Religious groups attack blockbuster, starring Nicole Kidman, as anti-God

Jean Marie Tan


JUST how anti-God is The Golden Compass?

That seems to be the burning question among Christian moviegoers about the US$180 million ($260m) fantasy adventure blockbuster, which opens in Singapore on Thursday.

Thought Harry Potter was blasphemous?

That is child's play compared to the work of professed atheist author Philip Pullman – at least that is how the religious community is perceiving it.

The Golden Compass, adapted into a PG-rated movie, is the first book of Pullman's award-winning His Dark Materials trilogy.

The story revolves around a 12-year-old orphaned girl's quest to rescue kidnapped children from an evil organisation.

The film-makers have reportedly downplayed the religious subtext with a watered-down version of the tale, but officials from US' Catholic League have continued to condemn the movie, claiming it's out to "bash Christianity and promote atheism to kids".

Its president, William Donohue, told Entertainment Weekly: "Parents might be inclined to say, 'Hey, our kid really enjoyed the movie, why don't we buy him His Dark Materials for Christmas?'

"It introduces the kid to atheism. It's a stealth campaign."

But there are also unlikely defenders of Pullman's works.

Calling the online chatter "fearful to the point of hysterical", Boston University's visiting assistant professor of religion Donna Freitas argues on BeliefNet.com that the challenges to traditional images of God should be welcomed as part of a "lively dialogue about faith" and has labelled the trilogy a "theological masterpiece".

The Associated Press reported that the US Conference of Catholic Bishops rated the film "intelligent and well-crafted entertainment", while the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, had proposed that His Dark Materials be taught as part of religious education in schools.

Actress Nicole Kidman, who plays the villain Mrs Coulter, told Entertainment Weekly: "I was raised Catholic, the Catholic Church is part of my essence, I wouldn't be able to do this film if I thought it were at all anti-Catholic."

Pullman, also the movie's co-screenwriter, recently denied on the Today show that his work is hawking a subliminal atheist agenda, and insisted his main quarrel is with the fundamentalist nature of absolute power.

The British novelist said: "I prefer to trust what I call the democracy of reading – when everybody has the right to form their own opinion... and come to their own conclusion about it."

Pullman, 61, also told MSNBC: "My point is that religion is at its best – it does most good – when it is farthest away from political power..."

He added that when religion acquires the power to send armies to war or to condemn people to death, "it rapidly goes bad".

"What I do care about is whether people are cruel or kind, whether they act for democracy or for tyranny, whether they believe in open-minded enquiry or in shutting the freedom of thought and expression."


Does The Golden Compass really point to atheism? Our guide helps you read between the lines...


LYRA BELACQUA: Saviour of mankind or heretic?

BRITISH newcomer Dakota Blue Richards plays this heroine – a product of adultery and the ultimate example of free will and free choice, which are core themes of the movie.

Wild and defiant, she embarks on an adventure guided by a magical truth-telling alethiometer (the titular golden compass) and plays a crucial part in the coming war against Heaven. She is thought to symbolise the new Eve.



THE SUBTLE KNIFE & THE AMBER SPYGLASS: For better or for worse?

THE religious criticism gets more explicit in the second and third books, titled The Subtle Knife and The Amber Spyglass respectively.

In The Subtle Knife, a young boy named Will (thought to symbolise the new Adam) is told he possesses a magical knife that can "defeat the tyrant", also known as "The Authority".

In The Amber Spyglass, Will is told by two fallen homosexual angels that "The Authority" has many names, such as "God", "Yahweh", "the King", "the Almighty", which he gave himself.

The Golden Compass' director Chris Weitz admitted that his goal is to have these controversial yet critical scenes and dialogue be included in the movie sequels.

He told MTV.com: "The whole point, to me, of ensuring that The Golden Compass is a financial success is so that we have a solid foundation on which to deliver a faithful, more literal adaptation of the second and third books."



DAEMONS: Soulmates or inner demons?

IN the parallel universe portrayed in The Golden Compass, people's souls live outside their bodies in the form of lifelong talking animal companions known as daemons (pronounced demons).

During childhood, daemons are prone to shape-shifting at will, reflecting the ever-changing nature of children and that their belief systems have yet to be fixed.

For instance, Lyra's daemon Pan transforms into a bird, mouse, ferret and cat in the movie.

In adulthood, daemons settle into a permanent form that best reflects the inner nature of its human (Mrs Coulter's daemon is a golden monkey with a cruel streak and prone to sudden rage, which gets slapped when it gets out of control).



DUST: Mystical particles or original sin?

A DARK, matter-like substance or shadow that flows from daemon to man, and which scientists believe can unite worlds.

But the Magisterium considers dust to be the physical manifestation of original sin introduced by "disobedient ancestors", which explains its extreme attempts at protecting children from the "corrupting influence of dust".

Over the course of the trilogy, dust goes from a whispered, forbidden concept to the crux of Lyra's quest.




THE MAGISTERIUM: Totalitarian regime or Catholic church?

THERE'S no direct mention of the Church, Catholicism or Christianity in the movie.

Instead, the bad guys are known only as the Magisterium, which is the term the Roman Catholic Church uses to describe its teaching body charged with interpreting the word of God.

In the movie, this malevolent ruling government body is a symbol of oppression, control and deception, and is led by sinister old men dressed like cardinals and priests.

Mrs Coulter is the head of the Magisterium's General Oblation Board, which secretly kidnaps children and surgically removes their daemons (and by extension, their souls).

Interestingly, oblation is the act of offering the bread and wine of the Eucharist, a Christian sacrament commemorating the action of Jesus at his last supper with his disciples.

In its obsessive desire to rub out sin, which is supposedly introduced when children's daemons settle upon reaching puberty, the Magisterium seeks to eliminate their free will and "create a new generation at peace with themselves who won't question authority".

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