The Perils of Commissioned Literature: a play in three acts

Act One:
In which an American pharmaceutical lobbying group hires writers to generate potboiler that might scare Americans away from Canadian prescription drugs.

Act Two:
In which the pharmaceutical lobbying group rejects book.

Act Three:
In which the writers retool their book to make an American pharmaceutical company the villain.

Slate has the details.

Narnia, Narnia

Just for the record, I do not think ya'll are crazy.

In fact, I have the utmost respect for both of you.

Also for the record, I have never read C.S. Lewis, and I do not plan to.
Mostly because someone, who will go un-named in this public place, once
suggested that my "faith" might be enhanced by C.S.'s words.

Fuck that. I have plenty of "faith", it's just not rooted in Christianity.
Don't get me wrong, Jesus was cool, and I dig him just fine, but don't
expect to see me in any Christian place of worship anytime soon.

So maybe that's not very rational, or adult, but frankly I don't give
two pulls. I have made it just fine for nearly thirty years without Lewis,
and I'm pretty sure I can make it another thirty. Am I missing out?
Maybe. Does it keep me up at night? No, not ever.

Okay, enough of my own melodrama.

Here's my point:

Molly's right, the kids don't care. They have read, or will read the Narnia
stuff because someone that loved it recommended it, or maybe because
they find it on their own, or maybe after seeing the movie, whatever.
Bottom line- kids don't give a shit about sub-text, adults with "religious issues"
like me do. And really, no one gives a crap about what I think, so I won't
bore you with it any longer than need be.

Just know this: I think it is very important for kids (and everyone for that matter)
to choose their path. Whether it's church, or what-ever-the-hell.
Choose something. Even if it's the idea
that there is no God. Fine. Just choose it for yourself.

So- here's to hoping that the movie doesn't come off like some kind
of "join the Christians" thing. And I hope it's all magical and stuff for
the fans of the book. For real. For really real.

Oh, and make sure you tell me how it was.

Re: this whole "Narnia" thing

I think it's telling that most folks say:
"Yeah, I read it as a kid, but I don't remember many details." (or something to that effect)

The question I have is this:
If all of these people read this stuff as kid, why have they not gone back
to re-read it at some point?

Maybe re-reading is too much to hope for.

Maybe it doesn't matter.

I'm just throwing my two cents out there.

Anyone else?

The Trouble With Narnia

Well, then.

Warning for spoilers, here; why discuss this at all if not discuss all of it?

I did my re-reading, just a few years ago. I remember Narnia pretty well; I'm sure I read the books at least twice, as a kid - and as a kid with very little religious education outside the myths and folktales I chose to read myself. I loved those books, some more than others, of course. The Horse and His Boy stuck with me not at all, but the image of the children falling off the cliff - I think it's from Prince Caspian, though as with any series I do tend to mix up my stories - that stayed. Running away from the unpleasant schoolyard into a world of adventure and magic? Yes, please. Sailing to the end of the world? Ditto.

Re-reading is an interesting thing, especially when - as now - one goes in looking for the subtext. And one does not have to look very hard. It's funny that Pullman gets some gripes for his blatant anti-Authority, contrary-to-Lewis stance, when Lewis' stance is just so very clear in the first place. It's all there, every bit of it, Aslan dying and being reborn; the three less mature Pevensie children returning to Narnia at the dark end, after they've been killed in a train crash. How very morbid. The Problem with Susan, as I believe Neil Gaiman termed in in the title of a short story I'm itching to read, bugged me greatly, this adult-reading time through: She cares too much for nylons, and lipstick, to return to Narnia.

Only the innocent are allowed in to the fairy promised land. No matter she was a Queen there, once.

The stories can be moralizing, racist (see the aforementioned Horse for a nice dose of this one), sexist and more. I don't see how this can be argued against. The real question is, does it matter?

I don't think it does. I'm biased, sure; I love the stories. And that's what matters: the stories. What Lewis does with religion, with dumping Susan on her head for liking boys - kids, when they read this, take out of it what they have context for. A child raised by a misogynistic father may or may not see what happens to Susan for what it is. A child raised deeply Christian may or may not see Aslan as an animal personification of Jesus.

A child raised in a hippie home without religious schooling, a child in a Catholic school who goes to church every Sunday; any child may or may not see anything but a beautiful tale of escapism and magic that stems from the likeliest, commonest places; that mixes myth and religion and says that if you are true of heart, you will succeed.

