Ok, I realize it is like 2:30 in the morning and I need to go to bed as I am suffering from a rather nasty cold, but something has come to my attention which I must express my confusion about. Has anyone been tuned in to the hoopla surrounding the "anti-religious" sentiments of the Golden Compass books and movie which seems to have been building for some time now? It is interesting because I have heard nothing but good things about these books, though have not read them, and had always vaguely planned to see the movie after learning that His Shexiness Daniel Craig played a role. But on Facebook lately, TONS of people have been joining "Boycott the Golden Compass" groups--which I see as an overreaction at best and uncomfortably Naziesque close-mindedness at worst. Which prompted me to rather passive aggressively join a "Support the Golden Compass" group, although I have not actually read the books. Can anyone tell me what all the fuss is about? Is this an instance where my genuine lack of religious convictions has rendered me completely incapable of comprehending just WHAT these people's problem is??? Regardless, I think I have some additions to the reading list for Christmas break....
Oh yeah, and I may be attending the Second Annual St Andrews Miltonathon next week, in which all interested parties gather from 9 am till whenever it's finished to read "Paradise Lost" aloud. Jealous?
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8 comments:
Hey!
They're not actually overreacting; the books are pretty heretical. In the book trilogy, the main characters declare war on God and in the end, win and overthrow him. (God is interpreted as a tyranical, impotent old man who has declared natural, good things about the human race bad because he is scared of his own creation.) I've heard the movie has somehow managed to exclude this, which is impressive, considering it's the trilogy's main overarching plotline.
The remaining worry for people who know this part of the plotline was removed, is that parents and kids will see the movie, then go out and buy the books, not realizing what it is they've bought their children to read. The author is a very bitter ex-catholic and a very convincing writer. It's not that Pullman's created an entirely separate, imaginary world with a completely different God. The characters live in a different world within the same universe as us, goverened by the same God. So while it's creative and imaginary, he really is bashing God, not just a god.
I enjoyed the books (although they made me a bit uncomfortable), but while I'd expose my kids to a lot of things most over-cautious religious parents wouldn't, I'd make them wait until they were older and less impressionable with a good head on their shoulders before letting them read the books.
Then of course you can get into the whole "but what about all the Christian movies and books on the market that parents might not realize are Christian" argument.
From there I guess you can only cut Christians a little slack -- there is a difference between encouraging religious freedom and the respect and tolerance of opposing viewpoints, and actually fostering the growth of the ideas themselves which a person consider not only wrong, but dangerous and harmful.
Personally, I give a big thumbs up to having both the movie and the books out there and accessible, but think people should be made aware of what they're getting into. Maybe there should be similar notices on Christian books and movies. People should have the right to choose.
And when I say "not overreacting," don't think I don't think blank statement facebook groups with too many exclamation points in the title aren't crass, inane, and worthy of a good eye-roll.
Here's a good article on it. It's written from a Christian perspective, but it stays pretty unbiased and academic, and does a good job summarizing the main points of the book.
article here
Hey yourself!
WOW...thank you for the explanation! I still can't quite get a handle on the plot of the whole thing (though that's always difficult with fantasy when you haven't read it, I think), so I'm definitely going to read the books. His tone is pretty strident, I don't know if the C.S. Lewis bashing is absolutely necessary, but it will be interesting to see how he plays with the different interpretations of Christian mythology, including Lewis's. Just reading your plot summary and others brought up some interesting questions in my mind about how he uses depictions of gender and patriarchy in the books...yup, for sure going to read them. P.S., how hilarious is it that I tacked on the thing about the Miltonathon and I didn't even know about the whole Paradise Lost/Golden Compass intertextuality going on?
Sooooo, here I was just going to write "Catholics=bad guys" as my explanation...but then Holly had to go and write a wonderful essay, making me look like the kid who sits in the back of the class and picks her nose.
Damn. I don't want to be a nosepicker.
I've only read the first book and loved it (as a Christian and all). I think you'll find a lot of fun gender stuff going on, especially with the character Nicole Kidman is playing.
By the way, wasn't her lipstick horrible at the movie premiere? Eek, Nicole.
Hmm, it seems I've gone from being the nosepicker to the gum popping, airhead with the fashion magazine in the corner.
like, i totally don't know what u mean, don't u know that shade of mauve is like so now? and Daniel Craig wuz looking so hawt even though he is omg sooo like old! *snaps gum and smirks*
Don't worry, I'll be sitting in the other corner, Googling Eva Green's eyeshadow.
And Pullman makes a lot of good, legitimate points about power and the church and gender roles -- the world he's created is very similar to ours, but there was never a protestant reformation or a woman's rights movement. He just seems to have fallen into the extremely common (and fairly understandable) trap of confusing things Christians do with Christianity.
And OMG Eva Green's eyeshadow = *twtally* hawttttt. I'm str8 and NOT into teh LOSR emogoth look, but she RLLY pulls it oFF`and is lik OMG SO sexy & i'm jealous!!!1!
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