as post-HBP Harry Potter shipping wank, but still, an A for effort! *gives out gold stars*
So they kissed. Big freakin' deal. Since when did kissing become a promise, a contract, or an UnBreakableVowOMG!1!!eleven!1!! It's not. A kiss is a kiss, and it means different things to different people, and in different circumstances. Loving someone doesn't damn you forever, and showing affection for someone you love won't condemn you to the hellfire.
As has been pointed out by some of the more sane ones over on NarniaWeb, this could easily lead into Susan's later denial of Narnia. If she falls in love with Caspian, and particularly if he loves her back, it compounds the grief she feels when she is told by Aslan that she cannot return to Narnia again. In order to grow up, Susan must leave behind the Narnia of her childhood, but in doing so she sacrifices her love for Caspian. Come Dawn Treader, this compounds when Lucy returns from Caspian's Dawn Treader Voyage, attempting to tell Susan of all the wonderful and dangerous things they saw and experienced. Hearing this, particularly the bit about Ramandu's daughter. An additional reminder from Lucy, that not only can she never return to Caspian, but that he's married someone else, leave Susan heartbroken. As a result, she denies Narnia's very existence as a way of building up a defense mechanism so she cannot be hurt again. Narnia brought her pain, so she if she doesn't believe in Narnia, then it cannot hurt her further. (I'm segueing into my beef with Susan in Last Battle here, but I'll save that knot for a separate entry).
If you're whining because "ZOMG THEY CHANGED THINGZ FROM TEH BOOKZ!!1!!!one!1!1!"? First, Bitch, please. And second, what are you, new? Speaking as a longtime member of the Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings and His Dark Materials fandoms, I've always followed a motto when it comes to book-to-movie adaptations. Say it with me: A book is not a movie. Books are books, and movies are movies. Books =/= Movies. They're two very different mediums - by definition no book could 100% accurately translate to a movie, and even if it did, it would probably make a terrible movie. We don't even know what they're planning for Ramandu's daughter (if you asked me, she got shafted by never getting a name - way to go, Lewis!), but she may or may not come into play. We simply don't know. To me, Ramandu's daughter always seem like an afterthought; she played no role in the plot except to get killed by the Lady of the Green Kirtle in The Silver Chair. We see her once in Dawn Treader and then she dies - we hear nothing of her personality and know nothing about her except that she's a star's daughter and Rilian's mother. That's it.
A Caspian romance with Susan could perhaps carry more poignance. I'm not saying it would fit with canon, because obviously it wouldn't, but it would heighten the emotional connection between characters rather than providing a throwaway character who doesn't connect with the readers or even very much with the characters.
As for everyone who's tearing their hair out, writing death threats in their own blood, and contemplating suicide: guys, it's just a movie. It's not real. I promise.
As for myself, I'm loving the idea of Susan/Caspian. Just look at that earlier shot of their "crossbow practice". There's no way he isn't checking her out. :D < /2 cents>
< /Overly Long Rambling>
And now for the actual entry!
Well, since everyone in the Narnia fandom seems to be frothing at the mouth over this thing, I thought it was time for a bit of common sense. I'm not sure if it's just the wankers over at NarniaWeb or what, but there seems to be an awful lot of outrage over a (quite blurry) still from the newest Prince Caspian TV spot.
For refrence, here's what's got everyone's knickers in a twist.
Apparently, Susan and Caspian kiss. Okay. Based on some of the earlier shots of Susan and Caspian, I really can't say I'm surprised. Here's what I'm talking about.
Cuddling on horseback:
Crossbow practice - Caspian loses his focus:
Yeah dude, check her out; you know she's hot!
And in this one, she looks very awed. I'm pretty sure she's looking at Caspian in this one:
For comparison, here's another shot of the same scene. Susan's on the ground in the lower right foreground, and Caspian's on the horse on the left:
The Narnia fans, can still wank with the best of them. Congrats! *salutes* Not quite as good as post-HBP Harry Potter shipping wank, but still, an A for effort! *gives out gold stars*
So they kissed. Big freakin' deal. Since when did kissing become a promise, a contract, or an UnBreakableVowOMG!1!!eleven!1!! It's not. A kiss is a kiss, and it means different things to different people, and in different circumstances. Loving someone doesn't damn you forever, and showing affection for someone you love won't condemn you to the hellfire.
As has been pointed out by some of the more sane ones over on NarniaWeb, this could easily lead into Susan's later denial of Narnia. If she falls in love with Caspian, and particularly if he loves her back, it compounds the grief she feels when she is told by Aslan that she cannot return to Narnia again. In order to grow up, Susan must leave behind the Narnia of her childhood, but in doing so she sacrifices her love for Caspian. Come Dawn Treader, this compounds when Lucy returns from Caspian's Dawn Treader Voyage, attempting to tell Susan of all the wonderful and dangerous things they saw and experienced. Hearing this, particularly the bit about Ramandu's daughter. An additional reminder from Lucy, that not only can she never return to Caspian, but that he's married someone else, leave Susan heartbroken. As a result, she denies Narnia's very existence as a way of building up a defense mechanism so she cannot be hurt again. Narnia brought her pain, so she if she doesn't believe in Narnia, then it cannot hurt her further. (I'm segueing into my beef with Susan in Last Battle here, but I'll save that knot for a separate entry).
If you're whining because "ZOMG THEY CHANGED THINGZ FROM TEH BOOKZ!!1!!!one!1!1!"? First, Bitch, please. And second, what are you, new? Speaking as a longtime member of the Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings and His Dark Materials fandoms, I've always followed a motto when it comes to book-to-movie adaptations. Say it with me: A book is not a movie. Books are books, and movies are movies. Books =/= Movies. They're two very different mediums - by definition no book could 100% accurately translate to a movie, and even if it did, it would probably make a terrible movie. We don't even know what they're planning for Ramandu's daughter (if you asked me, she got shafted by never getting a name - way to go, Lewis!), but she may or may not come into play. We simply don't know. To me, Ramandu's daughter always seem like an afterthought; she played no role in the plot except to get killed by the Lady of the Green Kirtle in The Silver Chair. We see her once in Dawn Treader and then she dies - we hear nothing of her personality and know nothing about her except that she's a star's daughter and Rilian's mother. That's it.
A Caspian romance with Susan could perhaps carry more poignance. I'm not saying it would fit with canon, because obviously it wouldn't, but it would heighten the emotional connection between characters rather than providing a throwaway character who doesn't connect with the readers or even very much with the characters.
As for everyone who's tearing their hair out, writing death threats in their own blood, and contemplating suicide: guys, it's just a movie. It's not real. I promise.
As for myself, I'm loving the idea of Susan/Caspian. Just look at that earlier shot of their "crossbow practice". There's no way he isn't checking her out. :D < /2 cents>
< /Overly Long Rambling>