Tempest in the toy box
Tempest in the toy box
By: Greg Goodsell / Bakotopia.com contributos
Description: New children’s fantasy film ‘The Golden Compass’ said to promote atheism
Topics: Golden Compass, movie, Review, Preview, Greg Goodsell, Bakotopia. Atheism, christianity, Nicole Kidman, Dakota Blue Richards, 2007
Posted by Bakontributor Tue Nov 27, 2007 17:42:25 PST
Viewed 642 times
0 responses 1 comment Tempest in the toy box
New children’s fantasy film ‘The Golden Compass’ said to promote atheism
(Nicole Kidman and Dakota Blue Richards star as Mrs. Coulter and Lyra in "The Golden Compass." Courtesy photo)
By Greg Goodsell, Bakotopia.com Contributor
Self-proclaimed gatekeepers have always ruthlessly analyzed books, movies and other entertainment intended for children. According to them, makers of such media wish to instill values into impressionable, unquestioning minds.
A case in point is the new Nicole Kidman film “The Golden Compass,” opening in theatres on Dec. 7. “The Golden Compass” is a part of a trilogy of books aimed at young people entitled “His Dark Materials.” Series author Phillip Pullman is an outspoken atheist and claims he penned the series in response to the Christian proselytizing he find in C. S. Lewis’ “The Chronicles of Narnia.” Pullman has gone on record as denouncing the Narnia books as “a peevish blend of racist, misogynistic and reactionary prejudice” with “not a trace” of Christian charity.
Pullman’s trilogy, including “The Golden Compass,” “The Subtle Knife” and “The Amber Spyglass,” is interpreted by many as an attack on the Christian faith and the Catholic Church in particular. By the final volume in the series, the youthful heroes symbolically oust a villainous imposter who goes under the name of God!
As a film, “The Golden Compass” appears to be yet another multi-million dollar CGI-fest set in a dreamy alternate universe. Curiously, several atheists and atheist organizations have already decried the film, saying it greatly waters down the secular humanist viewpoint found in the novels!
One children’s film that many claim promoted an atheist viewpoint seemingly flew under the radar of many religious watchdog groups: 1995’s “Toy Story.”
Woody (voiced by Tom Hanks) is a cowboy doll who is afraid he’s about to be supplanted by the spaceman doll Buzz Lightyear (Voiced by Tim Allen). Woody is acutely aware that he’s just a toy. Buzz, on the other hand, thinks he’s really a hot-shot astronaut superhero. When Buzz and Woody are kidnapped by a next door neighbor, it’s up to Woody to strip away Buzz’s “metaphysical aspirations” in order to rejoin their original household. At least one astute viewer on the imdb.com message board has interpreted the multi-eyed, unquestioning aliens seen in Toy Story as being a thinly disguised “Christian cult!”
This current controversy is one of the ages. Feminists have long decried “Cinderella” as fostering sexist roles on women. “Little Red Riding Hood” has been endlessly analyzed for its sexual metaphors. “Alice In Wonderland” has hidden drug references. “The Wizard of Oz” has been seen by some as a gay coming-out-of-the-closet story.
Sigmund Freud, the father of psychoanalysis said at one point about dream analysis, “Sometimes a banana is only a banana.” How “The Golden Compass” fares at the box office, and in the hearts and minds of the young people who see it, has yet to be seen. Perhaps we should set aside our search for metaphors and symbols and simply become enthralled with the incantation with the magic words, “Once Upon A Time…”
Golden Compass Movie Official Website
*Originally printed in Bakotopia Magazine, Issue 16, 11 - 28 - 07
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Wed Nov 28, 2007 11:09:13 PST
I'll be watching it in the theaters, well maybe wait for the dollar theater since $10 a pop for a ticket is a bit steep for me. :)
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