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Controversy !!!!

Started by Serenity Vixen, December 11, 2007, 08:19:22 AM

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Serenity Vixen

Has anyone seen the movie "The Golden Compass"?

I thought it was a really good movie. There were a few places where it moved a tad slow for me, but overall a very enjoyable experience.

It is a movie in a fantasy setting, so frankly I am a little confused about the call for a boycott. I HIGHLY recommend seeing the movie and deciding for yourself :)
"I once tried to take over the world, but then I got distracted by something shiny"
"There are 3 kinds of people in the world. Those that are good at math, and those who are not"

Elvi

Why has there been a call for a boycott?

(My Daughter is off to see it tonight with her school friends and teachers)
It's been fun, but Elvi has now left the building

Tom

The books have an anti-religious theme that the movies haven't quite dared follow up on...

Sam

#3
Quote from: Serenity Vixen on December 11, 2007, 08:19:22 AM
It is a movie in a fantasy setting, so frankly I am a little confused about the call for a boycott. I HIGHLY recommend seeing the movie and deciding for yourself :)

Pullman's original novels (much less so the film) posit a pre-Reformation Church continuing through to the Edwardian period, with all the abuse of power and theological rigidity that implies.  To infuriate dogmatic religious types further, his books propose an alternative belief system that discards the idea of a singular God and replaces it with free thought, universal attachment to creation and a lot of other heady stuff.

I haven't seen The Golden Compass yet -- I wanted to avoid opening weekend crowds, though I understand they didn't materialize -- but it's my understanding that the religious overtones of the novel have been soft-pedaled, though Pullman says they will gain traction in the follow-up films if they're made.  With the Catholic League in shrieking hysteria over the books and by proxy the film, a sort of non-controversy controversy's been stirred up that doesn't have any apparent basis in fact.

Sam

Quote from: Tom on December 11, 2007, 08:33:55 AM
The books have an anti-religious theme that the movies haven't quite dared follow up on...

I'm not sure it's fair to call the books "anti-religious," though that's the package the Catholic League's trying to sell.

Elvi

*shrugs*
An 'American' thing then, not seen much fuss over here about the books or the film.
Beasty has read all of them, the only thing she is upset about is that the film uses the 'American' book title and not the one she is used to....
It's been fun, but Elvi has now left the building

Tom

Well, even if I'm on the other side of the table of the catholic league, I'm not shy of using the words anti-religious. Hell, if I had written the books I'd be proud calling them anti-religious!

Disclaimer: I haven't actually read the books. I'm just being loudmouthed. Also, in fantasy settings I loooove having detailed and complex religious pantheons.

PS. The movie wasn't very good. Plot holes a plenty and lots of (accidental) sillyness.

Serenity Vixen

I'll have to make a point on reading the books. Truth to tell, we actually went to see "Beowulf", but got delayed, so arrived to late, and it seemed like the next best movie. We didn't even know about the controversy until afterward, although that would have only served to make me want to see it more  :P

I liked the show, even though I did get bored in a spot or two. I especially liked the cast.

I have to admit though that I could read it... well, like a book. I kept telling my GF what was going to happen, even though I had never read the book or seen the movie before. She was especially shocked when I predicted the end, for some reason.

To me it seemed to parallel some of Tolkians work, although that would be a bit hard to explain, and would require mentioning spoilers that it would be far to early to mention as yet.
"I once tried to take over the world, but then I got distracted by something shiny"
"There are 3 kinds of people in the world. Those that are good at math, and those who are not"

Jefepato

Quote from: Sam on December 11, 2007, 08:35:04 AM
I'm not sure it's fair to call the books "anti-religious," though that's the package the Catholic League's trying to sell.

The books are intentionally anti-religious, so I don't really see the problem.

Avi

Eh, it's just typical extremist Christians who are taking things way too far.  I'm a Catholic, and yes, the books are meant to be a critique of the Catholic Church prior to the Reformation, when there were huge amounts of power abuse.  However, I'm a big fan of the books, and I plan to see the movie. 

