News: Female Aslan?

I wanted to write about this a few months ago when it was first announced that Greta Gerwig was planning to cast Meryl Streep as Aslan in her new version of C.S. Lewis’s Chronicles of Narnia. However, back then it was just rumors, and no one knew for sure if all the hype was actually going to happen. But now, it seems that the rumors may be coming true, so it’s time to talk about this.

Already, I knew that this version would be terrible. On top of being a feminist, Gerwig, though she’s familiar with Christianity (primarily Catholicism), seems to lean towards Gnosticism (as we saw subtly in the Barbie movie), a heresy that holds that God is evil, creation is evil, and Jesus didn’t really die, but made some other dude take his place on the cross who just looked like him. Because of that combo from hell, I knew she would likely find some way to subvert the Christian message that is so prominent in C.S. Lewis’s most famous work. However, making Aslan a female was not on my expectations list.

Making Aslan a female poses problems on two levels. Aslan is a male lion, and his mane is a very important, symbolic part of his character in the books. In fact, when Aslan is killed by the Witch in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, she cuts off his mane and makes a sort of cloak from it, symbolizing her perceived triumph over Aslan. Female lions, on the other hand, do not have manes as any three-year-old could tell you, so there’s the first problem with this. But then again, it is 2025. Maybe Gerwig will find a way to make it even worse by making Aslan a transgender lion.

The second reason why this is a problem is because Aslan is supposed to be Jesus, not just as a metaphor, but literally. Lewis even confirms this in one of the Narnia books, when Aslan says: “In your world, I have another name. You must learn to know me by that name.” Jesus was a man and is consistently referred to as such in the Bible (despite what some progressive “Christians” will tell you). Making a representation of Him (no matter how sometimes questionably done) female is to do a great disservice to the story and is to make it purely insulting to Christians.

So why is Gerwig doing this? Why have Meryl Streep play Aslan when, by most accounts, she would be much better suited for the role of the White Witch, Jadis?

Besides modern feminism having a large role in this, I think we really have to look at Gerwig’s religious beliefs and incorporation of Gnostic teachings in some of her works, such as Barbie. In Gnosticism, there are two divine spirits, the Divine Masculine and the Divine Feminine. The Divine Feminine is probably the most important because she is known as “Sophia” (wisdom) and is the center of the creative energy of the universe, the divine mother, and ultimately the path to enlightenment. Because of this belief in the Divine Feminine, it all of a sudden becomes clear as to why Gerwig seems hell-bent to have Meryl Streep play a female Aslan. This isn’t just about modern-day feminism; this is about pushing occultic beliefs on viewers by replacing God (who is male) with the Divine Feminine as a way to spiritual enlightenment. This isn’t just subversive, it’s blasphemous. And because of how much it’s already offending Christians, this obvious blasphemy is going to be just another reason why I see this remake failing and becoming YouTuber fodder.

Until next time,

M.J.