Greta Gerwig's Narnia and how metaphors shape faith

Greta Gerwig is one of Hollywood’s buzziest directors today. After her smash-hit Barbie, audiences are hotly anticipating her next movie, Narnia: The Magician’s Nephew. But some fans of CS Lewis’ original book are upset that the lion Aslan – a Christ-figure – is being voiced by Meryl Streep.

Critics say associating the Christian God with the feminine is a modern ‘woke’ innovation... but what if it’s not? How do the metaphors we use to talk about God, shape our spiritual beliefs and practices?

Guests

Adrian Drayton is a writer and critic interested in religion on screen, and in the connections between faith and popular culture. Formerly of the Uniting Church magazine Insights, now you can find him on Substack at The Long Conversation.

Rev Dr Sally Douglas is Lecturer of New Testament Studies at Pilgrim Theological College at the University of Divinity and the author of Early Church Understandings of Jesus as the Female Divine. Her latest book is Rewilding Prayer: God Beyond Gender, Faith Beyond Formulas.

More information

• Narnia: Magician’s Nephew official trailer
• Insights Magazine: Greta Gerwig Opens the Door to a Very Different Narnia | Insights Magazine
• The Long Conversation: Greta Gerwig’s Narnia and What Happens When You Try to Film Wonder?

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