Re: [LM_NET] The Golden Compass

[Maury Brown <mbrown4@K12ALBEMARLE.ORG>]

Thanks for sharing the information about the Golden Compass controversy.
I have known about the anti-religious overtones in the books since I
first read them years ago, but hadn't heard about the protests and
planned boycotts. I suspect this will get noisier as the release date of
the movie approaches.

What follows is my justification/defense of these books in light of the
issues/concerns/accusations discussed at the link you provide, in case
anyone hasn't read them and finds themselves having to counter
opposition to them: 

****
 
I have read all of the His Dark Materials series by Philip Pullman (The
Golden Compass, The Subtle Knife and The Amber Spyglass). They are
wonderfully well-imagined, superbly written, and hang on suspenseful
plots with interesting characters. They are a great blend of mythical
creatures, fantastical settings, and real-world situations and doctrine,
including religion. They are the epitome of good fantasy fiction in that
they translate everyday beliefs, traditions, and events into a new,
imaginary setting, thus allowing readers/viewers to reflect on their own
lives, beliefs and traditions. The protagonist, Lyra, is the quintessial
YA heroine, caught between the world of childhood and the world of
adulthood, allegorically re-imagined as a light and dark world in these
novels. She is distrustful of adult advice, including that of religious
figures in the novels, much like characters in all young adult fiction,
has to solve the conflicts alone (or, as these books follow the hero's
journey, with a supernatural helper), and in the process, find her own
identity, save herself, and the world as she develops into the true
hero. 

The books are every bit deserving of the awards they have received. They
are recommended for middle school and up not only because of the issues
they raise but also due to their reading level -- these are no easy
reads. They are complex and erudite. They most closely parallel Milton's
Paradise Lost and Paradise Regained.

Philip Pullman IS a secular humanist, and the books do present
significant anti-religious views, though not Catholic nor Christian per
se. They are more against intellectual tyranny, the control of thought
which societies especially religious ones, can impose on their citizens.
The books culminate with a freeing of the children and the citizens from
their indoctrination, their control by an omnipotent but not omniscient
"God". The books are also against focusing on an afterlife rather than
on this life, a classic secular humanist belief. This protest against
the books/movie will only help prove the suggestion in the book that
thought control (generally via religion) is actually a basis of our own
society as it is in the fictional society in the book. 

Yes, Christians will be uncomfortable with the books, particularly the
third one, which is much more overt in its connections to religious
doctrine. It is clear from the first 50 pages that God/religion is to be
defeated in this book (although in the fictional world of the work, it
is not Christianity per se). The first two books in the series are more
allegorical, and teens, unless well-versed in religious theory, will
likely read right over the anti-religious parallels and allusions to
Milton (I know my 13-year-old son did), unless of course, they are
pointed out to them. As far as a conspiratorial Hollywood trying to time
the movie with a book tie-in to promote unsuspecting Christian parents
to give the books as Christmas presents so that Christianity can be
cleverly and subversively undermined -- really?? 

Libraries are places that promote access to ideas -- even the unpopular
or unorthodox ones. And Christian parents have the right in America to
boycott the movies and restrict their children from reading these books
if they like, just as secular humanist or atheist parents can caution
their children against reading or watching any of Timothy LaHaye's Left
Behind novels or films due to their overt Christian views. 

I agree that this could get noisy -- and I hope we will stand on the
side of intellectual freedom with parental responsibility. 

Maury Brown, Librarian
Western Albemarle High School
5941 Rockfish Gap Tnpk
Crozet, VA 22932
434-823-4437
Mbrown4@k12albemarle.org 

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