Why did the Catholic Church ban The Golden Compass?
VATICAN CITY (Reuters) – The Vatican on Wednesday condemned the film “The Golden Compass,” which some have called anti-Christian, saying it promotes a cold and hopeless world without God. The Vatican newspaper said “honest” viewers would find it “devoid of any particular emotion apart from a great chill.”
What’s Wrong With The Golden Compass?
The main reason cited for the failure of The Golden Compass was its treatment of religion. The book made it perfectly clear that Philip Pullman had a specific problem with the Catholic church, but the film diluted his fury down to a general disenchantment with all dogmatic belief systems.
Is His Dark Materials against the Catholic Church?
The good news is that in the hands of writer Jack Thorne (“Harry Potter and the Cursed Child”), “His Dark Materials” does not eschew the darkness of this original premise. The book’s anti-religious overtones also remain largely intact, though the Magisterium is no longer a direct Catholic Church analogy.
Is His Dark Materials about killing God?
If you know nothing else about the His Dark Materials series, you may know that Lyra kills God (or allows him to die) and the book celebrates her for it. But the God of the books is in fact revealed to be no God at all but merely a very old angel, who pretended he was the Creator of all things in order gain power.
How Does The Golden Compass relate to religion?
Some religious groups are angry about the new film “The Golden Compass.” Since the film was commissioned — and even before shooting began — religious groups were outraged, pegging “The Golden Compass” as a direct attack on organized religion, particularly Catholicism.
What is controversial about His Dark Materials?
The American Library Association’s 2008 banned book list identified the title as the second most requested book to be banned across the country. Pullman himself only egged on the controversy, as he publicly stated that he aimed to undermine Christian beliefs with his books.
Why did The Golden Compass not get a sequel?
Was there a sequel to The Golden Compass film? No sequels were made to The Golden Compass, directed by Chris Weitz. The film was not considered a success, so the planned follow-up films were never made.
Where was The Golden Compass banned?
It was challenged at the Shallowater Middle School in Lubbock, TX and pulled from library shelves at Ortega Middle School in Alamosa, CO, in both cases due to “anti-religious messages.” Similar concerns prompted the Catholic League, a Roman Catholic anti-defamation organization in the U.S., to urge parents to boycott a …
What is the controversy of the Golden Compass?
‘The Golden Compass’ Spurs Controversy. Despite the fantastical scenery, talking armor-wearing polar bears and even a swarm of flying witches, “The Golden Compass” is getting more attention not for its use of fantasy, but instead for something very real: religion.
Is “the Golden Compass” an anti-Catholic film?
Home/Annual Report on Anti-Catholicism/2007 Report on Anti-Catholicism/The Golden Compass. Over the summer, the Catholic League started hearing about an upcoming film called “The Golden Compass.” The film was to be based on the first book of a trilogy called His Dark Materials written by British children’s author Philip Pullman.
Did the Catholic League’s ‘Golden Compass’ boycott backfire?
Most pundits predicted that the Catholic League boycott of “The Golden Compass” would backfire and actually entice more people to see the film. The movie, which was supposed to be the new “Lord of the Rings” or “Chronicles of Narnia,” made a mere $25.8 million its opening weekend and an even paltrier $9 million the following weekend.
Will ‘the Golden Compass’ be as good as the book?
Morford did hold out some hope for the movie, however, and suggested, “if ‘The Golden Compass’ turns out to be even half as wondrous as the book, it will hopefully fuel a massive surge in sales of the HDM trilogy in America.” (“Jesus loves ‘His Dark Materials,’” November 30)