The Golden Compass
I read today that a Catholic church group has called for a boycott of the film adaptation of Philip Pullman's rather excellent book Northern Lights/The Golden Compass because of its anti-religious message.

See here.

But why? Surely if their beliefs are sufficiently strong this shouldn't affect them.

This just smacks of burying your head in the sand to avoid hearing an opinion that your version of events may not actually be true.

And it's a fantasy story, FFS, where people have personal daemons! It's not like it's a documentary on Darwinism. And word has it that much of the anti-religious themes have been removed or watered down a bit, thus annoying the secularists.
( K2k6 has a proper job these days, Wed 28 Nov 2007, 15:32, 11 replies)

He should call for a boycott on ...say.... The Passion of the Christ.
On the grounds that it promotes Christianity, and may be offensive to atheists.
( The Awful Puppy Bakery is still bored, Wed 28 Nov 2007, 15:45, closed)

Whenever I need cheering up...
... I look for the readers' reviews of Pullman on amazon.com - they're more than 50% foaming-at-the-mouth evangelists' warnings. if you're ever feeling worthless, that'll make you realise your superiority to at least some people...
( Enzyme is powered by sunlight, Wed 28 Nov 2007, 16:02, closed)

Just checked out Amazon
Thanks for the tip Enzyme. As expected, nearly all of the negative reviews came from the US. They were concerned about how it would corrupt children's minds by telling them God doesn't exist...ironic?

Whether you believe in a god is up to you. I have no problem with it either way. But you should be open to listening to opinions from either side without getting upset about it. And like I said before, this is only a fictional tale.
( K2k6 has a proper job these days, Wed 28 Nov 2007, 16:22, closed)

more to the point
why did they feel the need to change the goddam title?!
( rachelswipe with a fork, Wed 28 Nov 2007, 16:23, closed)

@K2k6
You're trying to apply logic and reason to religion, which by its very nature is illogical and irrational. (Note that I said religion, not spirituality- the difference being that one is an organized and ritualized form of worship while the other is a belief.)

Infidel!
( The Resident Loon Not a demographic. Do not measure., Wed 28 Nov 2007, 16:28, closed)

rswipe
right on!

it's not even a fucking compass!
( Vipros. clever got me this far, then tricky got me in, Wed 28 Nov 2007, 16:32, closed)

rswipe
The title The Golden Compass was used for the book in the US. It was published there first, and TGC was actually a working title for the trilogy. Because the alethiometer resembled a compass, they decided to use that name. When it was published in the UK, the trilogy was called His Dark Materials, and the first book named Northern Lights.

A great read regardless of title.

And yes, Resident Loon, I am trying to apply logic to religion, and failing miserably!
( K2k6 has a proper job these days, Wed 28 Nov 2007, 16:32, closed)

Hmm...
"This just smacks of burying your head in the sand to avoid hearing an opinion that your version of events may not actually be true."

Well, that doesn't sound like the Catholic Church at all. Are you sure it was them?
(Sir Harrington Titsmith disgraced himself on, Wed 28 Nov 2007, 16:33, closed)

I'm pretty fervently religious
and I loved the trilogy. The only thing I objected to was SPOILER ALERT Pullman doesn't let the lovers stay together at the end. I cried. And didn't they seem rather young to be rolling aroung doinking each other? Like 14 or something?

It's stupid to object. If you disapprove, don't read the damn book. One mere collection of words isn't going to corrupt anyone's faith and if it does, their faith wasn't all that solid in the first place. Those fundamentalists should grow up.
(TDub Nunc id vides, nunc ne vides on, Wed 28 Nov 2007, 23:14, closed)

Actually it was called 'Northern Lights' first
as it was published in the UK a year before it was published in the US. The trilogy had at one time been going to be called 'The Golden Compasses', but that refers to a different thing (Milton, compasses as in a pair of) not the alethiometer.

So the first book was originally 'Northern Lights' and it was changed for the US market, as people had previously said.
(Skittlemcfluff ......................, Thu 29 Nov 2007, 1:17, closed)

"it's a fantasy story"
You could affix that descriptiojn to a variety of texts, now, couldn't you? ;)
( mr_wicksy is.... old., Thu 29 Nov 2007, 7:03, closed)