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<v Speaker 1>Hello, and welcome a Mythic Mind, where we pursue wisdom

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<v Speaker 1>in the past between primary and secondary worlds. I'm Andrew Snyder,

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<v Speaker 1>and I'm glad that you're here. I recently listened to

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<v Speaker 1>the BBC's new audio drama adaptation of Lewis's Dot Hideous Strength,

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<v Speaker 1>and Well, I was excited about the potential of this production.

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<v Speaker 1>It ended up being more or less what I expected,

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<v Speaker 1>which is well disappointing. I wrote U p Aer review

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<v Speaker 1>for the Mythic Mind substack on this and I'll be

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<v Speaker 1>more or less reading that for you today, and you

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<v Speaker 1>can find that article in the show notes. And if

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<v Speaker 1>you aren't already subscribed to our substack, then go ahead

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<v Speaker 1>and do that. It's a good way to hear from

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<v Speaker 1>our broader fellowship. Speaking of which, before we get started

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<v Speaker 1>on the main topic today, I want to make sure

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<v Speaker 1>that you know about some upcoming things, because I don't

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<v Speaker 1>don't think that I've mentioned all of this here yet.

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<v Speaker 1>First of all, beginning on April twenty eighth, we're going

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<v Speaker 1>to be hosting our first free book club based on

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<v Speaker 1>a patron vote. Will be going through Augustine's Confessions, which

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<v Speaker 1>is one of my favorite books. No experience or expertise

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<v Speaker 1>is required here, and also no payment is required. All

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<v Speaker 1>you need to do is to sign on as a

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<v Speaker 1>free level patron, and you can find the Patreon link

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<v Speaker 1>in the show notes. Now, I mean a little financial

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<v Speaker 1>support is always appreciated, but it's by no means required

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<v Speaker 1>to join us. I think that we're going to be

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<v Speaker 1>meeting every other week on Monday evenings, but if anything

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<v Speaker 1>changes there as far as exact time goes, this can

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<v Speaker 1>be communicated through Patreon, and so go ahead and sign

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<v Speaker 1>on today at least as a free level patron to

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<v Speaker 1>get on board with that. Next, I want to make

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<v Speaker 1>sure that you know about our three different mythic mind

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<v Speaker 1>courses that are beginning in May. I'm going to be

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<v Speaker 1>leading a Brief History of Ideas, which is a six

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<v Speaker 1>week study of Western thought. It includes two weeks for

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<v Speaker 1>the ancient Greeks, two weeks for the Medievals, one week

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<v Speaker 1>for the Moderns, and one week for the post modern

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<v Speaker 1>because honestly, the pre moderns are more interesting, so they

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<v Speaker 1>get a little bit more time. It's a short study,

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<v Speaker 1>but I think that it's going to be a meaningful study,

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<v Speaker 1>and even more so than your typical full term intro

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<v Speaker 1>to philosophy college course, and I say that as someone

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<v Speaker 1>who has taught full intro level philosophy college courses for

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<v Speaker 1>many years. All right. Next, Hannah Gilmore is going to

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<v Speaker 1>be leading introductory Latin for twelve weeks, and this includes language, vocabulary, translation,

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<v Speaker 1>Roman history, and culture, and it genuinely looks like a

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<v Speaker 1>really good time. I look forward to brushing upon my

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<v Speaker 1>Latin as well. It's been a while since I've been

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<v Speaker 1>very intentional about that. Lastly, Josh Trailer is leading a

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<v Speaker 1>study on Paradise Lost, and I'll play the audio for

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<v Speaker 1>his promo video at the end of this episode. And

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<v Speaker 1>as a reminder, all Mythic Mind patron to get half

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<v Speaker 1>off the price of courses led by other Fellowship creators.

