There is a new number 1 at the box office this week: "The Golden Compass." It’s a fascinating and lavish journey into a world created by a man on a mission, Philip Pullman. Pop culture movie critic, Roger Ebert, who falls somewhere short of being an astute observer of philosophy or religion, but who is, nonetheless, one of America’s most followed film reviewers, describes the film thusly:
“‘The Golden Compass’ is a darker, deeper fantasy epic than the ‘Rings’ trilogy, ‘The Chronicles of Narnia’ or the ‘Potter’ films. It springs from the same British world of quasi-philosophical magic, but creates more complex villains and poses more intriguing questions. As a visual experience, it is superb. As an escapist fantasy, it is challenging. Teenagers may be absorbed and younger children may be captivated; some kids in between may be a little conflicted, because its implications are murky.
“They weren’t murky in the original 1995 novel, part of the His Dark Materials trilogy by Philip Pullman, a best seller in Britain, less so here. Pullman’s evil force, called the Magisterium in the books, represents organized religion, and his series is about no less than the death of God, who he depicts as an aged, spent force. This version by New Line Cinema and writer-director Chris Weitz leaves aside religion and God, and presents the Magisterium as sort of a Soviet dictatorship or Big Brother. The books have been attacked by American Christians over questions of religion; their popularity in the U.K.may represent more confident believers whose response to other beliefs is to
respond, rather than suppress.
“For most families, such questions will be beside the point. Attentive as I was, I was unable to find anything anti-religious in the movie, which works above all as an adventure.”
In a February 2001 interview with Alona Wartofsky, published by the
Washington Post, Pullman made his intentions quite clear: “I’m trying to undermine the basis of Christian belief. Mr. Lewis would think I was doing the Devil’s work." Indeed he would. Perhaps he would even find a place for Pullman alongside Screwtape.
Ebert’s naive claim that Pullman’s trilogy leaves Tolkien’s Rings trilogy wanting is to engage in the worst sort of fascination in one’s cultural moment. Fans of Mr. Lewis’s The Chronicles of Narnia, which predate Pullman’s works by half a century and still appear on bestseller lists, will also take exception.
On Pullmans personal, official website he answers the question, "Do you believe in God," with coy yet venomous anger: "I don’t know whether there’s a God or not. Nobody does, no matter what they say. I think it’s perfectly possible to explain how the
universe came about without bringing God into it, but I don’t know everything, and there may well be a God somewhere, hiding away.
"Actually, if he is keeping out of sight, it’s because
he’s ashamed of his followers and all the cruelty and ignorance they’re
responsible for promoting in his name. If I were him, I’d want nothing to do
with them."
Yet don’t mistake Pullman’s mission as an altruistic attempt at doing away with God. On his website he claims very different motives in response to the question, What inspires you? "Three things. (1) Money. I do this for a living. If I don’t write well, I won’t earn enough money to pay the bills. (2) The desire to make some sort of mark on the world – to make my name known. To leave something behind that will last a little longer than I do. (3) The sheer pleasure of craftsmanship: the endlessly absorbing delight of making things — in my case, stories — and of gradually learning more about how they work, and how to make them better."
At least he’s honest: he’s motivated by money and ego. Neither are especially rare, but rarely is so much damage done as by the pen of an angry atheist like Pullman.
Chris Weitz, the bright, well-read Cambridge graduate who directed "The Golden Compass," describes himself: "I am a lapsed-Catholic crypto-Buddhist, which is I think appropriate for the piece." Indeed.
Then there’s Nicole Kidman, one of the stars of the movie, says that she could never do the movie if she thought it was anti-Catholic. Of course it is. The thinly-veiled Magisterium — an all but direct reference to the Catholic entity — is the villain behind the villains of Pullman’s trilogy. Not that Protestants get off easy (as theists they don’t), as Pullman has the last pope as none other than the fictitious (but believable to what Blackie Sherrod liked to call "the great unwashed") Pope John Calvin.
Let no one think this is just another fantasy film. New Line Cinema reportedly poured $180 million into it’s making and marketing, and they are doing all they can to keep it number 1 at the box office. Ads in your local paper feature critics extolling its brilliance (no one disputes that it is a stunning and well-made movie) will draw in millions of unsuspecting souls. Book sales for the trilogy will soar. Satan will smile. And millions will go deceived into thinking that all authority is bad, the universe is an accident, and someday they will realize that if all of that is true, their life is empty, meaningless, and that the next stop is not The Twilight Zone, it’s a dark, tragic death.
I’d much rather see Aslan triumph. Trust me, He will.
For a more erudite exploration of "The Golden Compass," I commend to you Mars Hill Audio. Their free mp3 download will give you considerable perspective in a non-polemical manner.