Catholic League boycotts "The Golden Compass"

TithonusSyndrome · Post by **TithonusSyndrome** » 2007-11-04 01:29pm

I figured this would be a better forum than Fantasy to post this in.

FILM SELLS ATHEISM TO KIDS; MAJOR PROTEST LAUNCHED

The Catholic League is calling for a boycott of "The Golden Compass"; the movie opens December 7. It is based on the first book of a trilogy titled, His Dark Materials.

The author of this children's fantasy is Philip Pullman, a noted English atheist. It is his objective to bash Catholicism and promote atheism. To kids. "The Golden Compass" is a film version of the book by that name, and it is being toned down so that Catholics, as well as Protestants, are not enraged.

The second book of the trilogy, The Subtle Knife, is more overt in its hatred of Catholicism than the first book, and the third entry, The Amber Spyglass, is even more blatant. Because "The Golden Compass" is based on the least offensive of the three books, and because it is being further watered down for the big screen, some might wonder why a boycott is warranted.

The Catholic League wants Christians to boycott this movie precisely because it knows that the film is bait for the books: unsuspecting parents who take their children to see the movie may be impelled to buy the three books as a Christmas present. And no parent who wants to bring their children up in the faith will want any part of these books.

We are launching a major educational campaign designed to alert the public to Pullman's game plan. To that end, we have prepared a booklet, "The Golden Compass: Agenda Unmasked." It contains snippets of what reviewers have said about the film and the books, as well as revealing comments made by Pullman himself; it also contains a synopsis of the trilogy. In short, the booklet is not what we are saying about Pullman's work—it is what he and others have said about it.

Pullman represents the new face of atheism: it is aggressive, dogmatic and unrelenting. It is also fueled by hate—by a crusading hatred of all religions, but most especially of ours. His side is counting on our side to lie down and die. He may have experienced little resistance in England, but it's a different story here.

The reason we are starting our protest early is because it takes time to get the word out, and besides, the media love it when we give them something to chew on. The booklet is being mailed to thousands of influential persons, including film critics and Christian leaders.

While Roman Catholicism is the evil force in Pullman's writings, his real goal is to put a positive face on atheism, getting children to buy his message. Thus, we expect more than Catholics will join our protest.

Go ahead, launch your protest, flex your puny rhetorical muscles, and make complete fools of yourselves. Us "dogmatic" atheists appreciate the publicity.

Dartzap · Post by **Dartzap** » 2007-11-04 01:37pm

He may have experienced little resistance in England, but it's a different story here.

That's because hardly anyone here cares anymore Grief, there's a reason why I'm glad Henry VIII told the Pope to take a running jump, it created a toothless old crone of an institution who no one listens to these days.

Post by **K. A. Pital** » 2007-11-04 01:48pm

Pullman presents the old face of religion: it is aggressive, dogmatic and unrelenting. It is also fueled by hate—by a crusading hatred of all religions and worldviews, except ours.

Fixed for the Catholics.

Einhander Sn0m4n · Post by **Einhander Sn0m4n** » 2007-11-04 01:51pm

Have fun with your attention-whoring, bitches. I'll bet Golden Compass gets even more viewers than had these pissant shitbirds at the Catholic League not started squawking.

General Zod · Post by **General Zod** » 2007-11-04 01:57pm

Well. That's just one more reason for me to go see this.

Post by **Cairber** » 2007-11-04 02:09pm

My mom forwarded me a catholic news bit that claimed the books dealt with female genital mutilation. I know that The Subtle Knife briefly mentions make and female genital cutting (a witch briefly states that she has seen it in the 'southern churches'), but, other than that, I have absolutely no idea where they are getting this idea.

Maybe from a confusion as to what intercision is in the book?

Post by **Cairber** » 2007-11-04 02:12pm

ghetto edit, that should read "male and female"...

Einhander Sn0m4n · Post by **Einhander Sn0m4n** » 2007-11-04 02:15pm

Oh I'd LOOOOOVE to hear just how they suddenly realize cutting bits off people's genitalia is wrong and bad when all these decades/centuries/millenia beforehand it was somehow kosher and often massively encouraged.

