The Golden Compass

The US Catholic Bishops removed their positive review of the movie and the fight about what Catholic leadership feels is appropriate for Catholics to partake of, continues.

Just as with the fight over the Da Vinci Code—the book and the movie being very enjoyable from my perspective as a movie and book that while obviously anti-Catholic still spun a very interesting yarn, and I can take the good and discard the bad—the question one should be asking is not what will threaten Catholic faith, since most everything of the world does that, but what can one do to ensure their faith is strong.

Study and prayer.

Study the Magisterium of the Church and you will not be confused by false doctrine or misrepresentations.

Pray and you will be strengthened in your faith from the very source of it.

One of the great strengths of the traditional Jesuits—as they were then deeply strengthened by daily use of the Spiritual Exercises of their founder, St. Ignatius—was their ability to confront and defeat the destructive tendencies of the world on the world’s own turf, a mission Opus Dei is able to accomplish today due to their daily use of the spiritual teachings of their founder, St. Josemaria Escriva.

The Catholic Church and their apostolate workers are absolutely correct to warn Catholics of anti-Catholic material, but, as this review of The Golden Compass indicates, saying no is not an option in our media saturated culture.

Amy Welborn makes some excellent points on what the Church could be doing regarding the arts.

Published: Friday, December 7, 2007
'Compass': Challenging believers to articulate faith, values
By Sr. Rose Pacatte, FSP

New Line Cinema's latest contribution to the fantasy film genre is director/writer Chris Weitz's "The Golden Compass," based on the 1995 award-winning book of the same title by Phillip Pullman. New Line --- the studio behind "The Lord of the Rings" --- may have another hit trilogy on its hands.

"The Golden Compass" is Book I of Pullman's "His Dark Materials" trilogy; the others are "The Subtle Knife (1997) and "The Amber Spyglass" (2000.) More than 15 million copies of the books have been sold worldwide. Pullman says he has borrowed from every book he has ever read to create this best-selling and controversial trilogy and these include the fantasy writings and mythic imagination of C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkein.

"The Golden Compass" is a very exciting film about a young girl, Lyra and her animal-shaped spirit companion, Pan, voiced by Freddie Highmore (called a daemon in the film) who guided by a golden compass embark on an odyssey to rescue their friends. It will engage young and old alike (scenes of peril and fantasy violence may scare very younger children.) There are missing children, interesting daemons (in Greek mythology, these are spirit beings who can be good or malevolent), terrible scientific experiments, great polar bears and witches, and the Authority, or Magisterium, that controls the universe.

The seamless animation and brilliant special effects should attract some awards. Dakota Blue Richards, not burdened by excessive cuteness, plays Lyra with strength and courage. Nicole Kidman is positively chilling as Mrs. Coulter. My favorite character is the great armored polar bear, Iorek Byrnison, voiced by Sir Ian McKellan. Along with Lee Scorsby, an "aeronaut" from Texas, played by Sam Elliott, he is Lyra's brave and loyal champion.

The Controversy

Pullman (b. 1946) is a professed atheist: "Although I call myself an atheist I am a Church of England atheist, and a 1662 Book of Common Prayer atheist, because that's the tradition I was brought up in and I cannot escape those early influences" (quoted in "Killing the Imposter God: Phillip Pullman's Spiritual Imagination in 'His Dark Materials,'" 2007, JosseyBass).

Some critics believe that Pullman's fantasy epic is an expression of an atheist agenda. The Catholic League (www.CatholicLeague.org) agrees and has published a pamphlet about the book trilogy and sent it to all Catholic schools in the U.S. The Catholic League's website states that seeing the film --- even if it is not as troubling as the trilogy --- will cause children to want to read the novels and this would harm their faith. The Catholic League's website says that Pullman has twin goals "to promote atheism and denigrate Christianity to kids."

Others, such as Donna Frietas and Jason King, admit to Pullman's atheism in their book "Killing the Imposter God," but think he employs feminist and liberation critical theology in his writings, and that using these lenses reveals truth rather than denies it. Kurt Bruner and Jim Ware concede Pullman's darkness but also find and explore religious themes in "Shedding Light on His Dark Materials: Exploring Hidden Spiritual Themes in Philip Pullman's Popular Series" (2007, SaltRiver/Tyndale.)

Source material

Pullman's theological and spiritual source for "His Dark Materials" seems to be principally derived from the epic scriptural/theological poem "Paradise Lost" by John Milton (1608-1674). Milton's influence on Pullman's worldview cannot be underestimated.

Moreover, "The Golden Compass" film challenges believing adults to articulate their faith and values and to brush up on Church history, theology and literature and literary forms. It is a difficult assignment, but an excellent way to engage in our culture. To "just say no" is not a valid option in today's media world.