His Dark Materials @ MindSay

So recently I actually was able to get my parents to sit down and watch The Golden Compass with me. I was surprised to find out how much my mom actually liked it. I believe it was when Lyra was crossing the ice bridge that she made the comment, "I think it's AWESOME that it's a little girl."

Which got me to thinking. I love the His Dark Materials series, and I've read each book innumerable times, but it never really struck me that the protagonist was female. As I dwelled on this a little more, I realized that there are many strong female leads in the book series. The witches, Mrs. Coulter, Mary, even Atal (who, while not human, is still a girl), and of course Lyra. She's quick-witted, brave, loving and incredibly loyal. In a world of Hannah Montanna and pregnancy pacts, where girls imitate the--let's face it--bitchiness on TV and idealize everything, I think we need a hero like Lyra to follow.

I was once again struck (though not by a smooth criminal, mind you) at how few books actually do feature heroines. Even when there is a girl in the lead, there's usually a guy to help her on the way. Dorothy may have been the hero in the Wizard of Oz, but it still took the help of three (four, if you count the Wizard and five if you count Toto) other guys to help her find her way home. Still, I rather like Dorothy. She didn't just sit back and let the guys do all the work. She helped them out first (getting the Scarecrow off a pole, oiling the Tin Man's joints), but keep in mind that the killings of both Wicked Witches was accidental. Anyway, it's a start. Go Dorothy!

Looking through my list of favorite books while writing this, I couldn't help but notice that the majority of my favorite books have girls as the main characters. More than that, they're kick-ass girls (although Briar was really my favorite from The Circle of Magic and The Circle Opens books). I have read The Book Theif at least twenty times (this is not an overstatment), because I love the way it's written and because I love the main characther, Leisel. This girl has survived through so much, probably more in her fourteen years than I've experienced in my nineteen. Of course, living in Nazi Germany must have something to do with that. I won't say that she's always come out on top, because she hasn't by any means. But she was able to survive everything she had been through.

I'd like to see more books featuring girls like Lyra Silvertonuge, Francie Nolan, Kaye Fierch, Liesel Meminger, Sandry, Daja, Tris, Pocohantus and Mulan. I'd like to see less (a lot less, actually), of Bella Swans, Cinderellas and Snow Whites and any other girl who needs a man beside her to do anything.

I want so see women in fiction stand on their own two feet. I want to see women in real life do the same.

Well, here we go again.  American Christians, most notably Focus on the Family and the Catholic Church, are protesting the movie, The Golden Compass and the books from whence it came, His Dark Materials.

 

            We miss the mark here.  No, it’s not because the unbelieving world will rise up again and join in on the ridicule.  It’s because our mandate, given to us by Jesus, is not to create a moral society.  It’s to create disciples of Jesus, people whom He inwardly transforms by His power and Spirit.  These people know God and are known by Him.  They are sons and daughters of the heavenly Father.  Their sins are forgiven.  They can stand before God, faultless.  They have eternal life.  To think we’re going to create a moral society by such actions as trying to influence which movies people should or should not watch, is ludicrous.

 

            It is transformed individuals who will create a moral society, simply because they’ll be living in Him and for Him.  It’s a secondary benefit of a transformed life.

 

And what about Philip Pullman who is quoted as having said, "My books are about killing God"?

 

You’re probably aware that a man named Friedrich Nietzsche said much the same thing.  Perhaps you remember the famous graffiti, written on a subway wall:

“God is dead.”—Nietzsche

“Nietzsche is dead.”—God  

 

            I’ll leave it to you to determine who spoke the truth in that exchange.

 

This is a bulletin posted by an acquaintance of mine from high school, and then the messages back and forth that followed. While this acquaintance, who, for my purposes we'll call "Bob" isn't exactly the brightest crayon in the box, I think what he has to say (masked somewhere behind all the spelling and grammatical errors) is interesting. Also, it wouldn't make any sense for me to simply post my end of the conversation. Anyway, whether you read all of this or not, tell me your opinion of the movie, the series, the author, and whether you plan on seeing it or not. I read The Golden Compass shortly after it was first published. My dad read it first, then passed it on to me. I enjoyed it though I did not read the rest of the series. Finally, I thought this article was the best of all the articles I read about the movie. I also started this thread in the forums.

----------------- Bulletin Message -----------------
From: Bob*
Date: Nov 16, 2007 4:48 PM

christians don't watch...
the golden compass..........

because the guy that wrote the book series, is not only an atheist, but openly hates God and c.s.lewis, he wrote them to directly contradict the chronicals of narnia, and teach children atheisim

at the end of the series, the 2 main characters, (2 children), kill one of the characters,..........

the characters name is "God"

----------------- Original Message -----------------
From: Courtney
Date: Nov 16, 2007 5:04 PM

I think all the negative hype around the Golden Compass is a bit ridiculous.

Have you read the book and formed your own opinions, or are you just feeding off of the media?

While I am a Christian and also a fan of C.S. Lewis, I read and enjoyed The Golden Compass, and I plan to see the movie. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, I don't think suggesting atheism to someone is any worse than shoving Christianity down a person's throat, which, frankly, I feel happens all to frequently.

As far as the movie, reports state that The Golden Compass is the least atheistic of the three books in Pullman's series, and that some of the "most offensive" elements that appear in the novel were taken out of the movie.

