Magic in Narnia vs. Charmed

[zevonfan88]

[A#minor]

I've never watched Charmed, but I like the idea of it hurting in a funny way when one is dragged into another dimension/world. I think Lewis describes it very well, especially on the train platform in PC when the children are being called by Susan's old horn.

[zevonfan88]

[Erekose]

Magic tends to be handled in different ways according to the literature/show.

In Narnia any magic seems to be more akin to an inate understanding of some (to others) non-understood ordering of the Universe/Reality. With the exception of the Deplorable Word, (and a little of the Magicians work in VoD) magic is a sort of Response to a Desire.
This is similarly handlled in Larry nivens "The Magic Goes Away" and "The Magic May Return".

Then you have things like Charmed, Buufy the Vampire Slayer and Harry potter. magic is akin to a conjorour waving a wand, sprinkling powder that flares making a puff of smoke and muttering or shouting nonsense pdeudo-latin sounding stuff, to make it seem like they are cleverer than others.

Each to their own I suppose. Diversity is what makes it interesting.

/me does wonder though what would happen if The Charmed Ones accidently split the Thaum though :shocked:

[zevonfan88]

What I find interesting is how C.S. Lewis makes magic to Chrisitans good. Many find Harry Potter bad and evil but it isn't. I find it rather peculiar that C.S. Lewis made magic seem good but generations later where society should be more open minded but so many want Harry Potter banned. I hope that I am an opened minded person and that more people will be also.

[Erekose]

I think what defines "magic" as being "good" or "bad" depends on a number of classes..

a) How the magic manifests.. is it a "natural" phenomenon, or something that is derived from invoking "evil" spirits?

b) the character of the people using it.

c) the reason for its use.

and probably a few more.

Remember, that Jadis is probably the main user of Magic in CoN, and her use was certainly "evil".

As for Harry potter, having only seen fragments of the films I can't cast an opinion. Unless its handled well, I tend to find the "pseudio-latin" style to be weak. And with that I'll probably be tarred and feathered by the HP brigade.. (hmm or maybe splattered with tomatoe ketchup or brown sauce))

[zevonfan88]

Your misunderstanding what im saying. I mean he makes magic something that God gives you. And magic was used constantley and it wasn't evil really it was good. Lewis thought of magic as Gods gift and he thought that everyone had magic in their lives. He made magic seem natural and God given.

[A#minor]

That's a very good way of putting it, zevonfan. I like your wording.

[King Edmund]

Well put. Even though I do like Charmed, Harry Potter, and CON. And watch all of them ....well... at least one of the books is in movie form. In Charmed they are of the same world just different areas where as CON different worlds or dimensions, however you prefer to look at it. Harry Potter I'm not really sure where they go.

[robsia]

[WolfVanZandt]

In Narnia, I don't remember any "good magic" that wasn't centered on God nor do I remember any "bad magic" that wasn't centered on self. If "good magic" is a God-thing, then it's just another label for "miracles".

Fictional magic is simply imagination. We shouldn't confuse it with the real world.

I know of four kinds of real world magic.

1) Natural law that hasn't been explicated yet or that is disguised as something mysterious - that inclding drugs and poisons.

2) Language magic. Language has a reality and power simply because humans give it such.

3) Invocational magic. Entities can be used to do things.

4) "Divine magic" which is miracles and is simply divine creation.

Is there any other kind of magic?

[robsia]

Well . . . we aren't talking about real world 'magic', if indeed there is such a thing.

Narnia is fiction.

Personally I wouldn't describe any of the things listed above as 'magic' - but you are free to believe that they are if you so desire. What kinds of 'entities' are you talking about BTW? Do you mean demons à la Buffy?

[loeee]

[robsia]

[WolfVanZandt]

I didn't want to be religion specific so entities could be demons, angels, jens, deamons, shards, demigods, or whutever.

Actually, magic is not "whatever I choose to believe in" although it may be "what you choose not to believe in". Some of the people in the world that do believe in magic are Chinese traditionalists (394 million people), primal indigenous people (300 million), African traditional and diasporic (100 million), spiritist (15 million), Jewish fundamentalist (it's in the Bible), Christian fundamentalist (same reason), neoPagan (1 million), and quite a few of the smaller religious groups. But, of course, they're unsophisticated and not nearly as enlightened as the modern atheoscientific type, but, hy, not everybody can have access to High IQ.