A Rant
So, I just got a THIRD email forward from a family member encouraging me to boycott "The Golden Compass" because the author of the book on which the movie is based is evidently an aggressive atheist.
Frustrating point #1: The emails demand that you not allow your children to watch this movie, as they will probably be converted to atheism. I don't have any children, and I am in no position to go to the movie with any child of impressionable age, let alone a relative.
Frustrating point #2: The emails acknowledge that the movie is a "much milder" take on the book, as the moviemakers knew from the beginning that they were likely to offend religious groups, since the book is thematically anti-organized-religion - though not any specific religion. So, what, exactly, are all these people who have never seen the movie worried about?
Frustrating point #3: The "dumb sheep" mentality of these emails is actually just making me want to go see the movie, out of spite if nothing else (although, not nothing, since I was pretty much only interested in Daniel Craig with hot facial hair - and the CGI polar bear). This annoys me, that I could be annoyed into doing something for any reason other than that I want to. Grrr.
Frustrating point #4: None of the people sending out these emails have read the book that is the source for the movie (and I have) and it has won all kinds of awards for children's literature. Like, TONS. Plus, some of the themes or incidences that they mention in the emails don't bear any resemblance to the book I read, making me think the writers of the emails (and the forwarders) are misguided, stupidly opinionated, under-educated, NOISY dumb sheep. My favorite kind.
Argument: I don't have any kids. Don't bug me with the "save your children's SOOUUUULLS" emails.
Argument: Do you know if your children are even interested in seeing this movie? If not, it seems to me that peremptorily forbidding them from seeing it is a pretty good way to drum up a whole lot of interest. By the same token, talking about boycotting this movie is not a public service - more people will see it just to figure out if there's any truth to the fuss. (Especially if it turns out to be an interesting, well-made flick.)
Argument: Parenting by abstention seems a pretty poor way to teach a child anything - IF the child DOES express interest in the movie, instead of condemning it sight unseen (provided, of course, that the rating is acceptable) why don't you, the adult, preview the movie? Or, attend with the child and have an informed discussion with them afterwards to help them contextualize and see what they agree with and what they don't? Why are you making this thing into a shiny, chocolate-covered boogey monster and shoving it in a closet? (And if the kid isn't interested in seeing it anyway, why bother?) No kids here, but - duh.
Argument: So what if the author is an atheist? So what if his stated intention is to "kill God", destroy spirituality, tear families apart, and dance gleefully on the burning embers of society as we know it? The guy's an author of children's books, not Hitler. I don't have to do or agree with anything he says, even if anything he says or believes happens to make it into the movie (which honestly, is a long shot). If he tries to run for President, or take over the local school board, I may worry. In the meantime, I've got Hilary Clinton to stress about.
So does this mean I'm giving Satan too much leeway, compromising any moral principles I might have ever had, and condeming myself to holding the match for that Society bonfire? Am I copping out by not taking some kind of religious stand and handing out T-shirts and buttons everywhere I go? I don't know - you tell me (please). I do know that I'll most likely be hitting the movie theaters sometime in December, popcorn and smuggled chocolate in hand, admiring the design elements that go into building a fantasy world and wishing I knew a warrior polar bear. I'll definitely pay attention - after all, if I'm going to be seduced by the "dark side", I absolutely want to watch.
How about you?
Also, the production I saw of "Sweeney Todd" last night was just about the coolest, creepiest, best performed and produced Halloween musical EVER. Halloween aside, it was FABULOUS. Go, Sondheim - you evil genius, you! (I'm fairly sure no children were harmed in the making of that stage play.... Trivia note: this production was only the second time "Sweeney Todd" has been performed in Utah - and the first time was by the same director!