Interesting comments from Tilda Swinton, on how she approached playing the White Witch (interview in Vogue of Dec '05)
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Swinton, who joined the Communist Party in Britain in her 20 s & uses phrases like 'advanced capitalism' & 'industrial film-making' in conversation without blinking, found an appropriate political dimension to bring to the role which departs from Pauline Baynes illustrations for CS Lewis' original book, by having the White Witch be blonde. Lewis' novel, which was set during the London Blitz, is widely interpreted as a Christian parable, but Swinton's reading was different, with an overtly racial slant: 'I wanted her to be an Aryan. As far as I'm concerned she's the ultimate White Supremicist & I wanted to make the character somewhat modern. I felt it a little irresponsible, particularly at the moment, to portray the epitome of evil as either a Jew or an Arab' she said, referring to the Witch's famously dark hair.
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Interesting that she appeared to see a danger in playing the Witch with dark hair - how many viewers would have made a connection between a dark haired Witch & the current political situaltion?
I'm reminded of the way some right-wingers attempted to use the movies as propaganda for the Iraq war. Interesting also, is the way the Communist Swinton can find such a clear 'non-Christian' interpretation of the story.