A few weeks ago, I finished the final volume of Phillip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy. Although the first book has been made into a movie and is coming out next week, the impetus to read them came when AJ found The Golden Compass and brought it to Italy with him. He was so taken with it that we combed Florence to find the second book, in English of course, and then he tried unsucessfully to find the third when we were in Venice. He wanted me to read them too, so I took a break from other stuff to read The Golden Compass, also while in Italy, and then read on The Subtle Knife and The Amber Spyglass on and off since we got home.
Also interesting is the email that has been forwarded around Mormon circles about the forthcoming movie. After being forwarded ad nauseum, I have no idea who the original author was, but here is the complete text:
A kids movie coming out in December starring Nicole Kidman, called The Golden Compass, is based on a series of children's books about killing God (it is anti-Narnia). The hope is to get a lot of kids to see the movie which won't seem too bad - and then get the parents to buy the books for their kids for Christmas. The quotes from the
author sum up his atheist point of view. I hope the movie totally bombs because we choose to not support it.
I have a few problems with this email (and with emails and arguments like this in general). First though, how can I take this seriously when the author can't even properly use apostrophes? "kids movie" should be "kids' movie." Yes, it's a nit-pick, but it bothers me. Another problem I have with the email is the generalization that the books are about the children killing God. Not really true. (I wonder if the author of the email has read the books. And I doubt that the majority of people who are forwarding the email on to all their friends have actually read the books either.) I am bothered about the conspiracy theory statement made in the email. "They" (who are they? Phillip Pullman? The makers of the film? Hollywood?) are trying to convert all children into atheists by using a seeming innocuous movie as a lure in order to get them to consume the hard-core material. To me, it seems unlikely. Pullman has publically denied this sentiment.
But, in general, what bothers me most is that well meaning individuals take this email at face value and make decisions about the movie, the books, Phillip Pullman's motivations, and the general value of these books and ideas based only on the ideas presented in the email. Somehow, the idea that Pullman is an atheist seems to be dangerous--as if nothing good could come from someone who doesn't believe in God. Part of Pullman's critique of The Magesterium in his books is that this dominating church manipulates people into thinking what it wants them to think and that they lose their ability to question and think critically. And ironically, this is what I think some people are not really digging below the surface of the email, but are just unquestioningly accepting what it says.
There was a discussion on my extended family's web site about The Golden Compass and this email. After three women who didn't have any basis for discussion other than the email and some web references to Pullman's atheism, I decided that I had to comment. I had no idea how my family would react. We mostly chit chat about family happenings, and I honestly don't know most of them well enough to predict how they feel about such things--I have basically painted the majority of them (perhaps unfairly) as a conservative, predictable Mormon family. There were two avid readers who piped up, who agreed with what I said, and that made me feel a bit better and not so much of an outlier.
This is what I said there:
Andy and I both just recently read Pullman's Dark Materials trilogy and really enjoyed them. We will go together to see The Golden Compass and are looking
forward to it.
My kids are not old enough to see the movie or even think about reading the books, but if they were 6-10 years older than they are now, I think my approach would be to preview the movie and then make the decision about whether or not to take them.
I have also gotten the emails that have been passed around Mormon circles and I don't really like them. I think that probably most people who have been forwarding them to their friends haven't read the books and are relying on rumor and propaganda to fuel questions about the movies. I have no idea if the movies will be any good, and don't know if I would take my kids, but as for the books, I think that they would be great for an advanced adolescent to read--say 15 or so. I hope that if my kids ever choose to read these books that we can have conversations about the nature of God and religion.
The God and the church that Pullman portrays, to me, are completely unlike any God or church that I believe in. The church he portrays is truly an evil, deceptive, and power-mongering institution. God is a doddering frail angel without any real power. Setting aside the question of whether Pullman's descriptions of God and religion in his books are what he actually believes about God and religion, to me they represent an alternate universe and fantasy. Even if Pullman actually believes his portrayal (and he is an atheist, so this is assuredly not what he believes), I still think there is a lot of redeeming value in them. I found that a lot of the negative things about his church are things that I also find offensive and disagree with. I found a lot that I agreed with him on, and I don't think that the things that I disagreed with him on are too dangerous or too scary to discuss or let my kids think about and talk to us about. But, again, these are not books that I would want my 10 or 12 year old reading, especially the third book.
I am also very suspicious of any kind of conspiracy theory, just by my nature. I don't like the sentiment that Pullman is trying to turn the world into a bunch of atheists and that this movie will be the bait to lure in innocent children. Perhaps that's true, but I personally am doubtful and won't make decisions based on speculation like this.
One more thing--The whole bit about the kids "killing God" is inaccurate. I had heard this before I finished the third book, and this brought to mind them using their knife, viciously attacking God, knowing who they were killing. Instead, they find an
old, frail, about to die angel stuck in a box, and they let him out to try to help him. It turns out that this person is God. They have no idea what they have done. The God that dies is happy to die, and is nothing like the God I believe in. Again, I think such ideas would make for fruitful conversation.
I want to write some more about the books, but I think I will postpone and put in a separate post.
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