Following my own golden compass
I've made the decision not to go see the movie The Golden Compass or read any of Philip Pullman’s dark materials trilogy (The Golden Compass, The Subtle Knife and The Amber Spyglass).
Why you ask? Pullman, a devote atheist, has written his trilogy as the atheist’s answer to the Chronicles of Narnia. The themes in his books are very anti-Christian/anti-Catholic and not in a subtle read-between-the-lines kind of way but in a blatant-in-your-face-you-don’t-even-have-to-have-a-background-in-literary-analysis kind of way.
Blog Reader: But DMG! Maybe you should read the book for yourself before you form an opinion?
Good point. And normally, that is the course I would choose. When I first started hearing about the series and the controversy, I did a little digging and read a plot summary of the books. The Golden Compass is relatively tame (I hear the movie is even more so) but The Amber Spyglass goes way over the line. The plot summaries were enough for me to form an opinion. If you would like to read a summary, go to http://www.sparknotes.com/ and search for the books.
Blog Reader: But DMG! You are a hypocrite! You read the Harry Potter series! Why can’t you give this series a chance?
Another good point. While the Harry Potter series is not what I would classify as Christian, it is not as decidedly anti-Christian that Pullman’s books are.
On a side note, I am not happy about the fact that Rowling decided to “out” Dumbledore as a homosexual. There is nothing in the Harry Potter series that hints about Dumbledore’s sexual orientation; it is not central to any of the storylines or subplots. In other words, there is nothing that would suggest Dumbledore was buggering Hagrid in the Forbidden Forest (that's sarcasm - I'm not trying to start any rumors about Hagrid). I’m not entirely certain what her motives were unless she just felt the need to get her activist card punched. Of course, now that Rowling has made her announcement, critics will probably discover clues in the books that suggest her intention – hindsight is funny that way.
I won’t picket the movie or demand the books be pulled from library shelves. That just isn’t my bag. The lesson here is do your own research. Make an informed decision and decide for yourself and your family what you choose to watch or read.
This isn’t the first time I’ve “chosen” not to go see a movie or read a book: Wild horses and gay cowboys couldn’t drag me to this movie
Why you ask? Pullman, a devote atheist, has written his trilogy as the atheist’s answer to the Chronicles of Narnia. The themes in his books are very anti-Christian/anti-Catholic and not in a subtle read-between-the-lines kind of way but in a blatant-in-your-face-you-don’t-even-have-to-have-a-background-in-literary-analysis kind of way.
Blog Reader: But DMG! Maybe you should read the book for yourself before you form an opinion?
Good point. And normally, that is the course I would choose. When I first started hearing about the series and the controversy, I did a little digging and read a plot summary of the books. The Golden Compass is relatively tame (I hear the movie is even more so) but The Amber Spyglass goes way over the line. The plot summaries were enough for me to form an opinion. If you would like to read a summary, go to http://www.sparknotes.com/ and search for the books.
Blog Reader: But DMG! You are a hypocrite! You read the Harry Potter series! Why can’t you give this series a chance?
Another good point. While the Harry Potter series is not what I would classify as Christian, it is not as decidedly anti-Christian that Pullman’s books are.
On a side note, I am not happy about the fact that Rowling decided to “out” Dumbledore as a homosexual. There is nothing in the Harry Potter series that hints about Dumbledore’s sexual orientation; it is not central to any of the storylines or subplots. In other words, there is nothing that would suggest Dumbledore was buggering Hagrid in the Forbidden Forest (that's sarcasm - I'm not trying to start any rumors about Hagrid). I’m not entirely certain what her motives were unless she just felt the need to get her activist card punched. Of course, now that Rowling has made her announcement, critics will probably discover clues in the books that suggest her intention – hindsight is funny that way.
I won’t picket the movie or demand the books be pulled from library shelves. That just isn’t my bag. The lesson here is do your own research. Make an informed decision and decide for yourself and your family what you choose to watch or read.
This isn’t the first time I’ve “chosen” not to go see a movie or read a book: Wild horses and gay cowboys couldn’t drag me to this movie
2 comments:
Amen! Our family won't be seeing this movie or reading the books, either.
Sparknotes is an excellent resource.
Hey Rick! We're not the only ones "opting" out of watching/reading this series. A friend a work feels the same way.
I had not used Sparknotes before but it is now saved as one of my favs!
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