I'm a firm believer in giving credit where credit is due..... which is why this article affected me so.
Basically, Tilda Swinton who plays the White Witch in the soon to be released The Chronicles of Narnia, is claiming that she decided to make the White Witch, umm, white. She says that she thought it better to play her as white (aryan, in her words) instead of the typical dark skinned ghoul one thinks of when they think of a witch. That's all well and good, Ms. Swinton.. but I'm wondering if you might have been inspired by the fact that she is, in fact, called THE WHITE WITCH. Or maybe every other actress who has portrayed the White Witch has played her as well, white for lack of a better word...
Here is the way CS Lewis described her in Chapter 3 of The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe:
"...She also was covered in white fur up to her throat... Her face was white - not merely pale, but white like snow or paper or icing-sugar, except for her very red mouth. It was a beautiful face in other respects, but proud and cold and stern."
Perhaps the problem here is that Tilda Swinton has never read CS Lewis...
I'm stepping off my soap box now... because after all, tis the season for love and cheer and good will towards all men and women! Even Tom Cruise and Tilda Swinton!
And by the way, I absolutely cannot wait to see The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe. I am so moved by the commercials that I tear up.... What will happen in the theater!??
