The Golden Compass – Two Views

I haven’t read the books or seen the movie, and thus far I really haven’t been attracted to them enough to go out of my way and do so. So why am I commenting on this at all?

Well, I’ve been asked, and I have to say that I can’t really comment on something I haven’t read or seen. But I’ve heard …

I do have one comment, however. I hear too frequently amongst Christians about subtle things in movies, books, and popular culture and how they might influence one. I would suggest that there are certain things I wouldn’t want to spend too much time on, simply because they are not what I want to fill my mind with. But I don’t spend my time worrying about it.

There are two great defenses. First, for you–think about what you read. Literature sometimes requires that you suspend disbelief, but it shouldn’t require that you suspend thinking. Subtle influences are disarmed when you notice them. Try this on ads sometime as well. If you actually think about the claims being made, you’ll find many, many ads are completely free of any content. They’re just filled with subtle hints to make you feel good about a product. Thinking about them defangs them.

Second, for your children–read with them and talk. This is good for you and good for them. Then if there is anything that’s a problem you can discuss it. Come to think of it, you can discuss the good parts as well.

Now, I’ve read many, many posts on this particular movie, and I’m going to just link to two, both from blogs I read regularly.

First, Ben Witherington warns against the movie and these books. I’m concerned with his dependence on the Catholic League, which is not a group whose judgment I trust generally.

Second, in response to that, from someone who has read the books, Metacatholic comments. He has good guidelines for reading as well.

As you can probably tell, I’m much more comfortable with Doug’s logic on Metacatholic, which reflects my prejudices. So for those who have asked, this provides the opportunity to check it out.