The Golden Compass 1, 2 & 3

This is about the movie The Golden Compass vs Catholics, and how Catholic people got super mad & offended so the next two movies end up getting canceled.

For those who don't know what the movie is about: (spoiler alert)

In the book trilogy, set in a series of parallel worlds, heroine Lyra fights the Magisterium, an evil organisation some have interpreted as being based on the Catholic Church.

The Magisterium wields huge power and experiments on children. In a climactic battle angels fight each other and “God” is presented as a frail, ancient and powerless figure.

I remember when the movie came out. I watched it, enjoyed it was looking forward to the next one coming out. I recall Catholics getting offended but didn't think they actually succeeded in getting the other two movies to not be made.

This is a perfect example of how ridiculous religions can be, especially one as notorious for having such a bad reputation.

If you can suffer through child molestation & mass child graves & still exist as a religion, you can still survive after 3 movies.

/end rant

a reply to: knoledgeispower

I'm with you on this - back when the Harry Potter series first came out, there were people at my school claiming that the books were the work of the devil; a fellow classmate refused to see the movies on the same grounds and wouldn't go anywhere near the books.

What I find amazing is that people will still bend over backwards just so one group of people are happy. Movies get canceled, books get banned, and we end up with characters + changes to existing characters that never were even in the book or movies before (**cough, cough** Tauriel + Dwarf romance **cough**).

If there's one thing people need to learn; it's that if you don't like something, don't do/go see/participate in it. You don't like that a movie seems to be against your religion? Don't go see it, but don't try to get it banned for the rest of us that don't follow your ideology.
-fossilera

ppl in Catholic 3rd world like central and south america where particularly against Harry Potter.

It was quite funny if you ask me.

Heck. I'll admit it. I saw the first movie installment, and rather enjoyed it.

And yes, I am somewhat disappointed the rest of the story won't be given screen time. The imagery was beautiful, the storytelling interesting, and I couldn't give two wits about the author's personal vendetta against any religious institution.

I'm there for a different perspective and alternate universe - not a new ideology to replace my personal convictions...storytelling is storytelling. Nothing more, nothing less.

If one's Faith and Conviction is so shaky that one can't sit through a work of fiction without being offended or worried about "the Devil's Hand" at play....maybe they need to question their own concepts about their personal "god".

From where I'm sitting, the offended parties and their rationale behind the boycott is just simply ridiculous and stuck in the Dark Ages of superstition and fearful xenophobia.

I had no idea there was even a motion among Catholics to boycott this film!

No one in our Parish even mentioned boycotting....and nothing was said against Harry Potter for that matter either.

Makes me wonder how many people online just decided to make themselves "Catholic" just for a quick buck in revenue by proxy/association to the Church...most of the websites I've found condemning these literary works don't really strike me as legitimate for some reason.

But that's another story for another time.

And, on the bright side - the books are still out there on the shelves....and not as watered down as the movie.

originally posted by: GENERAL EYES
Heck. I'll admit it. I saw the first movie installment, and rather enjoyed it.

And yes, I am somewhat disappointed the rest of the story won't be given screen time. The imagery was beautiful, the storytelling interesting, and I couldn't give two wits about the author's personal vendetta against any religious institution.

I'm there for a different perspective and alternate universe - not a new ideology to replace my personal convictions...storytelling is storytelling. Nothing more, nothing less.

If one's Faith and Conviction is so shaky that one can't sit through a work of fiction without being offended or worried about "the Devil's Hand" at play....maybe they need to question their own concepts about their personal "god".

From where I'm sitting, the offended parties and their rationale behind the boycott is just simply ridiculous and stuck in the Dark Ages of superstition and fearful xenophobia.

I had no idea there was even a motion among Catholics to boycott this film!

No one in our Parish even mentioned boycotting....and nothing was said against Harry Potter for that matter either.

Makes me wonder how many people online just decided to make themselves "Catholic" just for a quick buck in revenue by proxy/association to the Church...most of the websites I've found condemning these literary works don't really strike me as legitimate for some reason.

But that's another story for another time.

And, on the bright side - the books are still out there on the shelves....and not as watered down as the movie.