In short? The kids don't care. We do, sure, and we can talk about it all day long, and read, and re-read, and that's what all this talk is about, I hope. It's when people start assigning values to things, making decisions about what they Are and Aren't Supposed to Be, I get troubled. I don't want to be beat about the head with Christian mythology when I head to the theater opening night. But I expect the story to bear some resemblance to the one Lewis wrote.

And I expect that ten-year-olds will leave the theater exuberant and thrilled, and looking for adventures of their own.

In which I take a stab at this whole "Narnia" thing.

I read a few of C.S. Lewis's Narnia novels when I was a kid.  I never made it through the entire series, which has left me a little cool to the film adaptation of The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe making its way to theatres in the coming months.  I read the novels before I was at an age to understand the theological implications thereof, though a few years later, I put two and two together; one of my neighbors ran a religious organization that took its name from the books, and the rest wasn't difficult to figure out.  Aside from that, my only real contacts with Lewis's life and work came from seeing the film Shadowlands when I was in high school, and the occasional reference to the man when I was a churchgoer.  (This happens when you're raised Episcopalian.) 

So, yeah -- there's this very hyped film adaptation on the horizon, and commentary on the man's work, his novels, their use of theology, and their merits as storytelling have cropped up.  The New York Times ran a piece on Lewis that focused on his romantic life and, in part, his friendship with J.R.R. Tolkien; The New Yorker also ran an essay on the man recently.  In response to those -- the latter, principally -- conservative Catholic writer Ross Douthat has chimed in with some thoughts on the novels and the response to them here and here -- particularly their use of allegory.  And I daresay that that's sparked some interesting debate -- and I can't argue with that.  One observation from Douthat:

There have been a thousand children's books about witches and dragons, dwarves and talking animals, and none have succeeded half so well as Narnia - and it's precisely because Lewis thought his fairy story wasn't just rich, but also fundamentally true in a way that no other fantasy could be.

Anyone want to chime in?

Publishers, Please Step Into the Future

I've heard plenty of rumblings about Google's plan to digitize books, and many have been negative- much like all of the hubbub over Napster's initial splash.

Sure, hindsight is 20/20, but the music industry eventually had to concede that the Napster dude was pretty smart, and that there was money to be had by all. Conventional record sales? No, but sales none-the-less. What does that equal?
Napster is now a legitimate business. Suck eggs, Lars Ulrich!

But I digress-

It seems to me, that the Publishing Industry is facing a similar crisis of faith with Google's idea to digitize libraries. This idea of Publishers "opting in" is a little crazy to me, and after reading this article, I feel vindicated in my stance.

Also, Chris Anderson has some damn interesting notes about niche markets which can be found here.

Please do read those articles, they are far more enlightening than my rushed ramblings.

Thanks to decryption for the links!

duct tape city

For what it's worth, my review of the Wingdale Community Singers (perennial faves David Grubbs, Hannah Marcus, and Rick Moody) album is now up at ARC's website.

Indie Magazines

If you've got an interest in independent magazines -- and chances are, if you're reading this, you are -- then the news that Indy Press Newsstand Services is experiencing financial trouble will not make your day.  Some information from Punk Planet can be found here; a Columbia Chronicle article on it can be read here.  From the latter:

For Dan Sinker, founder, editor and art director of Punk Planet, separating fact from fiction in this matter is a difficult task. While he is used to relying on the IPA, he is unsure of where to go from here.

"The irony is, 'Wouldn't it be great if there was an organization that was designed to help this problem,' and, gee, there is," Sinker said. "It's the Independent Press Association. It's the very people who sent out an e-mail saying, 'Hey, we can't pay you because of media consolidation.' If it wasn't so fucking sad it would be ironic."

From Punk Planet's page on the subject:

What does this mean for the future of Punk Planet? The truth is we don't yet know. The payment issues affecting us, however, are not singular--there are others in the same predicament that need your support as well. A few of the other magazines currently distributed by Indy Press Newsstand Services include: The American Prospect; Bitch: Feminist Response To Pop Culture; Bomb; Clamor; ColorLines; Curve; Extra!; Giant Robot; Heeb; Herbivore; In These Times; International Socialist Review; Kitchen Sink; Maximum Rocknroll; Mother Jones; The Progressive; Razorcake; Rethinking Schools; Tikkun; Venus; and YES!: the Magazine of Positive Futures. Please consider visiting their sites and supporting them with subscriptions, advertisements, and other purchases.