The Golden Compass

When I was first invited to join facebook groups boycotting the golden compass,
I ignored them.
I'm usually not one to "jump on the band wagon".

However,
Now that I go to a normal college and have to commute,
I've had a lot of time to listen to the radio.

Even then I tended to ignore it.
Until that was all they were talking about,
And they started playing clips from interviews with the author of these books.

Now,
It takes alot to get me mad about something.
And even more for me to blog about it.
But this was just infuriating.

In his interviews,
The author has said things like,
"My books are about killing God."
- Pullman

Now,
It takes alot to get me going,
But when a main character kills her mother to be "free" from authority,
That tends to get to me.
And then the character proceeds to attempt to kill God to be truely "free" from authority.
If this guy really wantes to be free from authority,
I'm sure we can arrange get him his own little island were he can be free.
And then we can put all the criminals there too,
Since they also want to be free from authority.

When I first saw some of the commercials,
I wanted to go see the movie.
(I have this thing for polar bears)
It looked alot like the Narnia movie.
If you didn't think so,
Look at these trailers.

Narnia


Golden Compass


I would not be surprised if anyone else thought the same.
But...
SURPRISE!!!
"I hate the Narnia books, and I hate them with a deep and bitter passion"
- Pullman
This is like Nrnia's evil twin.
Pullman's main character's name is Lyra.
Does anyone remember Lewis's character Lucy?
And this polar bear?
I recall Lewis had a lion named Aslan?
And the trailer doesn't give that one lady's name,
The one you thought was good at first?
And then we found out she was Evil?
I think Edmund had a run in with someone like that..
The White Which anyone?
For someone who hates Narnia so much,
Pullman seems to rely heavily on it as a model.

Well...
That's about all I have time for at the moment.
If you still want more info,
I found these links through some reliable sources.
(To be added to as time goes on)

PluggedIn by Focus On The Family
Snopes

Post Note:

I’ve already been contacted by several people.
And they all point out that it is only a movie,
From a book.
It’s just fiction.

This is my problem with the story.

It’s the fact that (I feel) Pullman is trying to push the fact that God is wrong.
When the author says things like
“I am of the Devil's party and know it."
And
“if there is a God, and he is as the Christians describe him, then he deserves to be put down and rebelled against.”,
That tends to concern me.
Some have said that he is not trying pushing his views on kids.
I’ll admit,
Even he said,
“When people ask me what I meant by this story, or what was the message I was trying to convey in that one, I have to explain that I'm not going to explain. Anyway, I'm not in the message business; I'm in the 'Once upon a time' business.”
But when he turns around and says,
“All stories teach, whether the storyteller intends them to or not. They teach the world we create. They teach the morality we live by. They teach it much more effectively than moral precepts and instructions.”
I want to question his motives.

Let me explain why I have a problem with the idea of making a movie targeted to kids with this kind of story.

As you may or may not know,I have a soft spot for kids.
(Actually, a very large soft spot)
I tend to get particularly upset when kids are the victims of anything.
Be it of neglect, a crime, or lies.
I feel that parents should be armed, informed, and ready to discuss it with their kids.
Hollywood has released three Spiderman movies recently.
You've all seen kids these days.They all wanted to be Spiderman for Halloween.
I volunteered at “Boo at the Zoo”,
And there was an incredibly disproportionate number of spider men and spider women running around.
This is not by chance.
Kids all want someone (or something) to look up too.
A super hero with great values like Peter Parker will suffice for now.
But I don't want them looking up to a character that thinks she should kill God.

Now…
I haven’t got a problem with a good story,
Even if it is false.
Even if I disagree with the opinions in the stroy.
I’ll be the first to admit I like some movies that others consider questionable.
But I don’t watch them blindly.
A friend of mine said that when you go to the movies,
You shouldn’t check your brain at the door.
Keep it engaged and thinking.
Meaning…
Don’t accept everything Hollywood wants to give you.
All I want is for people to actively think about what they are seeing.
I’m not saying that people should not go to see this movie.
(I may even decide to go see it,If only for the polar bear.)
What I am saying is that people should be careful with it.
I’m often told to be careful when playing with fire.
Fire is can be a very useful tool,
But for those of you that know me, ;-)
It can be very dangerous when not controlled.
All I ask is that people do the same with this.
Go see it if you want too.But be careful about what you take out of the theater and into your world view.
(I would suggest that you not go to see it on opening weekend though)

I know of several families that plan to see the movie.
But the parents have done their homework.
They are going with the kids and are prepared and plan to discuss it with their kids.
I think that is awesome.
In fact,
I wish more parents would pay more attention to what their kids are watching.

We were in the same Speech & Debate league.
She is of the opposite view on this matter.
She thinks people are making too big of a deal about the issue.
She has also actually read the books,(And I have not)
So I feel obligated to link to her post in order to give a proper perspective.
Bears2002

These are my opinions and views.
If you disagree with me,
That’s ok.
I have nothing against you personally.
In fact…
If you’ve got other info you think I should have,
Either supporting or not,Please send it my way.
I am more concerned about being right in the end than right the whole time.
Even if that mean admitting I was wrong.
The last thing I want is people attacking each other because they can’t agree on something like this.
All I want is for people to able to make informed decisions.