1. 'Boycott Worked': Compass Flops - Opening Weekend $26 Million; Narnia $63 Million

Comment #96783 by Jason P on December 10, 2007 at 10:38 pm

I enjoyed the movie immensely. I would recommend it to everyone. It was certainly flawed, but it did a pretty good job of capturing the book and certainly made a very entertaining film.

The opening in the US is somewhat disappointing, but nothing catastrophic. Obviously mixed review hurt it, as did the boycott - good word of mouth could help it a lot. As importantly, it is making bucketloads in the overseas markets it has opened in, and it has yet to open in many countries.

Clearly the boycott did have an effect - it knocked out such a huge proportion of the Narnia-going population that those who are seeing it out of curiosity over the controversy couldn't nearly outweigh it.

The criticisms of religion are clearly still in there. I shake my head at how dense someone would have to be to deny their existence. Apart from all the angelic, saintly, and other religious imagery that decorates the Magisterium's buildings, there is the Magisterium itself (a clearly Christian name), whose functionaries wear high collars, robes, and medallions. They condemn scientific inquiry as "heresy." Any version of the truth which conflicts with theirs is shut down. Mrs. Coulter talks about Dust coming into the world because our ancestors made a mistake by disobeying The Authority. No, it doesn't say Church, nor does it yet say Sin. But aside from that, what more could you want.

2. Fear of censure deflects The Golden Compas

Comment #94350 by Jason P on December 5, 2007 at 12:29 pm

Northern Bright: "I found the idea of daemons more than just uncompelling or unattractive - I found it truly hideous. I realise that many of you won't relate to this at all, but altogether I found NL a seriously nightmarish book. My feelings went far beyond dislike.

Shallow? No, I'm definitely not that."


I'm sure you are not shallow, but to dismiss an 11-12 year old child with such obvious qualities of extraordinary bravery, loyalty, and curiosity as a brat, I suppose because she lies(?), is a very unsympathetic and seemingly wilfully one-dimensional response.

I am very curious to know what you find so disturbing about daemons. I confess I have never come across such a reaction - most people find daemons the most compelling innovation of the books. There are obvious drawbacks to having a daemon, but "hideous?" Please explain.

3. Fear of censure deflects The Golden Compas

Comment #93949 by Jason P on December 4, 2007 at 1:35 pm

I love His Dark Materials. They are the books I love the most and which have affected me the most. They helped prepare me to become an atheist.

I am quite surprised at the virulence of the anti-HDM atheists here! I'd never heard such a reaction. Everyone I've ever talked to about the books at the very least liked The Golden Compass, even if they weren't as enamored of the later books, unless they had strong religious objections. Certainly the millions of childrens and adults who have read and loved the books do not find them cold. Lyra is one of the great heroines of fiction - to call her vile, or a brat, is to be incredibly shallow and curmudgeonly. Rather the same goes for those who found the idea of daemons uncompelling or unattractive.

The books are far better written than the vast majority of fantasy or sci fi. The world is very coherent and well thought out. You must remember that the books are a hybrid of sci-fi and fantasy - they can't be held to the same standard of purely rational plausibility to which sci-fi is held, because they also make use of fantasy elements to tell a more compelling story. One can quibble with whether their world would really be so similar to ours, but it is just that, a quibble. If you know you don't like any fantasy or sci fi or children's literature, sure, you might not like these books. But there are many people who are not big fans of those genres who do love them.

Above all, I am very glad that the release of the film and the attendant controversy, both between the religious right and everyone else over the atheistic nature of the books, and within the Richard Dawkins community over the artistic merit of the books, is leading more and more people to pick up the books to decide for themselves. I can only hope that they will keep an open mind.

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For comprehensive information, discussion, and the latest news on both the His Dark Materials books and the Golden Compass movie, go to http://www.hisdarkmaterials.org

4. Fear of censure deflects The Golden Compas

Comment #93623 by Jason P on December 3, 2007 at 6:37 pm

I have seen the film, which by the way is excellent. I can assure you that although there is somewhat less explicit reference to religion than in the book, it is by no means gone. Most importantly, the section of the book that this first film corresponds to has very little theological discussion. The horizons only open up after the point at which the movie ends. Therefore, there is almost nothing that is lost irreversably - nothing which makes it impossible to explain the true nature of the conflict in the later movies. And that is exactly what director Chris Weitz wants to do. In a very recent interview, he stated:

"And as for those who are concerned that I have not used the word "Church" but only the word "Magisterium" for the bad guys, and that sort of thing, I would advise them to do a little research into the meaning of the word "Magisterium" for starters. Some people will only be satisfied if the film I've made is an outright attack on religion, which to me shows that they have misapprehended the meaning of Pullman's books as much as the "other side."