It's probably die hard Catholics & elderly Catholics who have a problem with The Golden Compass & other such works

Back when I was a God and country conservative evangelical, this book was on the naughty list for attacking the character of god, or something like that. I'm going to have to rent the movie now. I was no catholic thats for sure. Its not just catholics who have taken a stance against this series.

If you read the Wikipedia write up en.wikipedia.org...(film) it would seem to me that fluoridation in the USA has now been going on long enough that films with any noticeable plot line can not survive big expensive budgets any more.

I though the film was beautifully done and very true to the story. It's really sad they didn't continue. Can you imagine the controversy when the 3rd film shows the creator as being senile and manipulated by the top dog angel? Never mind the beautiful replay of the Adam and Eve scene.

You don't need to be a die hard or fundamentalist to be against the series. It undermines the very foundations of Christianity. An ex-nun character describes Christianity as "a very powerful and convincing mistake". God is depicted as malevolent and senile, a character called "the authority", who lies about being the creator of the universe. In "The Amber Spyglass" this character is destroyed with the aid of two children.

The books and movies are a tool of atheist indoctrination. Every belief system has them but the problem with Pullman's books, I think, is the wolf in sheep's clothing dynamic. I find religious protest of the series is appropriate if merely as an effort to raise awareness in the Christian community regarding its atheistic content.

I doubt very much the movies were cancelled as some type of concession to the RC church. Rather, with the increased awareness as to the content of stories and motives of the author, little profit is left to be made when the loss to your potential audience is as large as it would be in this case.

As for Pullman and his ilk, and come to think of it, the disgusting child abusing priests:

If anyone causes one of these little ones—those who believe in me—to stumble, it would be better for them to have a large millstone hung around their neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea. Woe to the world because of the things that cause people to stumble! Such things must come, but woe to the person through whom they come!
Matthew 18:6-7

Ironic how people who's religion is based on a book (the bible)

Get their knickers in a twist about a couple of books?

a reply to: Josephus


You and others like you must be very insecure in your beliefs to feel threatened by a Hollywood film. Why should people who are not trapped in the mindset of religion have to go without seeing a film they'll enjoy just because of your own insecurity? Do you see athiests protesting against the fairytale biblical films that are made? No you don't, there's the difference, athiests on the whole are more tolerant, undeniable fact.

I'm saying that in full knowledge that it was not the pathetic protest by the religious that stopped the sequels being made, that was all down to costings versus profit.......but still.

originally posted by: Josephus
You don't need to be a die hard or fundamentalist to be against the series. It undermines the very foundations of Christianity. An ex-nun character describes Christianity as "a very powerful and convincing mistake". God is depicted as malevolent and senile, a character called "the authority", who lies about being the creator of the universe.

The christian god is a frail and senile old man. This is not the True God, this is the god of a collective mind of adam. One who tortures 99% of humanity for eternity because they didn't say a magic prayer. He is either too cruel or too weak to save all of his creation. Too cruel because he created playthings knowing they'd be burned, it was his choice after all. Or Too weak to win the rebels back to himself.

The god of the pharisees was a tribal deity that was jealous, angry, demanded genocide, caused genocide, was violent, sought retribution etc… demanded sacrifice.

"Sacrifice and Burnt offering I did not desire, require, ask for, and it makes me sick, you think I want your dead animals?" (my conglomeration of the many passages from the prophets and Hebrews).

The "christian god" is very much the same as the pharisees god. I hope that god dies. That lie that the True God is a vengeful monster that wants to come and wipe out all of humanity again, then watch them burn for eternity.

Jesus said that no man had seen the Father at any time except the son, and if you have seen him you have seen the FAther, and I and the FAther are one. Paul said he is the exact image of the Father.

Jesus looks nothing like the god of christianity. And there is the problem. christianity is broken from its foundations, which is why they are so easy to undermine with a piece of fiction as you warn the movie is meant to do.

What does the christian god do to enemies? he destroys them. The harbinger, left behind, ace-kicking god.

What does Jesus do to enemies? he forgives them. "Father forgive them for they know not what they do".

Jesus came to correct the humans view of The Father. Unfortunately christianity has built a golden calf.