The Catholic League's assertion that the movie is bait for the books is giving the filmmakers way too much credit.  I highly doubt there's some grand conspiracy to spread Atheism through the use of movies, and even Nicole Kidman has said she would not be involved with the movie if she felt it was as controversial as Bill Donohue would say.  But she is, she's proud to say that, and she's a mainstream Catholic. 

Bill Donohue and the Catholic League do not speak for all of us, many of us would not be sad to see him drop off a cliff somewhere. 
Your reality doesn't apply to me...

Sam

Quote from: Jefepato on December 11, 2007, 10:34:32 AM
The books are intentionally anti-religious, so I don't really see the problem.

The problem is that they're not intentionally (or unintentionally) anti-religious.  They're anti-dogmatic and utilize the pre-Reformation theological approach of the in-world Church to make that point.

Sam

Quote from: aviationrox on December 11, 2007, 11:17:13 AM
Bill Donohue and the Catholic League do not speak for all of us, many of us would not be sad to see him drop off a cliff somewhere. 

I think the sun would shine just a little brighter that day.   ;D

TonyWoods

Quote from: Serenity Vixen on December 11, 2007, 10:23:28 AM
To me it seemed to parallel some of Tolkians work, although that would be a bit hard to explain, and would require mentioning spoilers that it would be far to early to mention as yet.

Hmm I'll be interested in finally getting round to seeing this on the big screen then - I've read the books and I can't say they came across as very Tolkien-esque to me personally, so it will be interesting to see if its been fiddled with some way on its way to becoming a movie.

Then again, I didn't like the books that much so I might have 'zoned out' over those bits - while the some of the underlying premises were interesting I found the writing bland and strained in a lot of places (especially in the third book), and a lot of the religious/dogmatic 'prodding' 'very weak.

Hmm, actually on second thoughts, bar the religion bit that sounds a LOT like the work of Tolkien...
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Swedish Steel

Oh, sure, boycot this one! Idiots. I for one are glad we get something that balances all the religious crap C. S. Lewis tried to force feed us with his damn books. I quite liked them when I was a kid, got plenty pissed of when I realized I was being handed Christianity in disguise. I was over my believing in fairy tales phase by then.
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Sherona

Frankly I have read Golden Compass books and found the author to be boring and a bit over the top with his anti-religion. To compare him to someone in Tolkien's caliber kind of boggles my mind as Tolkien was just...yeah..ok so I am a Tolkien nerd sue me.


Being at best agnostic I have no problems iwth people writing books that are anti-religious establishment or anything else, what I do have a problem with is people getting up in arms about other people having issues with it.

You don't want people up in arms about this book's anti-relgious themes..but you have no problem getting up in arms about perceived christian themes? Can I say..huh? If your going to blast someone for having an undercurrent of Religious theme in their books, then I would suggest you dont blast others for blasting anti-religous themed books.

*shrugs* That is just my point of view. Frankly I only see minimal religious theme in the Narnia series, and that was simply teh Sons of Adam, and Daughters of Eve..of course I read them the way they are suppose to be read..for entertainment and not to be picked apart looking for symbolism...they are childrens books..and children generally do not see much symbolism at the age that Narnia books are written to..

Same with Golden Compass..I don't think that teh target audiences, mainly children, will see too much of the anti-religious theme and will probably view it as what it is...a work of Fantasy.

I just wish people would quit reading in between the lines for once, and just enjoy the damn books lol.

Swedish Steel

Quote from: Sherona on December 12, 2007, 08:26:54 AM
You don't want people up in arms about this book's anti-relgious themes..but you have no problem getting up in arms about perceived christian themes? Can I say..huh? If your going to blast someone for having an undercurrent of Religious theme in their books, then I would suggest you dont blast others for blasting anti-religous themed books.


But I'm not calling for a boycot of Narnia, am I? I just shared my own personal oppinion on the matter. People can read Lewis to their hearts content, it just isn't for me. So my first statement stands...the people calling for the boycot are idiots.
"Ah, no, not bukkake chef! Secret ingredient always same."

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Sherona

wasn;t really directed at you personally Steele :) I just used the C.S. lewis for reference.