It's true, though, that "The Subtle Knife" and "The Amber Spyglass" tread in territory that is much more controversial than the first book. This is also addressed by a bunch of questions that I will lasso under the heading "what next?" Well, though I saw it as my duty to build the franchise of "His Dark Materials" on as solid a grounding as I could, it would all be in vain if the second and third films did not have the intellectual depth and the iconoclasm of the second and third books. The whole point, to me, of ensuring that "The Golden Compass" is a financial success is so that we have a solid foundation on which to deliver a faithful, more literal adaptation of the second and third books. This is important: whereas "The Golden Compass" had to be introduced to the public carefully, the religious themes in the second and third books can't be minimized without destroying the spirit of these books. There is simply no way to adapt them without dealing with Lyra's destined role, her secret name, and the war in the heavens. I will not be involved with any "watering down" of books two and three, since what I have been working towards the whole time in the first film is to be able to deliver on the second and third films. If I sense that this is not possible, there's no point my continuing to work on them."

Bottom line: The Golden Compass is being made as marketable as possible so that it will provide a solid financial foundation for the rest of the trilogy, and so that it will establish a loyal fanbase who will be then willing to follow Pullman and Weitz into much darker and more complex philosophical territory. Furthermore, as the article writes, the more people see the movie, or even just hear about it, the more will be intrigued enough to read the books. And that can only be a good thing.

For fans of the books who are concerned, here are some of the religious aspects which have been maintained in The Golden Compass film:

The evil organization is still called the Magisterium, which refers to the teaching body of the Catholic Church. Its members wear robes, medallions, and stiff vertical white collars. A district office of the Magisterium is covered in medieval religious icons. Mrs. Coulter has angels on her ceiling. Most importantly, the Magisterium condemns scientific research as "heresy" (a purely religious term) because it contradicts received teaching. Mrs. Coulter explains that Dust came into the world when people disobeyed The Authority. That's right, The Authority. They don't explain who that is yet, but that doesn't mean they won't.

5. The new wars of religion

Comment #84344 by Jason P on November 1, 2007 at 9:12 pm

That's 2/3 of Pentecostals, NOT 2/3 of Americans.

6. Tests of faith over 'The Golden Compass'

Comment #83691 by Jason P on October 31, 2007 at 12:38 am

What some people are calling "metaphysical hooha" and "bull to swallow" is metaphorical! It's a fantasy book! What do you expect? Pullman doesn't want you to "swallow" the ideas of Dust or angels any more than he wants you to "swallow" the idea of talking polar bears. Dust is a metaphorical concept. No, the books themselves are not wholly rationalistic. But they are absolutely secular humanistic, and absolutely not anything close to Christian. Can't atheists recognize an atheist book when they see one instead of ripping it for engaging with the religious tradition on a metaphorical level in order to criticize it? The reason there are angels is because the trilogy is inspired by Paradise Lost, and is one one level an inversion of it as well as of Narnia. It does not postulate any god, and leaves the existence of god no more open than any honest technically-agnostic-practically-atheist here does - there's no absolute evidence that no god exists, but it's certainly not worth basing your life on the assumption that one does.

7. Tests of faith over 'The Golden Compass'

Comment #83377 by Jason P on October 29, 2007 at 9:35 pm

His Dark Materials is amazing. Reading the books laid the foundation for my conversion to atheism. I highly recommend them to you, your kids, and all your friends. These attacks are disturbing, but not surprising. The Catholic League is frightened.

Philip Pullman is a confirmed atheist, and is completely on Richard Dawkins' side - see his passionate blurbs for TGD. The books make use of mystical elements and gnostic myth because they are fantasy books. They're not a direct depiction of Pullman's literal worldview. But they are harshly critical of the Church in a parallel universe, as well as of the impostor god worshipped by followers of Abrahamic religions in all the parallel universes. The books have a completely secular and uplifting secular humanist message, and are a powerful argument for the possibility and necessity of living the good life without god.

No one has seen the movie except New Line, so no one knows how much they've kept in. However, the bad guys, who are even worse than they are in the books, are called The Magisterium (clearly a religious group), their agents are dressed like priests and use words like "heresy," and in one early image from the set, a Magisterium seal included a Latin inscription reading "One Church Above All." For what it's worth, Philip Pullman has said numerous times how pleased he is with the film.

For more information about the books and films, check out www.hisdarkmaterials.org

As for the column which was quoted earlier and used in support of the claim that the books are not atheistic or humanistic, the column is hogwash. As I said, you have to expect some mystery and some "supernatural" in the sense of "not what exists in real life as far as we know" elements in a work of fantasy/sci fi. It's fiction. And as for gender roles, the writer really picked the wrong fight. Lyra is an incredibly strong, compelling heroine who has managed to appeal to all ages and both (all?) genders as few female protagonists in young adult fiction have. The books are always centered upon her - Will is important, but his role is to help Lyra. Just because he has a knife doesn't mean that he's a Freudian oppressor.

As for the claim that most kids don't get the "subtext," think again, and as I said, check out the website. The books are very serious in their philosophical content and have inspired numerous books of commentary. The philosophy and the humanism is right there in with the incredible storytelling. You have to deliberately shut yourself off to the former in order not to engage. It is a work which makes you think.