I’ve been arguing with myself about whether I was even going to bother commenting on The Golden Compass. I’ve decided to after all because 1) a couple of regular readers might care what I think and 2) I’ll keep it short.
I read the His Dark Materials trilogy a few years ago, and they were good-enough books. I’m not as elementally enamored with armored polar bears as some of my fellow geeks are, but you know, we’ve all got our things.
After I read the first two books, a friend told me they were meant to be anti-Narnia books. Being a guy whose theology has, for better or worse, a big “I <3 Jack” button on its lapel, I guess I felt a little attacked.
But then I didn’t get it. Where was the attack?
With the coming of this movie, the new hullabaloo has finally hipped me to the point of the story, and why I missed it.
Pullman sets up a Straw God argument. He writes some characters who kill off the straw god, and that’s meant to be good. It’s just that it doesn’t meaningfully reflect reality. The god they killed, I’d want to off that god too. That god sucks.
I’m used to reading fantasy stories where writers have license to make things up, including interesting, but unworkable theologies. Apparently, I failed to notice that someone was using his fantasy theology as a stand-in for real theology.
The Golden Compass might be a decent flick, and the books had some interesting ideas. It’s just a shame that the story doesn’t have much useful to say about God.
On the bright side, Dakota Blue Richards is adorable in publicity photos. And Sam Elliott playing his standard whiskery old dude is always a treat.
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