I agree, boycotting for content is silly and does not really do much other then give the content more publicity :) Boycotting very rarely works in any situation, and I for one am all in favor of people being able to write, read, or watch anything they damn well want to.  If someone doesn't want their child reading/watching Golden Compass because it does not reflect their own personal views thats fine, dont buy the books..dont buy tickets to the movie..simple as that.

Same goes for the inane Passions of Jesus Christ crap. I had no desire to watch it, I find that the whole issue smacked of using one's fame to promote religious views (*cough* Tom Cruise *cough* Scientology *cough*) and frankly from what I hear the movie was pretty much drivel just as I thought. But did I go and make a big protest over it? Nope...

Bah I am just too long winded sometimes.

Swedish Steel

I like that Church in Texas that made a big book burning with Harry Potter books. How they got hold of them? Went and bought a whole bunch of them. Did it hurt HP's sale figures much? I'd sure Rowling herself would encourage it: buy two books, one to burn, one to read.
Idiots.
"Ah, no, not bukkake chef! Secret ingredient always same."

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Serenity Vixen

Calling a public boycott is pretty silly, and almost guarantees the success of the event in question, which is fine with me, I did enjoy the Golden Compass as a movie, and would like to see the rest of them made.

Just to clarify though, when I compared it to Tolkian, it was just the movie version. I have not read the books. Specifically, the battle near the end reminded me strongly of the "Battle of 5 armies" from near the end of "The Hobbit".  It may be that I am just such a huge fan of Tolkian that my mind put comparisons that did not exost, but I just could not help thinking about the Tolkian work while watching the battle in the movie...
"I once tried to take over the world, but then I got distracted by something shiny"
"There are 3 kinds of people in the world. Those that are good at math, and those who are not"

Swedish Steel

Or you could just watch it for the spankings, if you are into that.
"Ah, no, not bukkake chef! Secret ingredient always same."

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Monochromatic

#20
I've read the books and adored them - can't wait to go see the movie. A couple of friends and I were thinking of seeing it this weekend. In my opinion, the people who want to boycott it (or any other book/movie...etc) are just plain silly. Not everybody has the same beliefs as them. Why should we cater to them specifically and say 'screw you' to everybody else who enjoys it D=? Shame, shame.

Incognito

The His Dark Materials series is anti-religious but far from being anti-spirituality, Truth be told, I think it is an attempt to bring the idea of Gnosticism to a younger audience in words that they can understand, and it is understandable that the church would be up in arms about the movie as well as the books.  Pullman portrays original sin as the defining point of humanity simply because it was the first incident where humans displayed Free Will and the capability to ignore the orders of  “God.” 

The Church called Gnosticism heresy once, why would they change their stance on it now?

Sorry if I’m rambling...  I’m kind of tired and Religion is one of my interests.
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Elvi

Had a chat with Beasty about this last night, she's read the books and has now seen the film, so a 12 year old's point of view is:

Religion:
This is not our world, so why say it's anti 'our' religion?
They have a different type of religion, they see things differently than we do and they can split themselves in two we can't.

The film:
She enjoyed it, they stayed mostly to the story line, though she was dissapointed about the ending as she thought the ending of the book was far more exciting.
She thought the cast were chosen well and the characters almost as she had imagined them and the special effects were brilliant.
All in all she says that the film was good, enjoyable and that she would recomend people see it 'if you like that sort of thing'.

Tolkein:
Beasty reckons not.
She says apart from the fact that it's fantasy she doesn't see many similarities.

So there you go...yes this is 'second hand' because she can't comment on this site, but I see no reason for me to lie or exagerate as I have made no comment at all about the film or it's content.
It's been fun, but Elvi has now left the building

Swedish Steel

Quote from: Incognito on December 13, 2007, 01:50:05 AM
Pullman portrays original sin as the defining point of humanity simply because it was the first incident where humans displayed Free Will and the capability to ignore the orders of  “God.” 

Excellent.
"Ah, no, not bukkake chef! Secret ingredient always same."

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Serenity Vixen

Beasty seems wise and mature for someone to young to post duirectly
"I once tried to take over the world, but then I got distracted by something shiny"
"There are 3 kinds of people in the world. Those that are good at math, and those who are not"