Faith in Imagination: The Fantasy Makers (2017) | Full Movie | Rowan Williams| Malcolm Guite

J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, and George MacDonald were the pioneers of the fantasy genre and their impact is unmistakable. Their works- exploring Middle-earth, Narnia, and other tales of redemption, sacrifice, and the battle of good and evil-have become best-selling books and blockbuster movies. Contemporary fantasy writers such as J.K. Rowling grew up inspired by their works.
All three were deeply committed Christians, and their spiritual convictions permeate their writing. They engaged and challenged from the pulpit of imagination, speaking truth through fantasy.
Faith in Imagination: The Fantasy Makers examines the spiritual influences of these fantasy pioneers and the lasting impact their works have on our present-day culture.
Director: Andrew Wall
Starring: Rowan Williams, Kristin Jefferey Johnson, Malcolm Guite, Allister McGrath, and Michael Ward

[@KL0098]

I'm under the impression there are several misinterpretations about MacDonald's life trajectory. The documentary says "Phantastes" was the "Harry Potter of its time" and that it was so successful MacDonald started supporting his family with his writing. Actually "Phantastes" was written for adults (hence the subtitle "A Faerie Romance for Men and Women") and it was precisely its commercial failure that led MacDonald to give up writing fantasy for adults and try instead the childrens' books market; his next novels, The Princess and the Goblin, At the Back of the North Wind, The Princess and Curdie, are children's books: they even feature children as protagonists. It was only much later that MacDonald took another stab a a darker fantasy for adults: Lilith. It's also worth pointing out that children's fantasy books didn't become popular until Lewis Carroll published his own "Alice" books. For some time MacDonald actually wrote realist fiction because that's where the money was. I think this is important to point out because otherwise viewers will come away with the distorted impression that in the 1800s fantasy was as popular as it is now, a view that downplays the difficulties MacDonald had to overcome and which make him that much more remarkable.

[@Amoybill]

Very well said; good points, and true.

[@gracepolak4464]

george macdonald’s the light princess defined my childhood, i still have the entire story memorized so it makes me so happy to see the love he gets being placed with lewis and tolkien

[@LostInMarxism]

Faithful George MacDonald inspired and led the way for Tolkien and Lewis.

[@kingkahoonah]

My teacher showed us this in class, it was amazing.

[@Jabberstax]

Thank you for this. It's a brilliant documentary. 👏

[@herbalfleece8821]

Beautifully made documentary.

[@farcemask8729]

That was outstanding and inspirational.

[@DanielERodriguezMusic]

Outstanding! Thank you from Texas. I had an opportunity to go to Oxford, and I bought a copy of Smith of Wooten Major at Blackwells. It was so special and meaningful.

[@chelseabaker1994]

I’m glade Lewis Carroll was mentioned in this, because I’m not sure if many people know this but he was a devote Christian as well.

[@jule8280]

He was a Rosicrucian

[@michaelkelleypoetry]

@@jule8280Rosicrucianism wasn't a religion. It was a movement that incorporated aspects of Qabalah, Hermeticism, alchemy, and Christian mysticism. In the same way that a young boy in the United States can be a Boy Scout and a Christian, or a Boy Scout and a Muslim, etc., the same was true of Rosicrucianism. It was a society made up of people of different religions. Carroll's religion was Christianity.

[@brucehanify3892]

Yes, thank you. Very informative and well-done.

[@Unutter8ball]

this is a compelling account of these 3 writers! how did the actors resemble lewis and tolkein so closely?

[@neon-yo8vy]

More people need to see this

[@KL0098]

It's weird how this documentary gives the impression that between MacDonald and Lewis and Tolkien there was no fantasy fiction in England.

[@LostInMarxism]

Fantasy lore dates back to antiquity within our greatest European peoples (Greeks, Romans, Etruscans, Scythians and Germanics/Nordics).

[@labanshinda9710]

Love this document ❤

[@tinges271]

This is really inspiring ♡ I hope more christians will rise up to use their imagination to glorify the Lord in every way ♡

[@Pucksandman]

Qué maravilloso trabajo documental y de análisis de las obras y vidas de estos grandes fantasistas.

[@zoharshorer41]

I would love the imaginary hypothetical of C. S. Lewis and Tolkien, and perhaps some of the other original Inklings, examining the theological substrata of Terry Pratchett's inventions. Despite Small Gods and Wizards, Witches and Dwarves, Trolls and Vampires, Pratchett's messages are much more Human

[@seanmoran2743]

That’s because of he’s Humanist Society beliefs which a profoundly different

[@seanmoran2743]

Excellent and Superb

[@abrahampernia16]

In short, these men left a great mark on fantasy, and because God himself wanted it that way and they knew it. These 3 managed to present God in a very creative way, they just presented him in another way: George Macdonald: In a very poetic way. Tolkien: He represented it, but not according to Catholicism or Christianity, no, he just put everything in general, what mainly and generally God had left to humanity, in a detailed and somewhat complex way. (I'm looking to get a little bit of trust from Tolkien honestly, but I'm about to be okay with Tolkien now.) Cs Lewis: Like Tolkien, he played God in his fantastic universe (Narnia) but being a little more direct and concrete. And that would be my conclusion as to everything these 3 men left behind.