It's simply a movie based on a work of fiction. If the church (the Catholic Church, primarily) is so threatened and scared by a movie that they believe it will cause people to turn away from the church, then the basis for their beliefs is not very strong at all.

I'm not trying to pick a fight with you, our opinions obviously differ on this subject. Just wanted to give you something to chew on.

----------------- Original Message -----------------
From: Bob
Date: Nov 16, 2007 7:38 PM

haha yes thank you. this is exactallt the reasoning behind my post. good discusion, sofar no one of any intelagent thought has responded.....

until now

first off yes, i have read them, and quite honestly enjoied them.but wut truly is rediculouse is that a ful grown man wrote a full book trilogy, simply to contadict another book series...

shoveing christianity or any other beliefs down any ones throught admitidly is wrong, agreed. but cowering in the fear of offending, i belive would be the worse of choices. so where is the middle ground?

no body is afraid that a movie will turn anybody away, it's a sence of pride fer wut we belive, and the truth. to not be in atleast the slitest way offended that some fool out there is useing his incredible storytelling ability to pourposly instill a faithlessness in the children of the world is sadening. the media rules this world. no book is just a book. no movie is just a movie. both are a pedastool. a power, and they demand attention.

i personally will stand against a man who sets out to poision the minds of the impressionable.

----------------- Original Message -----------------
From: Courtney
Date: Nov 16, 2007 6:18 PM

I guess I was presumptuous in assuming that you had not read the series. I think it's actually very interesting that Pullman wrote a series [His Dark Materials] in response to another [The Chronicles of Narnia]. It's almost like seeing both sides of a fight between two children.

You make a very decent point- where is the middle ground? As Christians we are called to share our beliefs with others. I will be the first to admit that I have a very hard time with this. If someone asked me my beliefs, I would gladly share my thoughts with them. However, I just don't feel it's my place to shout about my relationship with God- it's much more sacred and personal for me. Perhaps I should be a more active "witness" and share my faith, but maybe not. Maybe it's simply not my calling. But I'm getting a bit off topic here.

Basically, I just don't see any difference between C.S. Lewis, obviously a Christian author publishing a series of books [one of which later became a movie] that reflect his beliefs and Phillip Pullman, an atheist writer publishing a series [followed by a movie based on one novel] that reflect his. While I don't agree with what Pullman the way I do with Lewis, I still find his perspective interesting. I don't think it's a bad thing for Christians to question their faith. In fact, I almost hope this movie stirs something in the mind of children [and adults!]. I stand by what I said before- if the church is so threatened by a novel and a movie, then their foundation must be a bit shaky.

Still, I do see your point and if you do not want to support [by seeing the movie] an atheist, his views, and what he's putting out there, I fully respect that. I just have a problem with individuals blindly following what someone [in this case, the church] tells them to do [don't see The Golden Compass!] without forming their own opinion. Ironically enough, that's what Pullman's series is about.

----------------- Original Message -----------------
From: Bob
Date: Nov 16, 2007 8:30 PM

i do fer the most part agree w/ yer opinion, but my simple point is to let ppl know wut these books, and film are based apon. the title of the bulletin, was simply to catch an eye.

the one thing i disdisagree w/, if of yer off subject, subject. i think those who struggle w/ shereing, and whitnessing are those that truly have something profound to say, and should speek aloud, abouve the rumblings of the crowd. mostly because fer the most part, the ppl who have no problem w/ it are the crazy ppl you see on
the 10 o'clock news protesting funerals, and standing of street corners rageing on about the worlds end.

and yes i will see this one. but the 3rd, if made into a film, i will not, b-cause just reading about them killing "god" sickens me. i can't watch it.

*Name has been changed

Hooray, it's finally Friday. This has been the most up-and-down week, so I'm glad to see it's coming to an end. I came into the office today, but am now kind of wishing I had stayed home and fiddled with the Mac a bit more to try to connect to the company Intranet so I could work from home. A gentle thunderstorm woke me up this morning, and I was all snuggly warm under the covers in my cold room and did NOT want to get out from underneath them.

 

But, alas, here I am. I'm hoping it'll be a fairly easy day, considering yesterday was wacko. *fingers crossed*

 

Tomorrow a few girlfriends and I are hitting the streets of Philadelphia (cue Bruce) for some shopping, dinner at Continental in Old City and then some bar-hopping. It's for our semi-regular "Girls' Night/Day" that we have to book months in advance since the four of us all have such crazy schedules. Should be a good time. I haven't been in the city since I quit my old job two months ago, so it'll be nice to actually enjoy Philadelphia without having to associate it with work. :)

 

Anyway, to pass the time, I did a meme. It's related to Philip Pullman's "His Dark Materials" series, and more specifically, the first book, The Golden Compass. It's a great series that Libby introduced me to, actually. Like Harry Potter, it's filed in the children's section, but I think that the topics covered and hinted at throughout the series (issues with Christianity, religion as a whole, original sin, etc.) are really quite adult. The Golden Compass is being released in December in movie form, and I can't wait to see it, especially how the characters' daemons (the soul existing outside the body in the form of an animal) will be portrayed and what Iorek Byrnison will look like.

 

 

 

 

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