Thoughts about The Golden Compass
The Golden Compass comes out this weekend. I saw the previews and thought it looked like a fun movie. The artwork and design concepts are awesome, the cast is star-studded, the special effects look to be better than many recent offerings, and the movie promises to be full of action.
I was totally planning to go see it until I started hearing the rumblings about its supposed anti-God material. I read a couple reviews of the movie this morning, and I think the movie (and the books it's based on) probably falls into a gray area where a Christian's feeling toward it will depend on how sensitive they are to criticism of the church, and how easily they separate what they know about their God from a general idea of other people's negative characterization of religion in general. I've taken some time behind the "continue reading" cut to summarize my thoughts.
Warning: perhaps a slight spoiler ahead. Also, I have not read the books or watched the movie, so you can take this analysis with a grain of salt.
According to all the sources I've read, the movie promotes many of the values we would call the fruit of the spirit--love, joy, peace, kindness, goodness, etc. However, it promotes these ideas as antithetical to an antagonist that is highly symbolic of organized religion (although these symbols can also loosely represent a range of institutions including government). At the end of the last book in the trilogy (which this movie does not portray), the heros kill a supernatural character who claims to be god--thus earning condemnation from Christian groups who note that the writer is an outspoken atheist/agnostic, and who feel the symbolism allows too little room for distinction between the evil characters in the book and the real-world church, especially in children whose abilities to discern may not be as mature.
Philip Pullman, the author, says that he did not intend for his books to be an attack on religion in general, but rather an attack on evil, which, as he points out, has been done both in the name of religion and otherwise. However, his story is intended to show what happens when religion goes wrong. Pullman says,
My point is that religion is at its best — it does most good — when it is farthest away from political power, and that when it gets hold of the power to (for example) send armies to war or to condemn people to death, or to rule every aspect of our lives, it rapidly goes bad.
Who can argue with that? But he goes on,
Sometimes people think that if something is done in the name of faith or religion, it must be good. Unfortunately, that isn’t true; some things done in the name of religion are very bad. That was what I was trying to describe in my story.
I'm sure that a distaste for the church has influenced both Pullman's story and his personal atheism/agnosticism. And I have to confess that I'm a little turned off by the fact that his protrayal of the church seems to be entirely negative, and since there's no counterpoint, I feel included in his critique. But I'm hardly surprised by this because the church has failed alot of people, and in my experience, most objections to religion have nothing to do with objections to God, but almost always come from objections to abuses/failures of the church and its people.
So how should a Christian view a movie like the Golden Compass? I say treat it like any other secular children's movie that deals with adult-ish themes. If you don't have kids, enjoy it and enjoy debating it. If you do have kids, watch it first, and make a personal decision before taking your children. Talk to your kids about it. But most importantly, be a good example of the church for your kids and others. If you do that faithfully, everyone will know that the bad guy in this movie is not the church you go to, or the God you worship.
All said, I've seen only about 2 movies in the theater in the past year, and there are tons of good movies out, so I might end up seeing this on video. But I haven't seen anything that would make me feel bad about spending $38 or whatever a movie costs these days to see this one.
Also, for what it's worth, (like all movies that have potentially controversial material) the word is that the movie filters out many of the book's most direct references to religion.
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Fine. I'll be the first (perhaps the only one here) to say it... I WOULD NOT AND WILL NOT TAKE MY KIDS TO SEE THIS MOVIE!!!!!!!!!
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,305487,00.html
http://www.snopes.com/politics/religion/compass.asp
Granted I have not read the books, but from what I can see, they seem evil. The movie doesn't sound quite as blatant, but I think it would be a big mistake to underestimate this kind of subliminal evil. The movie will most likely popularize the book series even more, and that not something we as Christian people would want our children requesting for a Christmas present.
I'll not have crazy people putting subconscious anti-God thoughts in my head or my kids' heads.
I'm not sure anyone can change my mind on this one; I feel pretty strongly about it.
P.S. I thought about blogging about this myself. Thanks for bringing it up.
I read similar articles before posting, as well as several that were alot less negative. It's always hard for me to judge what comes out of the media--whether it is thoughful analysis by people who understand my faith, or alarmist sensationalism promoted by the media.
But God speaks to me through many channels, including friends whose faith I've seen and come to trust, so thanks for sharing your feelings, Jenny. They go alot further in convincing me than a hundred articles.
On a slightly different note, I would really like to have a conversation on the blog about representations of the church in the movies. If I came up with a list of 4 or 5 movies, would anyone be interested in agreeing to watch one per week or so, and then all blogging about them together?
Only if it includes Lord of the Rings! :) Just kidding. You could probably talk me into it.
Jenny,
What do you think of Harry Potter and the church controversy there? I am totally NOT attacking you, but you have very strong feelings about The Golden Compass (which I am undecided about) and I wondered what you felt about Harry Potter.
See, Harry Potter is something I'm not ready to touch with a ten-foot pole. Many many people around me (Christian and non) love it but I just have my reservations about it.