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<v Speaker 1>So go ahead, become a patron Mythic Mind and then

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<v Speaker 1>enroll in every course that we have. You can find

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<v Speaker 1>those codes. There's promo codes on Patreon for patrons, and

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<v Speaker 1>if you can't find them, just send me a message

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<v Speaker 1>through Patreon, or you can email me at Mythic Mindpodcast

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<v Speaker 1>at gmail dot com and I'll be glad to help

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<v Speaker 1>you find what you need. All right, Now, let's go

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<v Speaker 1>ahead and get to the main topic today as I

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<v Speaker 1>more or less read my review of the BBC's audio

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<v Speaker 1>drama adaptation of That Hideous Strength. Oh and I'm planning

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<v Speaker 1>to discuss this with a few others as well in

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<v Speaker 1>the near future, and so you can get a broader

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<v Speaker 1>take on it then. But for now, here's my take.

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<v Speaker 1>All right, here we go. The BBC recently put out

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<v Speaker 1>an audio drama adaptation of C. S. Lewis's That Hideous Strength.

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<v Speaker 1>This is one of my favorite books, and so I

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<v Speaker 1>was naturally excited about the prospects here. I wanted for

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<v Speaker 1>this to succeed. With that being said, I definitely had

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<v Speaker 1>a degree of skepticism going into this, as the profoundly

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<v Speaker 1>anti modern philosophy of Lewis's dystopian fairy tale is hardly

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<v Speaker 1>what I would associate with a major media institution such

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<v Speaker 1>as the British Broadcasting Network. After all, England unironically has

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<v Speaker 1>its own IC, that is, the the National Institute for

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<v Speaker 1>Health and Care Excellence, not exactly the same thing as

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<v Speaker 1>lewis Is in ICE, but it is an interesting overlap

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<v Speaker 1>of fiction and fact here, and in the end it

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<v Speaker 1>turns out that my skeptical impulses were correct. The celestial

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<v Speaker 1>wisdom of Lewis was lost to the forces of this

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<v Speaker 1>silent planet. Oh, in a case it needs to be said,

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<v Speaker 1>I will be discussing major spoilers, both regarding the book

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<v Speaker 1>as well as this adaptation. Now, to be fair, it's

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<v Speaker 1>impossible for anyone to condense a tome like That Hideous

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<v Speaker 1>Strength into a two hour adaptation without cutting out a

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<v Speaker 1>considerable amount of content. Now, this could raise the question

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<v Speaker 1>as to whether it should have been condensed to two hours,

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<v Speaker 1>but I'll accept this limitation for the time being. With

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<v Speaker 1>that in mind, the pacing is decent, even if it

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<v Speaker 1>misses some of the meandering feel that's actually significant to

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<v Speaker 1>the story. Also, I enjoyed the music transitions. I thought

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<v Speaker 1>they did pretty well and kind of capturing the spirit

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<v Speaker 1>of the age. But beyond that, there's really not a

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<v Speaker 1>whole lot left for me to praise. First, let's consider

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<v Speaker 1>what that Hideous Strength is so we can evaluate what

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<v Speaker 1>it is for and where exactly the adaptation misses the

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<v Speaker 1>mark pun intended. In his prologue to That Hideous Strength,

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<v Speaker 1>Lewis explicitly states that this is a fairy tale primarily

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<v Speaker 1>meant to illustrate his arguments in the abolition of man.

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<v Speaker 1>In other words, this is not a story that happens

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<v Speaker 1>to have some points for philosophical reflection. This is a

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<v Speaker 1>philosophical story that, apart from that philosophy, is not that story. Furthermore,

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<v Speaker 1>this novel is inseparable from the dialectic established by the

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<v Speaker 1>previous two books in the series. Sometimes people say that

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<v Speaker 1>that Hideous Strength can be read in isolation, but I

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<v Speaker 1>really disagree with this. Sure, the basic plot could be

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<v Speaker 1>followed by itself, but the essence of the story is

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<v Speaker 1>tied to the broader meta narrative which frames a story

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<v Speaker 1>as a philosophical in an archetypal tale. In what follows,

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<v Speaker 1>I'm going to be discussing a few major ways that

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<v Speaker 1>the adaptation just utterly hollows out this story. Going back

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<v Speaker 1>to the first book in the series, In Out of

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<v Speaker 1>the Island, planet Elwyn Ransom, our main protagonist, becomes associated

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<v Speaker 1>with the masculine martial influence of Mars. In Perilandra Ransom

