The film adaptation of The Golden Compass is fine for what it is, but it was...defanged from the book. Read it and you'll understand. At the same time, I read a very interesting interview with Pullman about the film adaptation over at the Atlantic Monthly where he talks about why he understands what they did.
Well, I hope NLC realizes they made a huge mistake in toning down the themes of the books to appease people who were never going to go to the movie anyway. They should have known you can't reason with a bunch of religious fanatics.
Yeah, I have read about the changes made; but for anyone halfway educated, it's not like changing from "God" to "the Authority," or not calling the Magisterium "the Church," masks anything.
...Or maybe it's just the fact that I just finished an all-Milton all-the-time class last semester. But seriously, the moment they talked about how Dust came when "our ancestors did something bad and the Authority punished them," the Dust = Original Sin parallel was pretty clear. XD
Also I didn't realize that about your username until you mentioned it, which makes me feel kind of slow. XD;
Well, I mean, I suppose one COULD theoretically see it as anti-abortion propaganda in the same way that one could see Knocked Up as anti-abortion propaganda, as in both the characters mull over the idea of an abortion but ultimately decide against it. On the other hand, that would mean that basically the only way for anything baby-related to not be anti-abortion propaganda would be for the character to actually have an abortion, which doesn't make for much in the way of a comedy film. XD
But honestly, I didn't find it that way at all; neither movie seems to go around saying "OMG ABORTIONS ARE EVOL," and while the characters decide not to go through with it they don't seem to assign any horrific significance to the idea of an abortion, or put it as out of the question because it's zomg babykilling.
I completely agree with this, I didn't see any real anti-abortion stuff in there at all. When the idea of abortion is raised the reaction is basically like "oh yeah, I should get one." They even mention another person who gets one without any reference to her later dropping out of school or being hit by a bus. While I do find her reason to not get one to be... idiosyncratic, it doesn't seem out of place for her character, and they don't use it to villify anyone else for getting one.
On the other hand I would be PISSED if I worked for Planned Parenthood. They basically make it look like a slip-shod organization filled with rude and brazenly-slutty young women. I bet when/if Victoria saw that she probably blew an O-Ring having a shit-fit.
I haven't seen the movie of The Golden Compass but I did read the book and I wasn't really blown away. The characterization and plot are only so-so and all that really keeps you going is the thought that armored bears and a compass that tells the truth *should* be really cool. Plus the main character seems more like a place-holder for an omnipotent narrator, she has a character but it seems to just change with the needs of the author.
Plus I had really looked forward to all the scandalous anti-religious themes and I felt like they were really tame at best. "Religion" in the book really just seems like a big company, so I think any backlash is just a knee-jerk reaction to having something called "religion" being a bad guy. Pullman hints at a really interesting conception of what he means by "religion" but it goes almost completely undeveloped in this book, and any themes against religion might have been more damning if he had fleshed them out.
Finally, I also like the adaptation of V for Vendetta and I think that a large majority of
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Well, I thought the movie wasn't bad! And I do hear the religious stuff gets WAY more explicit in the later books.
I liked V for Vendetta, but I have friends (*cough*bshippotemkin*cough*) who hated it and felt it was a complete betrayal of Alan Moore's graphic novel, message-wise. Me, I watch more for story than message, so I wasn't too bothered by the changes.
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There's also this interview on Charlie Rose you might want to watch. :D
And now, of course, you know where my username comes from. XD
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...Or maybe it's just the fact that I just finished an all-Milton all-the-time class last semester. But seriously, the moment they talked about how Dust came when "our ancestors did something bad and the Authority punished them," the Dust = Original Sin parallel was pretty clear. XD
Also I didn't realize that about your username until you mentioned it, which makes me feel kind of slow. XD;
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Of course, I'm making this conclusion based on the movie spoiler I read. My conclusion could be wrong.
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But honestly, I didn't find it that way at all; neither movie seems to go around saying "OMG ABORTIONS ARE EVOL," and while the characters decide not to go through with it they don't seem to assign any horrific significance to the idea of an abortion, or put it as out of the question because it's zomg babykilling.
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On the other hand I would be PISSED if I worked for Planned Parenthood. They basically make it look like a slip-shod organization filled with rude and brazenly-slutty young women. I bet when/if Victoria saw that she probably blew an O-Ring having a shit-fit.
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Plus I had really looked forward to all the scandalous anti-religious themes and I felt like they were really tame at best. "Religion" in the book really just seems like a big company, so I think any backlash is just a knee-jerk reaction to having something called "religion" being a bad guy. Pullman hints at a really interesting conception of what he means by "religion" but it goes almost completely undeveloped in this book, and any themes against religion might have been more damning if he had fleshed them out.
Finally, I also like the adaptation of V for Vendetta and I think that a large majority of ( ... )
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I liked V for Vendetta, but I have friends (*cough*bshippotemkin*cough*) who hated it and felt it was a complete betrayal of Alan Moore's graphic novel, message-wise. Me, I watch more for story than message, so I wasn't too bothered by the changes.
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