This cracking me up! It's so interesting to see what people think about all this stuff! Anyway, about HP... Let me start by saying that the church I attend is Southern Baptist, so they would probably lynch me if they knew my opinions on HP. I actually love the Harry Potter books and the movies. They are so entertaining! And yes... I have thought about the implications of witchcraft and all the crazy magic stuff, but I kind of feel the same thing Miles explained about the GC... just explaining to kids that it is make believe and not real. Why do I feel this way about HP and not the GC? Good question. I see HP as being more make believe, and it does not address any religious themes whatsoever. Yes, the GC is totally make believe too, but there seem to be more religious themes. I've heard that in the final book of Pullman's trilogy, the children in the story actually kill "God." Like I said, I have not read the books for myself, but if this is true, I certainly would not go see a movie based on this kind of reading material. Plus, Pullman's books aren't for kids; HP is children's literature. Plus J.K. Rowling is a freakin' awesomely creative writer that is easy to read.
I know to some this probably makes no sense since the Bible out right says witchcraft is evil. BUT... if you're going to go there... what about Lord of the Rings? Written by a Christian man but full of wizards and magical elves. Perhaps I should not watch or let my kids watch/read HP; I know a lot of Christians certainly feel that way. Maybe this is a stronghold I'm not letting God tear down. I don't know. But Wes and I have talked a lot about it, and that's the decision we collectively came to. Most of our decision is based on how much we both enjoyed reading the books ourselves; maybe that in and of itself is wrong. I haven't really talked with Wes very much about the Pullman books. He is a huge fan of fantasy books but has not read Pullman.
Miles is right... It's totally a personal judgment call. Right or wrong, that's where I am.
As a side note, the ring tone on my phone has been a song from the HP movies for about 3 years now. It cracks me up when my phone rings at a MOPS meeting or Sunday School or whatever. I know I shouldn't think that's funny, but what can I say? I don't turn my ringer off hardly ever because if Wes calls I don't want to miss him. If that's rude, then oh well!
Another side note, Miles... I would be willing to watch the movies. Well, maybe. Depends on what they are. If one of them is "The Passion of the Christ," I don't think I can watch that again. It REALLY affected me. We own it, but I don't think I will ever watch it again.
And one more side note... THIS IS TOTALLY FUN! I love all the banter and sharing of opinions!!! I don't know about y'all, but I get very little mental stimulation in the course of any given day. I think all this blog talk is really helping me feel like something besides just good 'ole mom! So, thanks!
Yeah, 'The Passion of the Christ' is not something I'd watch without being really prepared. That was a hard one to watch.
Next subject:
To me, LOTR is in a completely different sphere than HP. Maybe for others it's not, this is just my opinion. Nobody in LOTR has 'supernatural' power that's rightfully theirs except Gandalf. He's called a wizard in the books, but in The Silmarillion & some of Tolkien's other writings he's further explained as more of an angel-like being than a wizard in the way we imagine. And, he wasn't omnipotent. The Elves did have some supernatural characteristics, but it's pretty well fleshed out in LOTR and JRRT's other stuff how those abilities came with a price. You never die (except being killed in battle), but that's not all it's cracked up to be. The Ring gave Frodo power, but it wasn't the good kind, nor was it his anyway. And eventually, it was destroyed, as was the need for the Elves' immortality and Gandalf's supernatural capabilities.
I could go on and on. I love talking about LOTR. I just don't feel comfortable with what HP represents for me, plain and simple. For me, it's stepping too far over the fine line between fantasy and witchcraft. If someone else can handle it, fine. I'm not judging that. I'm just saying I can't.
I probably won't see GC but its content is secondary to why we won't see it. Primary is because we are boring people who last went to the movies to see.....drum roll....The Passion of the Christ. Yes, people. It's been that long.
Beth,
You KNOW we love LOTR too. And I have no problem with it at all; I was just throwing that out there for comparison (I KNEW you'd jump all over it!).
Yup, I took the bait!!! :) I know you guys like it too...I'm just always looking for a reason to talk about since all I get at home is "You know that story never actually HAPPENED, don't you?" :)
And, that's not the first time I've had someone bring up the fact that I love LOTR but can't bring myself up to reading HP.
Here's a list of potential titles (feel free to suggest other possibilities):
The Da Vinci Code (2006) - Generally controversial for heretical fiction.
Saved! (2004) - Critique of Christian culture.
Keeping the Faith (2000) - Comedy about faith and friendship.
Dogma (1999) - Religious Satire.
The Apostle (1997) - Complex depiction of the southern church.
Romeo + Juliet (1996) - Heavy use of church symbols. Are the themes they represent in the classic play consistent with their meaning in Christianity?
I'll make a final list after ya'll give me some feedback.
I'll jump in on the Dogma discussion (since it's the only one I've seen (and VERY reluctantly liked) - and I know I won't have time for the others. Keeping the faith was so lame I don't remember it (IMAO - in my arrogant opinion). I've also heard that the Da Vinci Code was boring, but I guess I could check it out. I guess that's my way of requesting that you push the Davinci Code back so that I get a chance to watch it (if'n I don't fall asleep first).
I've seen almost all of those. Not The Apostle though. I'm kind of drawing a blank right now as far as other suggestions, so those sound good.
Gnome and I watched The Apostle when we were roomies in Ehaus. Not the world's greatest movie, but I guess if you're looking for a depiction of the church in the deep South, you've got it.
Hey guys! I just read all of your "conversation", very entertaining! Thanks for getting me thinking. So, in order for me to participate in this I would have to stay awake through an entire movie. I can't remember the last time that this happened. Especially if it is a serious movie and I need to pay attention. Not likely to happen. That said, I really enjoyed reading what you are thinking. It makes me long to be back in Ehaus!
Everyone who posted comments lived in Ehaus - except Jenny whose husband lived in Ehaus.