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<v Speaker 1>is a martial agent that is brought into relation with

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<v Speaker 1>the feminine life giving influence of Venus. In that Hideous Strength,

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<v Speaker 1>which takes place on the isolated, disordered planet Earth. The

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<v Speaker 1>story begins with the word matrimony, thereby giving us this

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<v Speaker 1>masculine feminine relationship established between the previous two books. However,

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<v Speaker 1>the particular marriage in view is cold and is disordered,

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<v Speaker 1>because again this is a story of earth rather than

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<v Speaker 1>of the heavens. In the book, Mark and James Studdock

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<v Speaker 1>are essentially strange, but through their individual stories they become

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<v Speaker 1>reconciled as they become rightly aligned with their heavenly ideals

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<v Speaker 1>in conjunction with the jovial influence manifested in Ransom and

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<v Speaker 1>by the way a charter removing the passive voice of

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<v Speaker 1>that sentence. But it's actually really important here because so

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<v Speaker 1>often in Lewis's stories, and definitely in this one, the

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<v Speaker 1>point is not so much what the care they're doing,

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<v Speaker 1>but you know where they're being polled, where they're being directed.

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<v Speaker 1>And of course that's going to be an ongoing theme,

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<v Speaker 1>especially of Ransom and the company that's assembled around him,

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<v Speaker 1>that their job is to wait, their job is to

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<v Speaker 1>be faithful, their job is to receive rather than to

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<v Speaker 1>do a whole lot. But almost any hint of this

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<v Speaker 1>fundamental aspect of the story, this marge Venus relationship, in

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<v Speaker 1>conjunction with the ordering force of Jupiter, like any hint

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<v Speaker 1>of this medieval cosmology, or this relationship between the maskul

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<v Speaker 1>and the feminine, almost any of that is just fundamentally

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<v Speaker 1>missing from this adaptation. Now amids the discordant relationship between

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<v Speaker 1>Mark and Jane, the book quickly brings us to Mark's

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<v Speaker 1>academic context, and it's particularly important to note that Mark

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<v Speaker 1>is a sociologist. If this is mentioned in the adaptation,

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<v Speaker 1>I'm not sure that it is. But if it is,

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<v Speaker 1>then it's brief, it's passing, and it's well, it's unremarkable.

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<v Speaker 1>In the book, however, it's mentioned on many agents in

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<v Speaker 1>order to drive in the point. For Lewis, sociologist is

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<v Speaker 1>generally a pejorative term. In particular, he's opposed to sociologically

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<v Speaker 1>driven philosophy, which is connected to his broader critique of

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<v Speaker 1>democracy as philosophy. Lewis defends democracy as a pragmatic good

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<v Speaker 1>for restraining tyranny, but he believes that it's demonic if

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<v Speaker 1>taken as an accurate representation of what reality is actually like,

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<v Speaker 1>because reality is hierarchical. Some things are better than other things,

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<v Speaker 1>some people live better lives than others. Most significantly, ideals

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<v Speaker 1>stand above particulars. Sociologists, however, tend to think democratically. They'll say,

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<v Speaker 1>here's what people believe, or here's how people act, Therefore,

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<v Speaker 1>here's what we should view as normal. This is the

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<v Speaker 1>same problem he has with evolutionary philosophy that says, here's

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<v Speaker 1>what's happening, therefore, here's what should be happening. Thus, when

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<v Speaker 1>Lewis emphasizes that Marcus a sociologist, he's telling us something

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<v Speaker 1>significant about his character arc and where he already stands

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<v Speaker 1>in a certain relation with the forces of Belbury. Now

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<v Speaker 1>I'm not saying that if you are a sociologist that

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<v Speaker 1>necessarily means that you're on the side of Belbury. However,

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<v Speaker 1>Lewis is making an intentional point here, and also you

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<v Speaker 1>might be on the side of Belbery. Furthermore, Mark the

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<v Speaker 1>sociologist is obsessed with getting into the inner circle of

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<v Speaker 1>the progressive element of his college. And if you have

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<v Speaker 1>any experience with academia, you know what this circle is.

