LARMOT: "The Golden Compass"

I received several e-mails regarding the new film "The Golden Compass". This film is based on the first book of a trilogy. It was renamed from " The Northern Lights" for the American audience.

The e-mails consisted of people and organizations telling me to NOT see the film and to tell all my friends to do the same. The reason: They say it an "anti-Jesus film", that it is atheistic, they "kill" god in the end and that is also an anti C.S. Lewis and his Narnia series

I always take offense when told that any book or film should not be watched, especially when the people telling me have not read any of the books or have not seen the film. Being against a powerful and organized church that exerts it's power on the people is not the same as being against Jesus Christ or God. That is where you take your opportunity to discuss, exchange ideas and learn. There are teaching moments you can have with kids and this is one of them.

Ignorance, "book burning", etc. have never been a good answer to anything. You can never win someone over to your point of view if you attack them from the "get go" without hearing them out.

If you are a parent that is not sure if your child should see a particular film or read a particular book because of it's content or age appropriateness, then see it or read it yourself first. Then, YOU, as the responsible parent, can make an educated decision. It is always good to discuss films and books with children. You get a different perspective and, as I said before, it is a teaching and learning moment.

Where do you stand on 'The Lord of the Rings Trilogy" and The Harry Potter Series?

RE: THE DARK MATERIALS TRILOGY and PHILLIP PULLMAN

The following are direct quotes from an interview with the author on his website:

Do you believe in God?
I don't know whether there's a God or not. Nobody does, no matter what they say. I think it's perfectly possible to explain how the universe came about without bringing God into it, but I don't know everything, and there may well be a God somewhere, hiding away.
Actually, if he is keeping out of sight, it's because he's ashamed of his followers and all the cruelty and ignorance they're responsible for promoting in his name. If I were him, I'd want nothing to do with them.

Who do you write for - children or adults?
Myself. No-one else. If the story I write turns out to be the sort of thing that children enjoy reading, then well and good. But I don't write for children: I write books that children read. Some clever adults read them too.

You have run into criticism from certain religious groups who regard you as subversive, with the Catholic Herald describing your work as 'worthy of the bonfire.' Do such emotional responses concern or upset you or does it please you to generate strong reactions?
I'm delighted to have brought such excitement into what must be very dull lives.

Other comments from various sources regarding "The Golden Compass":
"This book is set in a world which seems familiar but is also magical; where people's souls are external and take different forms, where bears wear armour and can talk, where the Church is a political systems and in charge of scientific research."

"Originally published in Great Britain as His Dark Materials 1: Northern Lights in 1995, The Golden Compass "forms the first part of a story in three volumes." This book is set in a universe similar to ours but different in several important aspects, one of those differences being that people have tangible souls in the form of animal-shaped "daemons." The second book is to be set in our universe, and the third book will move between the two.The language in The Golden Compass is toned down to a level of readability by a younger audience, but many of its themes and allusions are more than heavy enough for adults: the nature of the soul and where it resides, the corrupting nature of power, the suffocating sternness of a powerful Church. A quote from Paradise Lost precedes the book, and Milton is hardly childish reading. Another interesting aspect of the story is its resistance to categorization. There are corporeal souls, talking polar bears, and flying witches, but there are also scientists studying, classifying and quantifying their universe. It is the same edge-blurring blend of pure fantasy and very soft science fiction that makes a real separation of science fiction and fiction impossible."

Thanks for your time......

Go see the film...or better yet, read the books....