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C. S. Lewis Shadowlands Film Analysis

Decent Essays

There is a man, he is sure of himself, proud, and overall a confident guy. But one day, all of that changes when he meets an outspoken woman who takes his heart. C.S. Lewis was that man and his wife Joy stole his heart. In the movie adaptation of Shadowlands Lewis makes many deep declarations. He had written a book in his past with the same title of as the movie which began to take on more meaning in his life. Looking at the quotes “We live in Shadowlands”, “The sun is always shining elsewhere, where happiness dwells.” and “Experience is a brutal teacher, but you learn. My God, you learn” there is a strong connection to what C.S. Lewis wants his viewers to understand and the titling of this media. To begin with, the definition of shadow is very important to this story. Shadow as a noun means a dark figure or likeness cast upon the ground, but it can also be a …show more content…

Understanding these singular nuances behind the words is very important. When C. S. Lewis wrote that he was living in Shadowlands, it was earlier in his life and he had not experienced the full range of grief that he would soon come to know. So in this instance he is referring to how that land is a safe haven from grief and sorrow. Later in his life, after many sad events have transpired, C.S. finds himself believing that all that is left is a dark figure cast upon the ground. Nothing but pain and sorrow. This abrupt change in his life is slowly mended over time and is tied in directly to his second quote about how there is always happiness somewhere. Joy reminded C.S. Lewis of this sentiment quite often, but it was not until after she had passed that he truly understood it. Joy knew that there were not shadows everywhere when you were sad, she knew that the sadness would be hard, but would eventually pass, just as a shadow does. Such an understanding of grief and pain that could be communicated so easily relates wonderfully to the title. Shadowlands is a

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