NationStates Jolt Archive

Well, when I was younger (about 9 or 10 years of age), there was this really great book, Northern Lights (or The Golden Compass, for those of you who hail from the States). Well, now I'm 19 years old, and said great work of literature is making its way into cinemas all around the globe as a movie adaption - which however, after all I have read about it, seems to me like a movie targeted at the audience of the age I had when I first read the book. I think that's a shameful waste. Apart from the fact that the book itself deals with topics that are propably very remote from my concept of a children's book, at least the movie could have been targeted at those people who read the book earlier. I guess the 9 or 10 year olds of today, who haven't read the book will have little more affinity to the book than they have to any other movie that will linger around the screens this December.

Anyways, maybe The Golden Compass isn't that bad and I'm all mistaken. Has anyone seen the movie? Please share your thoughts and impressions. I'm going to see it anyway, it's just a little sad that I cannot expect any deep thoughts on philosophy, religion and physics here, even if the book would have provided just as much of them as Sophie's World (another great book, which I can recommend).

I haven't seen it, don't really plan on seeing it either.

But No Country For Old Men was awesome. Go see it, now.

Ugh. Some Christian protest facebook group ruined the ending for me. They didn't even bother to put a spoiler alert before that. Just to spite those assholes, I think I will go see the movie. Maybe even more than once.

I'm going to go see it some time next week. I really liked the books, and agree that they're definately not children's books. The movies....I hear that they've changed it to make it less critical of Christianity. Though I'm pretty sure that Pullman has publically stated that it was never intended as such.

Also, the person who wrote the voice over script for the ads is a fucking idiot and needs to be fired. 'This holiday season the quest for the compass begins'. There is no quest for a compass in the books. There is no compass of any significance in the books. The altheiometer is not a compass.

Well the book was fantastic; in fact the whole series were the best books I have ever read. As supposed children’s book whose basic principles are the un-founding love between two people and an open war against the catholic church. The philosophical questions brought up by this book are outstanding and I would well recommend it.

However, I expect the book won’t pick up any of this and it will be all retar..... I mean Americanised. So I don’t think I’ll be seeing it.

Children books ask "Who will win when good battles evil?"
Adult Books ask "Does my bum look big in this"

I just recently read the book, and after doing so, I've decided that I'm not watching the movie.

It's too good to be ruined by the movie version.

Children books ask "Who will win when good battles evil?"
Adult Books ask "Does my bum look big in this"

acutally, Mature Books ask about the bum.

ADULT BOOKS ask "why aren't we naked yet?"

I'm going to go see it some time next week. I really liked the books, and agree that they're definately not children's books. The movies....I hear that they've changed it to make it less critical of Christianity. Though I'm pretty sure that Pullman has publically stated that it was never intended as such.



Quite, hell, I read the book a couple of months ago, and I didn't pick up on that whole "critical of Christianity" bit. Hell, I was skeptical when my [religiously devout] sister said she wasn't going to see the movie because of this perceived criticism.

Hell, I couldn't see anything that had to do with anything Christian in the book, besides a massive central church organization, of course. But no direct theological or philosophical challenge anywhere.

I mean, it's an adventure story written for kids, ya know?

Well, when I was younger (about 9 or 10 years of age), there was this really great book, Northern Lights (or The Golden Compass, for those of you who hail from the States). Well, now I'm 19 years old, and said great work of literature is making its way into cinemas all around the globe as a movie adaption - which however, after all I have read about it, seems to me like a movie targeted at the audience of the age I had when I first read the book. I think that's a shameful waste. Apart from the fact that the book itself deals with topics that are propably very remote from my concept of a children's book, at least the movie could have been targeted at those people who read the book earlier. I guess the 9 or 10 year olds of today, who haven't read the book will have little more affinity to the book than they have to any other movie that will linger around the screens this December.
Wait, I'm missing something. At whom (which age group) would you like the movie to be targeted?

I haven't seen it yet, not sure if I will. I read the trilogy a couple years ago and was very torn over it - couldn't stand some parts, was simply blown away by others. Maybe I'll see what people say about the movie first.

I'm going to see Golden Compass sometime too. I've just finished reading the book, it's awesome. Unfortunately I've read the whole trilogy completely out of order (I read the third one a few years ago in like 5th or 6th grade, and I haven't read the second one yet). But I actually didn't catch on to the anti-religious stuff until the very end... :/ In fact, the whole controversy was why I read the Golden Compass. I love reading stuff hat causes controversy when it doesn't need to. :D

Children books ask "Who will win when good battles evil?"
Adult Books ask "Does my bum look big in this"

And that's why it isnt a childs book - in the respect that -(Spoiler)

Humans are evil, aren't they? Yet humans beat God. Thus evil wins over good. And it also has really deep philosophical issues. It's a good read.

Spoiler ends :D

I'm going to go see it some time next week. I really liked the books, and agree that they're definately not children's books. The movies....I hear that they've changed it to make it less critical of Christianity. Though I'm pretty sure that Pullman has publically stated that it was never intended as such.

