Stretch your Brain

A few days ago, I opened my email to find the following message from a friend:

ANTI-GOD MOVIE WARNING
“I almost had this book in my hand for a Christmas present for my son, but found something else. I’m glad … I just got this message today.

“THE GOLDEN COMPASS, a new movie targeted at children, will be released December 7, 2007. This movie is based on the first book of a trilogy by atheist Philip Pullman. In the final book a boy and girl kill God so they can do as they please. Pullman left little doubt about his intentions when he said in a 2003 interview that ‘My books are about killing God.’”

It seemed unlikely to me that a major Hollywood film starring mainstream actors (Nicole Kidman, Kevin Bacon, Sam Elliott) would have an overt anti-God slant, especially in these days of wide spread religious morality. More research was clearly needed. A little poking around online brought me to phillippullman.com, where the author speaks candidly about God and organized religion:

“The trouble is that all too often in human history, churches and priesthoods have set themselves up to rule people’s lives in the name of some invisible god and done terrible damage. In the name of their god, they have burned, hanged, tortured, maimed, robbed, violated and enslaved millions of their fellow-creatures, and done so with the happy conviction that they were doing the will of God, and they would go to Heaven for it.

Like many parents of nine- to fourteen-year-olds, I had heard of Phillip Pullman’s trilogy, known collectively as His Dark Materials. None of my children had picked any of them up, so I wasn’t as familiar with them as I am with the Harry Potter books. The only thing I knew for sure was that another friend, a Christian mother of three, loved the books. I decided we had to watch the trailer, but first I told the kids that some people think that the movie is about killing God. They just laughed. Lena said, “Like anyone could kill God. I think those people are confused.”

The trailer was amazing! The film seems enchanting, moving, larger than life and replete with great CGI and cliffhanging battle scenes. In truth, the trailer reminded me of that blockbuster Christmas film from 2005, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. Parents all over the world lined up with their children to see C.S. Lewis’ novel transformed for the big screen. I don’t remember getting any emails saying, “WARNING! PRO-CHRISTIANITY MOVIE.”

And this is the heart of my frustration with the disinformation campaign being waged against The Golden Compass. While it doesn’t take much digging to find out that the story isn’t actually about killing God, but about the dangers of confusing organized religion with God, the real issue is rampant social censorship. The Golden Compass is only the latest battle in the war against thinking outside the box.

In the world of children’s entertainment, Harry Potter, Sponge Bob, Shrek and Tinky Winky have all had similar warnings issued against them. In the end, though, I think it’s safe to say that no child has transfigured the family cat, fallen in love with a starfish, started cross-dressing or become gay as a result of exposure to these characters.

Instead, they’ve been exposed to new ideas; they’ve enjoyed themselves while stretching their brain muscles a little. Going through life without ever hearing a different perspective would be limiting, not to mention very boring. Seeing new things not only teaches us about others, but allows us to grow. Sometimes, as with Lena, it gives us the chance to affirm our own beliefs.

As a parent, this all seems like ample reason to make a special trip out to see The Golden Compass with the family. VS