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<v Speaker 1>As you get further into the story, you really come

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<v Speaker 1>to understand what this circle is. Roofing off of Dante,

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<v Speaker 1>this progressive element of modern academia is the outer circle

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<v Speaker 1>of hell that spirals down into the National Institute for

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<v Speaker 1>Coordinated Experiments, which is led by the likes of Frost

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<v Speaker 1>and whither, names that remind us of Dante's frozen Inner Circle. Thus,

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<v Speaker 1>Lewis is making a very polemical point here regarding the

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<v Speaker 1>places of power in modern academia. This entire element of

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<v Speaker 1>the story is just utterly missing from the audio adaptation.

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<v Speaker 1>There is not one mention of the progressive element, and

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<v Speaker 1>it's not difficult to figure out why this may be

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<v Speaker 1>the case. And by the way, for more on Lewis's

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<v Speaker 1>critiques of democracy as philosophy that you can read his

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<v Speaker 1>essay Equality or look up Screwtape proposes a toase, which

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<v Speaker 1>is a sequel of sorts to the Screwtape letters. Next,

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<v Speaker 1>let's talk about Ransom. In the book Ransom, the pen

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<v Speaker 1>Dragon is this overwhelming figure who represents the priest King Jupiter,

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<v Speaker 1>whose influence governs the relation between Mars and Venus. When

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<v Speaker 1>Jane first encounters Ransom, she is unmade in his presence,

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<v Speaker 1>and as she leaves that meeting, she's enraptured in his

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<v Speaker 1>heavenly influence, and she becomes awakened to the celestial beauty

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<v Speaker 1>in which she might participate by the end of the story,

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<v Speaker 1>she fully embraces his beauty as she rejects the terrestrial

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<v Speaker 1>influence of sin in favor of the redemptive grace of God.

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<v Speaker 1>In the BBC's version, however, Ransom is a rather underwhelming man.

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<v Speaker 1>In the BBC's version, however, Ransom is a rather underwhelming

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<v Speaker 1>man who lament his crippling weakness and occasionally and awkwardly

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<v Speaker 1>offers to pray for Jane, who remains unconverted until the end.

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<v Speaker 1>This is not just a matter of leaving out a

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<v Speaker 1>few things for the sake of time. This is an

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<v Speaker 1>absolute subversion of Ransom's character and the Christianity that makes

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<v Speaker 1>him such a profound figure. Now, let's briefly discuss the

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<v Speaker 1>main players at the Nice. First, there's the deputy director.

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<v Speaker 1>John Wither. Lewis describes Withther as having an early amicable,

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<v Speaker 1>somewhat senile, hauntingly otherworldly presence. He's revealed to be downright demonic,

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<v Speaker 1>to the point that it's not clear if there still

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<v Speaker 1>is much John Wither present at all. In BBC's version,

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<v Speaker 1>all hints of the demonic are removed. He's just an

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<v Speaker 1>ordinary guy who happens to be a smooth talking leader

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<v Speaker 1>of a bad organization. Next, there's Fairy Hardcastle. In the book.

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<v Speaker 1>Her primary character is one of unfeminized, disordered sexuality, providing

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<v Speaker 1>us with another manifestation of the NIC's rejection of the normal. Unsurprisingly,

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<v Speaker 1>the BBC was unwilling to enter into this territory, and

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<v Speaker 1>she too, was just an ordinary woman who happened to

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<v Speaker 1>work with some bad people. Lastly, let's consider Professor Augustus Frost,

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<v Speaker 1>the materialist psychiatrist who understands everything in those terms. Of

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<v Speaker 1>all the nice leaders, he likely received the best treatment

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<v Speaker 1>in the adaptation, although even he was considerably weakened. For example,

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<v Speaker 1>at the end of his story in the book, he's

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<v Speaker 1>frozen by his lack of agency that is, the inevitable

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<v Speaker 1>result of his materialism, which is in turn a demonic deceit.

