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From Homer to Harry PotterA handbook on myth and fantasy - part 2Last month this column looked at the book From Homer to Harry Potter by Matthew Dickerson and David O’Hara. In it, they take a look at the great myths and the best of fantasy in fiction throughout the ages to show the presence of a far greater Truth and Narrative running through them. They see echoes and shadows of the gospel story within these tales as they tell of good and evil, power and weakness, courage, heroism and, at times, even salvation and forgiveness. The real story and narrative of truth, they maintain, can only be found in the Truth himself, Jesus Christ, and in the gospel that communicates his story to us. So they encourage Christian readers to see their reading and enjoyment of myth and fantasy as a backup to their reading of the Bible and other Christian books rather than rejecting the genre of myth as unhelpful. In order that we might do this with discernment, they end the book by giving a helpful list of questions that readers can ask of any given myth or fantasy suspected of containing imagery or themes that may be detrimental to a reader’s Christian faith. In fact, they can be used to analyse virtually any media text. It will involve a bit of brain engagement, so grab another biscuit and off we go. The questions that Dickerson and O’Hara give us cover three areas of thinking when approaching this genre; magic and enchantment, the battle between good and evil and the worldview of meaning adopted by the writer. 1 Magic and enchantmentA work of fantasy generally relies at some level on the concept of a supernatural power or ‘magic’ which gives the hero his or her success. Even in Narnia, C.S. Lewis refers to the ‘deep magic’ when talking of the power of Aslan, so it follows that the word can have positive as well as negative connotations. If we assume that magic and enchantment will play some role in the tale of fantasy and myth, the issue is not whether or not there is magic, but what the nature of that magic is. So we need to ask: * What is magic used for? Is its goal the domination of wills? What is its end? In biblical terms, magic is the attempt to influence people and events by supernatural or occult means. Magic is wrong when used for evil and selfish purposes or when a magician tries to compel a god, demon or spirit to work for him. For further study, the New Bible Dictionary from IVP is useful in showing where magic and sorcery is mentioned in the Bible, but, for our purposes, we need to examine whether the supernatural force being called upon in the story is godly or demonic and to judge the writing accordingly. This leads onto the next area to analyse. 2 The nature of good and evilWhen consuming any fictional media that draws on a secular mindset, it is always wise to ask questions about how good and evil are defined. In any given film, novel or magazine article, we should be aware of the ‘rights’ and ‘wrongs’ that exist in the writer’s worldview, identifying them rather than swallowing them whole. For example, it is amazing how often adultery is presented as a positive and liberating theme in contemporary films and novels. In myth and fantasy, the ‘rights’ and ‘wrongs’ are usually easy to spot since there is usually a part of the story dealing with the hero being reminded of the nature of good and evil in their world. As well as this, the tasks often require their champions to hold strong moral virtues. So the questions to ask are: * Are good and evil defined? Are they subjective or objective? What or who is the ultimate arbiter of what is good? Again, if we think of these questions in relation to heroes ancient and modern, from Odysseus and Beowulf through to Tolkein’s Aragorn and Pullman’s Lyra, we find a useful framework emerging with which to spot the values that clash with those of the Bible. 3 Worldview of meaningThe final questions given by the book have to do with meaning: the meaning of life and death, the meaning of the universe, and the meaning of one’s own existence. For example: ¥ Is there an open or a closed universe? All of these questions are designed to show that the worldview of the Bible can be reflected brilliantly in tales of myth and fantasy, even though they may not be an exact fit allegorically of biblical events and ideas. The book ends with the challenge that ‘Reading the stories of Faerie is no escapism’, no mere flight of fantasy — these stories are, after all, about us. Think I’ll give Harry Potter another go after all. FROM HOMER TO HARRY POTTER Eleanor Margesson© Evangelicals Now - October 2006 |