I rarely get bent out of shape about movies coming out of Hollywood. I don’t join protest or picket lines outside movie theaters because they are showing some film that has come into disfavor with the majority of Christians. I simply choose not to view these films and to hurt the studio’s bottom line by not purchasing a ticket. Pocketbook protest. Studios are much more responsive to the whims of the marketplace than they are to the offended voices of those of us who may dislike a specific film’s premise.
However, I have heard far too much about the film, The Golden Compass, to merely refuse to purchase a ticket to see it. Adam Holz at the Focus on the Family website has posted a very interesting critique of this film. Fellow blogger Jason Barmer, at the Mudshot Eyes blog, has also written a very good post about the author of the book and his flippant dismissals of the literary works of CS Lewis and JRR Tolkien.
The Fox News Channel reports that while the more blatant atheistic concepts have been removed from this “family film,” there is a deliberate decision to introduce more of this type of material in sequels to the film. Here is what AP Religion Writer, Eric Gorski, wrote in his article about the controversial film:
A rather stunning admission from a director who has claimed that the overt atheistic overtones and anti-theism of the first book in this trilogy were removed from the movie in order to make it more family-friendly. No matter the spin, the result is the same. The author of the books has acknowledged his purpose in writing them.
I won’t go see the film, nor will I rent or buy the DVD. I won’t protest the movie, other than my “pocketbook protest.” But I do want to make as many people aware of the premise of the film and the director’s plans for the sequels so that each person can make up his own mind about how he wishes to respond to this movie.
Filed under: Miscellaneous | Tagged: atheist, controversy, film, golden compass, protest, pullman