Also, the person who wrote the voice over script for the ads is a fucking idiot and needs to be fired. 'This holiday season the quest for the compass begins'. There is no quest for a compass in the books. There is no compass of any significance in the books. The altheiometer is not a compass.

Quite, hell, I read the book a couple of months ago, and I didn't pick up on that whole "critical of Christianity" bit. Hell, I was skeptical when my [religiously devout] sister said she wasn't going to see the movie because of this perceived criticism.

Hell, I couldn't see anything that had to do with anything Christian in the book, besides a massive central church organization, of course. But no direct theological or philosophical challenge anywhere.

I mean, it's an adventure story written for kids, ya know?
Huh. I don't remember all that much but wasn't it pretty much the whole point of the books to make a case for critical thought and science and against religion?

As for Pullman: I heard somewhere the other day that he wrote it *specifically* because he was annoyed by the blatant Christian "propaganda" in C.S. Lewis' Chronicles of Narnia. I'll have to try and look that up somewhere.

Huh. I don't remember all that much but wasn't it pretty much the whole point of the books to make a case for critical thought and science and against religion?

As for Pullman: I heard somewhere the other day that he wrote it *specifically* because he was annoyed by the blatant Christian "propaganda" in C.S. Lewis' Chronicles of Narnia. I'll have to try and look that up somewhere.
Looked it up and as for the latter: not really. It was *said* to have been written to counter Narnia:
Wiki: (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philip_Pullman)
Pullman is a supporter of the British Humanist Association and an Honorary Associate of the National Secular Society. New Yorker journalist Laura Miller has described Pullman as one of England's most outspoken atheists.[5]

The His Dark Materials books have been controversial with some Christian groups. Peter Hitchens has argued that Pullman actively pursues an anti-Christian agenda.[6] In support of this contention, he cites an interview in which Pullman is quoted as saying: "I'm trying to undermine the basis of Christian belief."[7] In the same interview, Pullman also "acknowledge(s) that a controversy would be likely to boost sales. But I'm not in the business of offending people. I find the books upholding certain values that I think are important. Such as that this life is immensely valuable. And that this world is an extraordinarily beautiful place, and we should do what we can to increase the amount of wisdom in the world'."[7]

Hitchens views the His Dark Materials series as a direct rebuttal of C. S. Lewis's series.[8] Although Pullman has criticized C. S. Lewis's series The Chronicles of Narnia as religious propaganda, the two series have several things in common. Both feature children facing adult moral choices, talking animals, religious allegories, parallel worlds, and concern the ultimate fate of those worlds. The first published Narnia book, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, begins with a young girl hiding in a wardrobe, as does the first His Dark Materials book, Northern Lights (published as The Golden Compass in North America).

But Pullman says it isn't so: http://www.thirdway.org.uk/past/showpage.asp?page=3949 (but you can tell he really doesn't like Narnia. :p

Quite, hell, I read the book a couple of months ago, and I didn't pick up on that whole "critical of Christianity" bit. Hell, I was skeptical when my [religiously devout] sister said she wasn't going to see the movie because of this perceived criticism.

Hell, I couldn't see anything that had to do with anything Christian in the book, besides a massive central church organization, of course. But no direct theological or philosophical challenge anywhere.

I mean, it's an adventure story written for kids, ya know?
I figured it was more of a 'Having a huge, corrupt, in-fighting organisation ruling every aspect of life is bad, mmmkay?' thing than specifically an anti-religion thing.
Huh. I don't remember all that much but wasn't it pretty much the whole point of the books to make a case for critical thought and science and against religion?
Less science vs religion and more free will vs panuniversal dictatorship

As for Pullman: I heard somewhere the other day that he wrote it *specifically* because he was annoyed by the blatant Christian "propaganda" in C.S. Lewis' Chronicles of Narnia. I'll have to try and look that up somewhere.

Huh, maybe I heard wrong.

Huh. I don't remember all that much but wasn't it pretty much the whole point of the books to make a case for critical thought and science and against religion?

There's a critical attack on dogmatism, that's for sure, and on the ability of religion to be used as a tool for oppression instead of enlightenment and comfort, but I see no direct philosophical or theological attack on Christianity, or any other religion for that matter.

I mean, the Archbishop of Canterbury has defended Pullman and the series, and has proposed its use in religious education classes!

I figured it was more of a 'Having a huge, corrupt, in-fighting organisation ruling every aspect of life is bad, mmmkay?' thing than specifically an anti-religion thing.

Less science vs religion and more free will vs panuniversal dictatorship



Agreed. That's pretty much what I got out of it.

haven't read the book.

I will see the movie(s) first tho. reading the book tends to spoil the movie for me.

Agreed. That's pretty much what I got out of it.

Totally different for me. Too bad my memory is way too scant to allow me to actually prove you guys wrong. Hrmph.
But seriously, I came to the books not knowing anything about them and I read them as a very obvious and stark critique of religion (or "the church", if you will) and a very obvious call for rational, secular thought - and let's just say that I've been known to at times be embarrassingly thick about getting a book's message, so if even I read it like that it really must be true. :p