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<v Speaker 1>Something like this happens in the adaptation, but Lewis's philosophical

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<v Speaker 1>critique is entirely missing. Aside from a couple passing statements

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<v Speaker 1>made by Ransom, the dibiological nature of the NIC's philosophy

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<v Speaker 1>is entirely obscured, thereby providing us with an unremarkable group

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<v Speaker 1>of villainous mad scientists which is far removed from the

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<v Speaker 1>demonic progressives that Lewis gives us in his text. Finally,

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<v Speaker 1>let's talk about the finale. In the book, the Company

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<v Speaker 1>of Saint Anne's is regularly confuse about exactly what they

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<v Speaker 1>are meant to be doing, and for the most part,

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<v Speaker 1>they're okay with that because they trust Ransom, who in

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<v Speaker 1>turn trusts God in his heavenly court. The one who

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<v Speaker 1>has the greatest struggle with this arrangement is Andrew mc phee,

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<v Speaker 1>who is entirely missing from this adaptation. As we approach

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<v Speaker 1>the end of Lewis's story, it becomes increasingly clear that

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<v Speaker 1>they are not really meant to do anything apart from

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<v Speaker 1>remaining faithful. As with Babel of Old, it is Heaven

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<v Speaker 1>that will smash the pride of man. Thus the forces

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<v Speaker 1>of Heaven descend upon Merlin with an act that will

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<v Speaker 1>be his undoing and his redemption. Operating through Merlin, the

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<v Speaker 1>heavenly powers bring the curse of Babel upon Belbury, and

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<v Speaker 1>the Nice implodes in its confusion, which is both a

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<v Speaker 1>curse and a consequence of their stants against the real

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<v Speaker 1>In the BBC's version, there is no descent of Heaven.

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<v Speaker 1>Jane in scorn of her Venusian ideal takes charge and

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<v Speaker 1>hops in a car with Merdlin to save Mark, while

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<v Speaker 1>pitiful Ransom laments not how the strength to go with them.

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<v Speaker 1>Then Merlin, apparently with his own magic Jedi mind, tricks

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<v Speaker 1>the guards and curses Belbury with confusion. Then they rescue Mark,

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<v Speaker 1>who never becomes a martial figure, and the story ends.

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<v Speaker 1>Lewis's story is one of romantic idealism and philosophical critique

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<v Speaker 1>of the modern Tennessees in academia and science, to forsake

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<v Speaker 1>the real, the ideal, and the normal in favor of

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<v Speaker 1>evolutionary Whatever comes next is good philosophy. BBC missed this entirely,

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<v Speaker 1>or more likely they excised it because it would be

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<v Speaker 1>impossible to include it without the recognition that they are

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<v Speaker 1>far more aligned with Belbury than they are with Saint Ann's.

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<v Speaker 1>All right, that's the end of the article. Thanks for listening,

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<v Speaker 1>and thanks to all patrons who enable the Mythic Mind

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<v Speaker 1>Fellowship to keep moving further up and further in. We're

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<v Speaker 1>currently up to fifty two paid patrons, and I would

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<v Speaker 1>like to thank all Tier three patrons by name, So

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<v Speaker 1>thank you, Markhamanda Chase, Chads, Clinton, Aaron Evy, Jamie Justin, Kyle, Mariah,

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<v Speaker 1>Paul Tyler, Ann William. Most of that group has signed

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<v Speaker 1>on with a Tier three annual subscription, which, in addition

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<v Speaker 1>to the other perks of patronage, provides access to all

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<v Speaker 1>of my courses that begin during that pay period. If

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<v Speaker 1>you sign on now, that includes a brief history of ideas,

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<v Speaker 1>Plato's Stoicism until we have Phases the Elder Scrolls in philosophy,

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<v Speaker 1>and likely one more course that will begin at the

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<v Speaker 1>beginning of twenty twenty six. I haven't decided on what

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<v Speaker 1>that is yet, but become a patron and you'll get

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<v Speaker 1>some say in that. And so if that interests you,

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<v Speaker 1>then go ahead and sign on today so you and

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<v Speaker 1>I can both know what to expect moving forward. Now,

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<v Speaker 1>I'm going to end by providing Josh Taylor's introduction to

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<v Speaker 1>his Paradise Lost class. But that's it for my part,

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<v Speaker 1>So until next time, godspeed,