Today I went to assess the movie that has gotten so much talk from churches, christians and parents. In fact, I went looking out for things to nitpick on in fact (and see the Big Polar Bear Aslan and Nicole Kidman as the White Witch). It hardly occurred to me how it could be in any way anti christian. Caveat: I’m talking only about the movie here. I don’t care if the book is anti-christian, since the complaints yadda yadda are mainly to stop people from watching the movie. We must bear in mind that movies more often than not leave out a lot of material frm the original text and would prefer to leave out the controversial bits really.
The Golden Compass never did attack religion or God itself. Perhaps it did bring in alternative fantasy ideas such as daemons outside the body or Dust and other dimensions but many movies do as well without getting accused of being anti-Christian. Its central theme was more of how a governing organisation has too much power. The movie looks at the abuse and scandals of this huge governing Magisterium. Looking at how Nicole Kidman talked about the Magisterium deciding for people because they’re not smart enough to decide for themselves and how it is important to be obedient to the Magisterium, it seemed more like an attack on authority than religion. I wonder why the film has not been censored yet. “deciding for the people because they’re not smart enough to decide for themselves” does after all sound vaguely familiar….
Even if it was not attacking the government but drawing parallels to the church, it is not making an attack on God or the Christianity. It is pointing out the mistakes and abuse that Man make when placed in such positions. It’s exactly how Galileo was condemned as a heretic by the Church of his day despite his valid discoveries of the earth going around the sun instead of the other way round. And yet i don’t recall any history books mentioning this incident to be condemned as anti-christian. Any of such incidents or scandals or errors are not the fault of God or the religion, but the fault of Man. Ergo bringing up such instances does not equate to attacking the religion either!
If anything, it’s an attack on the Catholic Church/the Vatican, perhaps they’re truly an organisation with “governmental powers” (not to mention all sorts of Vatican Scandals for a long time in history). It’s only because similar scandals had happened before that the Catholics feel that the movie is picking a bone with them. Intercission, inquisition — what’s the difference? Nabbing children and paedophile priests — what’s the difference? In fact, I thought one of the actors on the bad side looked a bit like a certain current pope….
Honestly, if an organisation did not commit similar abuses of power/attempt to remain in power through underhanded means, why would they have to speak up against a movie that attacks the abuse of power/attempts to remain in power? The issue certainly is not about turning people away frm God or causing their faith to falter — as if a mere movie is able to do that. And even if it could, then anything could! Surely we Christians need to have more faith!
I can’t understand, it’s probably some parental hype but things are getting overboard if even POKEMON starts getting regarded as demonic!
The irony of it all? By trying to speak out against the movie, it proves the book’s point in trying to show the Church as some all-powerful influential organisation that has a strong hold on people and being able to make people do as they say.
Hidden Valley 