Saturday, November 17, 2007
Should You Guard Your Children Against This Movie?
Heard about the new movie, "The Golden Compass" yet? Set to be released worldwide on December 7th. as part of Hollywood's Christmas offering, the buzz is building.
Before buying into the marketing hype though, you may wish to do a little research about this movie yourself ...certainly before taking or letting your kid(s) go and see it.
Here's how one plot summary writer, Tom Aylward-Nally, describes this movie on it's own site: "Adaptation of the Carnegie Medal-winning novel by Philip Pullman, the first volume in the "His Dark Materials" trilogy. In a parallel Oxford, young Lyra Belacqua begins a dimension-crossing odyssey that builds from a merely atypical children's adventure into a complex (and frequently quite dark) philosophical epic."
The movie has been described by some concerned writers as "atheism for kids" and Pullman, as the writer "atheists would have been praying for, if atheists prayed". Pullman is a self-proclaimed militant atheist and secular humanist. He despises C. S. Lewis and the "Chronicles of Narnia" calling the latter "religious propaganda". Others argue that Pullman's motivation for writing "His Dark Materials" trilogy was specifically to counteract Lewis' symbolisms of Jesus the Christ that are portrayed in the Narnia series. One British journalist and author, Peter Hitchens, claimed that Pullman actively pursues an anti-Christian agenda and, in an article in 2002 when Pullman's first award was announced, called him "the most dangerous author in Britain" while warning parents to beware the book.
The official Golden Compass movie site is veeery slick. It has an exciting trailer featuring the movie's major Hollywood stars Nicole Kidman, Dakota Blue Richards, and Sam Elliott. It's a different and "darker" trailer than the one at the movie site.
You also may find it foreboding that the Official Site includes a section, entitled "Daemons", where your kids can connect with their own personal demon that they then can "take with them out into their world".
Now It's Your Turn!: Please share how you feel and what you think about what you've read. For example: "Is Pullman dangerous?" or "Should Jesus Followers bar their still-impressionable children from seeing "The Golden Compass?" (My 'Comment Section', in which you can share anonymously, will open to you when you click on "comments" immediately below this post. The “Word Verification Procedure” there before you can post is included to prevent spammers from spoiling your enjoyment of my site.)
Before buying into the marketing hype though, you may wish to do a little research about this movie yourself ...certainly before taking or letting your kid(s) go and see it.
Here's how one plot summary writer, Tom Aylward-Nally, describes this movie on it's own site: "Adaptation of the Carnegie Medal-winning novel by Philip Pullman, the first volume in the "His Dark Materials" trilogy. In a parallel Oxford, young Lyra Belacqua begins a dimension-crossing odyssey that builds from a merely atypical children's adventure into a complex (and frequently quite dark) philosophical epic."
The movie has been described by some concerned writers as "atheism for kids" and Pullman, as the writer "atheists would have been praying for, if atheists prayed". Pullman is a self-proclaimed militant atheist and secular humanist. He despises C. S. Lewis and the "Chronicles of Narnia" calling the latter "religious propaganda". Others argue that Pullman's motivation for writing "His Dark Materials" trilogy was specifically to counteract Lewis' symbolisms of Jesus the Christ that are portrayed in the Narnia series. One British journalist and author, Peter Hitchens, claimed that Pullman actively pursues an anti-Christian agenda and, in an article in 2002 when Pullman's first award was announced, called him "the most dangerous author in Britain" while warning parents to beware the book.
The official Golden Compass movie site is veeery slick. It has an exciting trailer featuring the movie's major Hollywood stars Nicole Kidman, Dakota Blue Richards, and Sam Elliott. It's a different and "darker" trailer than the one at the movie site.
You also may find it foreboding that the Official Site includes a section, entitled "Daemons", where your kids can connect with their own personal demon that they then can "take with them out into their world".
Now It's Your Turn!: Please share how you feel and what you think about what you've read. For example: "Is Pullman dangerous?" or "Should Jesus Followers bar their still-impressionable children from seeing "The Golden Compass?" (My 'Comment Section', in which you can share anonymously, will open to you when you click on "comments" immediately below this post. The “Word Verification Procedure” there before you can post is included to prevent spammers from spoiling your enjoyment of my site.)
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Labels: Guard Your Family
