Well, I used to stand for something. Now I'm on my hands and knees.

[lithiumlaughter]

I went and saw "The Golden Compass" last night with a few of the girls from work.

Cut for frothing rage, disproportionate frustration, and possible spoilers.

Let me preface this by saying that it was a gorgeous film, and certainly not without some redemptive qualities.

The 3D work was impressive, Sir Ian McKellen stole the show as Iorek, and the

Comments

[green_amberjade]

Don't you just love those Christian groups who don't understand the purpose of fiction, or the fact that a book doesn't have to directly quote the Bible throughout in order to have a deep and meaningful message.

His Dark Materials is about free choice, it is about being able to choose what you believe in and not being forced to believe what you are told to. Pullman uses the Church/Magistrate in Lyra's world because in our world, it does hold the most power over us because it is the leading authority on what is good and what is bad. Yes, there are atheist elements within the text, but that doesn't mean that you have to buy into those theories. The reader is still free to make their own choices

[lithiumlaughter]

Hear, hear.
It's ALL about free will. The books tell us that if you put your faith in the Church, or subscribe to an atheistic worldview, that's YOUR business. While Pullman clearly favours a more secular/atheist view (and clearly doesn't think highly of Christianity), the idea is that you can choose. And it's in that choice that everything that makes us human rests.

I was dissapointed by that ending too.
I was actually reminded of LOTR too -- remember how they ended the first of them way too early? And then managed to make a small miracle in the second by making it all go together? I'm hoping for the same thing here.