Post by **Cairber** » 2007-11-04 02:19pm

Einhander Sn0m4n wrote:Oh I'd LOOOOOVE to hear just how they suddenly realize cutting bits off people's genitalia is wrong and bad when all these decades/centuries/millenia beforehand it was somehow kosher and often massively encouraged.

You can read a little about how the rumor seems to have started here:

http://www.snopes.com/politics/religion/compass.asp

(last paragraph of the email they have posted)

Einhander Sn0m4n · Post by **Einhander Sn0m4n** » 2007-11-04 02:26pm

If it's true, that's even more reason to show the damn movie!

Lost Soal · Post by **Lost Soal** » 2007-11-04 02:31pm

Dartzap wrote:
He may have experienced little resistance in England, but it's a different story here.
That's because hardly anyone here cares anymore Grief, there's a reason why I'm glad Henry VIII told the Pope to take a running jump, it created a toothless old crone of an institution who no one listens to these days.

Yip, in fact he's encountered so little resistance that its completely passed me by. I've seen a trailer for this film but I've never even heard of the books.

Bloody braindead Pillicks are simply giving the movie and books free press.

Post by **Cairber** » 2007-11-04 02:32pm

Einhander Sn0m4n wrote:If it's true, that's even more reason to show the damn movie!

I think it's pretty interesting to look at what these catholic groups have done with this quote:

You know only the north; I have traveled in the south lands. There are churches there, believe me, that cut their children too, as the people of Bolvangar did - not in the same way, but just as horribly. They cut their sexual organs, yes, both boys and girls; they cut them with knives so that they shan't feel. That is what the church does, and every church is the same: control, destroy, obliterate every good feeling...

Assuming this is where they got the idea that the books deal with female circumcision (and it's the only place in the books were genital cutting is mentioned), I find it interesting that they turned male genital cutting into "castration" in their criticisms of the book. They just kinda skipped right over circumcision and decided the quote must refer to castration.

Indirectly, I remember either Compass or Knife had a quote that went something like "The Church wouldn't flinch at the idea of a little cut." I suppose they could have gotten the idea from that line....but that's a stretch.

/end my overanalyzing. We have talked about this at length on our anti-circ board.

Maraxus · Post by **Maraxus** » 2007-11-04 02:36pm

Cairber
If I can recall correctly, the Golden compass has a short (and I mean very short) quip about castration when Azreal is talking to Lyra about the whole daemon cutting process, and explicitly states that daemon cutting was originally conceived because of the Magisterium's long history with choirboy castration.

Post by **Cairber** » 2007-11-04 02:38pm

Maraxus wrote:Cairber
If I can recall correctly, the Golden compass has a short (and I mean very short) quip about castration when Azreal is talking to Lyra about the whole daemon cutting process, and explicitly states that daemon cutting was originally conceived because of the Magisterium's long history with choirboy castration.

Ahh yes! I do remember that part now. I think that is where the line about "not flinching at a little cut" was also mentioned.

So much for my over analyzing

Post by **Edi** » 2007-11-04 03:15pm

I read the books just recently and the Catholics are up in arms abpout it because it actually calls a spade a spade and doesn't pussyfoot around in its depiction of religion.

bilateralrope · Post by **bilateralrope** » 2007-11-04 04:57pm

General Zod wrote:Well. That's just one more reason for me to go see this.

Will these groups ever learn that all they are doing is giving free advertising for the things they hate ?

DavidEC · Post by **DavidEC** » 2007-11-04 05:08pm

I've never read the books. How obvious would children find the anti-religion in them, or the film?

[R_H] · Post by **[R_H]** » 2007-11-04 05:51pm

I've never read the books. How obvious would children find the anti-religion in them, or the film?

I can remember having read one or two of the books when I was ~12 or so, nothing struck me as anti-religion. Then again, at this point in time, I couldn't tell you what even happened (other than there being giant polar bears that make and use armour made from meteoric iron...Soviet bear cavalry!). It could have passed right over my head, seeing as I was an atheist at the time, and basically didn't give a flying fuck about religion.