[@hangsolow216]

Thank you

[@EdwardTheMedievalist]

1:23:47 to 1:23:55 did not age well. That Lord of the Rings series was objectivity bad (I called since 2017) and the Narnia movies are sadly canceled and being put aside for a Netflix series (which is naive for anyone at this point to hold any hope for a good and faithful adaption).

[@Hermes1548]

Imagination is the great unifier of humanity. ~George Santayana, Interpretations of Poetry and Religion (New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1900).

[@visamap]

Thank you all very much

[@Shagamaw-100]

As important as Tolkien and Lewis are to the fantasy genre there are other writers and authors such as William Morris, Robert E. Howard and Michael Moorcock that should be talked about.

[@erickdraws9563]

conan the barbarian! yeah!

[@michaelkelleypoetry]

Don't forget Andrew Peterson of The Wingfeather Saga.

[@Shagamaw-100]

@@michaelkelleypoetry Do tell.

[@michaelkelleypoetry]

@@Shagamaw-100 Andrew Peterson is another fantasy author. He wrote the Wingfeather Saga.

[@Shagamaw-100]

@@michaelkelleypoetry Interesting.

[@jennifermorris7986]

How is it that these things have ended up in Illinois, of all places? I wish that these artefacts were home, in Oxford.

[@catinthehat906]

It's the same argument about the Elgin marbles, but really its impossible and undesirable to repatriate every item in museums and libraries back to its point of origin.

[@RSEFX]

Illinois is also the State where a massive amount of H.G. Wells's original papers, letters and fictional writings are archived.

[@doorntreader7624]

Interesting book at 26.23, 'The Magician's Newphew'?!

[@Augdawg55]

John Bunyan - The Pilgrim’s Progress Hannah Hurnard - Hinds’ Feet on High Places

[@operationagartha3097]

All praises to the imagination.

[@RSEFX]

I'VE NEVER CARED FOR THIS KIND OF FICTION in any form ( books, movies, teleseries etc) , with very few exceptions. But, at least this documentary offers me some insight as to why a type of writing that is SO off-putting to me has such a wide following, which otherwise would remain inexplicable to me. This is well-done, helped along by the plentiful use of the colorful illustrations that seem to often accompany these kinds of writings.

[@wib6044]

And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.

[@katerinawhitley2706]

An excellent discussion--except for that boring, terrible elevator music in the background. Who in the world thought that it would enhance the intelligent comments?

[@bobbyhulll8737]

Jack Black is particularly good in this

[@kiralikaskshoes857]

28/07/2023 3:00 ?

[@greenphoenix17]

Eh... it's great green dragon, not green great dragon!

[@007EnglishAcademy]

Wrong. Research. Check. Verify.

[@seltaeb3302]

Not a movie.

[@ruthlewis673]

From a personal point of view the substrate of these stories is good versus evil however l wonder how much evil is created by this deeply embed story, itself. When you consider how dictotorial psychopath like Hitler and many others use this core idea to project the Shadow onto the eternal other; that is not us but Them. Perhaps we need a new myth, something less grand and as simple as seeing in others a reflection of a shared humanity. Could we even take this further in seeing something of value in the nonhuman world? I wonder what that myth would look like? Whatever that maybe we are in dire need of it now. But I’m afraid we won’t give up the old one willingly and perhaps it’s our slow awkening to the ecological crisis that will birth a new myth. However the one we will have to let of is , something is going to rescue us. Sadly l don’t think so and what maybe asked for, now, is childhood’s end. .

[@ryanparker4996]

Heres a story for you, its about a baby whom was thrown out with the bath-water. Your suggestions belie a "Nanny State" mentality. Let the past exist and let it inform us. We do not need protection from nightmares.

[@AsFewFalseThingsAsPossible]

The convergence of ideas in origin myths does not make them true. This is the error in Lewis' thinking. Considering how little evidence there is for anything to do with the itinerant Jewish preacher reportedly killed by his own arrangement, this is no basis on which to hang a belief that creationism, for example is true. I can see that these creative and somewhat insular men would have found the theism all around them attractive. However Lewis never could overcome the question of god's moral character, particularly in reference to his own wartime experiences.

[@francescavillani6037]

If you read his novel Mere Christianity, or the Bible for that matter, you would find that the character of God is very much explored, discussed, and proven by the moral law that does exist.

[@zsedcftglkjh]

The very doubt of the historical Jesus is laughable even in the contemporary context. The Roman poet Livy talks of Jesus. Jewish and Roman accounts of the spiritual uneasiness of Judea recount the "alleged" miracles of a wandering wiseman. So, that's that. Lewis did not find theism "attractive" at all. You might be surprised how insular the skeptics and critics circulated in academics even one-hundred years ago. As to Lewis and the question of God's moral character, he absolutely discovered it if you have read Mere Christianity or Surprised by Joe. You sound like you've never actually read the man beyond his stories.

[@donnaeturner]

Physics shows that every single thing in our world is ultimately composed of light. It also proves that at the very bottom of all that is is a substratum of particles coming into and going out of existence, and that Something is upholding all that exists. If you are too unimaginative to believe in God, that is a problem you should take up with yourself, rather than expect everyone else to take up your ratiocinative limits.

[@ryanparker4996]

Ah, Thomas the Doubter was his favourite 😂 athiests are so funny

[@ReallyJustAnotherDay]

The Silmarillion reads like a biblical text