Wednesday, December 5, 2007

Wednesday Again? Already? Hhhm...


Well, this Wednesday sure did sneak up on me! Here it is Wordy Wednesday again and I have not posted since last Wednesday. That is mostly due to me having my head stuck in a book, actually books for the last 5 days.

I had to take a break from many of my "extra-curricular" activities so I could turn my attention to Phillip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy which begins with the book, The Golden Compass. I've actually had the trilogy sitting on my shelf now for more time that I'd like to admit. But as you know if you've ever visited my house, my husband and I probably own more books than we'll ever possibly be able to read. We don't mind though, we've learned to decorate with them!

Anyway, I receive lots of e-mails from a variety of sources and have recently been bombarded with e-mails calling for a boycott of the upcoming "controversial" movie, The Golden Compass. Don't you just love controversies? It amazes me how much energy people will put into boycotting and banning other people's thoughts and creations. My curiosity piqued, I put all other reading materials aside and dove in. I'm half way through the second book. The books are excellent reading so far, especially for a fan of fantasy such as myself.

For now, I will leave my commentary at that and leave you with everyone else's in the true spirit of Wordy Wednesday. Each quote is linked to a full online article.

"They’re intentionally watering down the most offensive element,” Donohue said. “I'm not really concerned about the movie, [which] looks fairly innocuous. The movie is made for the books. ... It's a (pro-atheist) deceitful, stealth campaign."

Calgary Bishop Fred Henry said there are more pressing issues facing Catholics than debating a children's fantasy novel.

For anyone who hasn't yet read the books, Tom said they would appeal to anyone who likes to ask questions about the world we live in and what things mean.

The plot involves (in the books at least) one side (the Church) trying to rid the world of sin by committing atrocious acts against children, while the other side, headed up by Lord Asriel, which is trying to stop them, are not clearly the "good guys" either. Unless someone has substantially changed the plot for the film to something that is certainly not in the book (and I doubt that, given that New Line would like this film to be marketable), saying this story is about a little girl trying to kill God is both misleading and irresponsible.

1 comment:

Marla said...

Yeah, I have heard all this controversy. I think it is kinda ridiculous. The movie looks good and I am sure we will be watching it.