Sidewinder · Post by **Sidewinder** » 2007-11-04 05:51pm

DavidEC wrote:I've never read the books. How obvious would children find the anti-religion in them, or the film?

I haven't seen the film yet, but I've read the book. It portrays the Catholic Church as a bunch of fanatics who'd perform mutilations-- in the book, severing the connection between a human being and his daemon, or soul-- to make people more docile and easy to control. The sequels specifically deal with an attempt to liberate the multiverse from the tyranny of the Authority-- God, a charlatan who claimed to have created the worlds and everything in them when he's actually nothing more than the first sentient being to be created-- and the Authority's agents, who want to start an Inquisition to destroy any and all dissenting thoughts. The serpent who tempted Eve is portrayed in a positive manner for encouraging the first humans to think for themselves.

DavidEC · Post by **DavidEC** » 2007-11-04 06:07pm

Well on those grounds (the last sentence you wrote) Christianity would want to ban Paradise Lost for its charismatic Satan.

All the things you said have at least some real-world analogue from the Church, so by that I can't see any sympathy for them. I glanced twice at your descriptions of mutilations but it makes sense once you swap 'daemon' for 'independent thought'.

wolveraptor · Post by **wolveraptor** » 2007-11-04 08:32pm

I'm disappointed that the film-makers aren't sticking to their guns. I mean, most book-movie translations are already crappy, and toning it down is only going to exacerbate that.

Ryan Thunder · Post by **Ryan Thunder** » 2007-11-04 09:07pm

Sidewinder wrote:
DavidEC wrote:I've never read the books. How obvious would children find the anti-religion in them, or the film?
I haven't seen the film yet, but I've read the book. It portrays the Catholic Church as a bunch of fanatics who'd perform mutilations-- in the book, severing the connection between a human being and his daemon, or soul-- to make people more docile and easy to control. The sequels specifically deal with an attempt to liberate the multiverse from the tyranny of the Authority-- God, a charlatan who claimed to have created the worlds and everything in them when he's actually nothing more than the first sentient being to be created-- and the Authority's agents, who want to start an Inquisition to destroy any and all dissenting thoughts. The serpent who tempted Eve is portrayed in a positive manner for encouraging the first humans to think for themselves.

Well, that said, why wouldn't they want to ban it?

Furthermore, how could you blame them for wanting to ban it?

DPDarkPrimus · Post by **DPDarkPrimus** » 2007-11-04 09:12pm

DavidEC wrote:I've never read the books. How obvious would children find the anti-religion in them, or the film?

The first book, it's not very noticeable at all. It becomes pretty blatantly apparent in the last book, but the first two are a heck of a lot subtler than, say, the Chronicles of Narnia.

General Zod · Post by **General Zod** » 2007-11-04 09:15pm

Ryan Thunder wrote:
Furthermore, how could you blame them for wanting to ban it?

Quite easily. There's this thing called Freedom of Speech, perhaps you've heard of it.

Spin Echo · Post by **Spin Echo** » 2007-11-04 09:21pm

Sidewinder wrote:
DavidEC wrote:I've never read the books. How obvious would children find the anti-religion in them, or the film?
I haven't seen the film yet, but I've read the book. It portrays the Catholic Church as a bunch of fanatics who'd perform mutilations-- in the book, severing the connection between a human being and his daemon, or soul-- to make people more docile and easy to control. The sequels specifically deal with an attempt to liberate the multiverse from the tyranny of the Authority-- God, a charlatan who claimed to have created the worlds and everything in them when he's actually nothing more than the first sentient being to be created-- and the Authority's agents, who want to start an Inquisition to destroy any and all dissenting thoughts. The serpent who tempted Eve is portrayed in a positive manner for encouraging the first humans to think for themselves.

Is it actually the Catholic church in the book? I thought it was just a massively authoritarian church which the Catholics are reading into as being the catholic church.