As many of you know, the first of the “His Dark Materials” trilogy has been filmed and is being released on December 7, 2007. The Golden Compass is not even released yet, and is already causing a furor, sufficient to warrant an entry regarding the religious leanings of its author on snopes.com:
Claim: The 2007 film The Golden Compass is based on a series of books with anti-religious themes. Status: True.
There will be a new Children’s movie out in December called THE GOLDEN COMPASS. It is written by Phillip Pullman, a proud athiest who belongs to secular humanist societies. He hates
C. S. Lewis’s Chronical’s of Narnia and has written a trilogy to show the other side. The movie has been dumbed down to fool kids and their parents in the hope that they will buy his trilogy where in the end the children kill God and everyone can do as they please. Nicole Kidman stars in the movie so it will probably be advertised a lot. This is just a friendly warning that you sure won’t hear on the regular TV.
Now, on the one hand, I understand the consternation of some parents. My sister-in-law, for instance, mentioned her distaste for the series. She really liked the first book, mentioning that Pullman built a wonderful world and populated it with really interesting characters. The second book she thought was good, but not as good, but the strong anti-religious overtones of the third book turned her off. She still liked the series as a whole, and recommended it, but wished the third book had turned out differently.
On the other hand, I read the trilogy myself, and loved it. I found the first book a fun introduction to the series, but fairly forgettable. The second book made the story more interesting, and the profound implications of the third book made it a fantastic joyride through parallel universes and the complications of competing worldviews.
“…in the end the children kill God and everyone can do as the please.”
Well, their description of the ending of the book is way off, but it sounds like a happy ending to me. The more children are exposed to new ideas and taught to think for themselves, making rational choices about their religion and personal lives, the better. Let’s camp out for tickets!
I agree with the entry..
Look.. in much the same way “The Chronicles Of Narnia” uses a kind of subversion – an allegorical telling of the Christ-Sacrifice, so, it seems, that these books (and possibly the movies) try to say, “No, kids, there is no God you should follow” – which stands in the face of what most parents want to teach their kids.
In the same way you, Matt, as an Atheist would be within your rights to try to inform other atheists, “Don’t see Narnia.. its got religious undertones which make the Christian message more understandable to kids” – so too the Christian parents have a right to say “This is not just another fantasy movie.. skip it… it teaches the opposite of the lessons you want to teach your kids.”
I do think this film has a right to exist and compete as well.. but as a Christian parent, I’m glad to know that this film will try to subvert what I will be teaching my son.
That being said… when it hits dvd, I would love to see it, make the decision for myself, and proceed from there.
Visit the Official Justin Timpane Website Music, Acting, and More! http://www.timpane.com
In my rights, but not within my mind
Well, sure, I’d be within my rights to say that… but I probably wouldn’t. One thing that was reiterated to me as a kid was to only read “the best books” and see “the best movies”… and what I realized as an adult was that my lack of exposure to the stuff that was contrary to my world-view left huge gaps of understanding in my knowledge. There are parts of the common experience of many people my age that I just don’t “get”.
Which reminds me, good heavens, I really need to watch “Office Space” so I can understand the meaning of the red stapler. It’s a mystery to me.
Admittedly, I don’t want to sit down with a prepubescent child and watch some hard-core pornography or a slasher flick or something. That’s a limitation.
These kinds of email campaigns, though, always make me laugh. They are so viral, they work so well to spread “buzz”, and they inevitably play on the fears of the reader. They are amazing little insights into the mind of those who forward them.
I think it’s Sturgeon’s law that “90% of everything is crud”. And it’s true! I have no idea whether it’s going to be a good movie or not, but as much as I have enjoyed movie adaptations of books I’ve enjoyed — like the Harry Potter series — it’s a fair guess I’ll get a kick out of this. And my kids, too.
I have to admit, though, it’s remarkable the effect media has on children. We only had television hooked up to cable for a month, watching only the Disney channel, and within that month my children turned into back-talking, television-obsessed do-nothings. Kind of freaky. Television, I think, has a far greater impact on the attitudes of kids due to quantity of exposure than movies do.
So, Justin, were your son like, say, 8 now, would you take him to the see the movie in theaters? Or would you rather give it a pass because, despite its entertainment value, it teaches values contrary to that which you want to instill in your child?
—
Matthew P. Barnson
Values..
It really depends. If he were 10, I might answer differently.
The thing is that the “buzz” is that the author has OVERTLY said that he was trying to push an atheist worldview with the story. I would need to really examine the facts of that. If the story is intended to convince kids there is no God, then yeah, I wouldn’t let my kid watch it.
As a parent, my job is to introduce my kid to opposing worldviews – and I will.. and I will introduce him to films so that when he is an adult I can encourage him to see films like the Davinci Code (which, skip – its boring) so that he CAN look at all sides of the issue.
But at 8? I don’t know. There are lOTS of entertaining movies and shows that I like that I would skip (and not just hard core porn, but The Terminator and even some movies I’ve been in) for an 8 year old, but not a 16 year old.
Visit the Official Justin Timpane Website Music, Acting, and More! http://www.timpane.com
Non-extremist
Dang you and your worldview so similar to mine that it includes sliding scales of right and wrong. It all depends on the situation, and those who try to simplify it into a black-and-white, either/or question, miss the mark.
But we don’t dare call it “situational ethics”, because according to many that apparently means we’re actually immoral…
—
Matthew P. Barnson
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EDIT by matthew: Jerk spammer links deleted… Justin’s comment is just too funny!
Wow
I need all that stuff!
Visit the Official Justin Timpane Website Music, Acting, and More! http://www.timpane.com