His Dark Materials

[CatholicDefender]

Has anyone read this controversial series by Phillip Pullman?? http://www.philip-pullman.com/hdm

It is criticized for it's anti-Catholic bigotry and it's promotion of atheists for young developing minds.

In spite of it's poor reputation, I myself have read the books and seen the (potentially good) 2007 movie.

Even though I am a Catholic I found the books sort of intriguing, but ultimately disappointing.

The Golden Compass was very good, but the whole narrative/story just sort of slows down midway through the second book and it becomes almost a tome of atheistic philosophy.

People blame a smear campaign by the Catholic Church was responsible for the first movie's failure, but honestly I think it was just too deep and complicated for an American audience, somewhere between an adult's film and a children's film.

Part of me thinks it was just as well. Though the Golden compass lends itself to making a movie version out of it, the other two books...would have to be edited/condensed quite a bit to make films that had a nice clip to it, if that makes any sense.

There is hope though for you HDM fans.... the BBC is making a miniseries out of it!!

http://www.express.co.uk/showbiz/tv-radi...ailer-plot

[Mister Agenda]

Decent review, CD.

[Edwardo Piet]

If you've seen the movie... how is it only potentially/non-actually good? Surely it's non-potentially/actually either good or non-good if you've actually/non-potentially seen it in actuality(/non-potentiality)?

In all seriousness, I haven't read it but my brother has and he thought it was great.

[Rev. Rye]

I read the series the winter the movie came out, and I recently re-read the first two books (because I found them for cheap in hardcover at my local HPB, but not volume for some reason). I honestly have to admit CD's analysis is pretty astute. the plot doesn't totally shut down, but it's certainly less gripping and focuses more on the philosophy. That said, I see it less as anti-Catholic and more as anti-religious authoritarianism. Granted, comparison between the Magisterium and the Catholic Church is unavoidable for many reasons, but let's face it, the reasons the Magisterium are the villains of the book are by no means limited to Catholicism (indeed, when I discovered it in 2007, I saw it as the totalitarian worldview of many fundamentalist groups with the structure of the Catholic Church), particularly given that Catholicism seems to have outgrown its old need to deny scientific facts and declare heretics left and right. In fact, I suspect that someone who grew up in the more authoritarian strands of Islam or even Judaism, and grew up and out of it, could just as easily see their old belief systems in there, even if it is in mere glimpses.

[CatholicDefender]

I thought the first movie was brilliantly cast btw, with Nicole Kidman and Daniel Craig being especially riveting (Im disappointing Craig did not get much more than 7 minutes of screen time)

[Little lunch]

I don't see what people like about Nicole Kidman.
Not my cup of tea, although I did like her in BMX Bandits when I was a kid.

[CatholicDefender]

If you've seen the movie... how is it only potentially/non-actually good? Surely it's non-potentially/actually either good or non-good if you've actually/non-potentially seen it in actuality(/non-potentiality)?

In all seriousness, I haven't read it but my brother has and he thought it was great.

I should have clarified. I like it at first and I think based on the material it had potential to be good. But about half way through it just sort of meandered along and did not end that well. Same as the book series really.

Given all the bad things people have done in religion's name I sort of understand why  a person would be an atheist, but it just isn't as compelling when you hit people over the head wit hit.

C.S Lewis and J.R.R Tolkein were strong Christians and Christianity was a theme that ran strongly through their works. But they never made atheists out to be villains or say how evil the "Atheistic mindset" was. They did however decry greed, boundless ambition and disregard for others lives.


I sort of wish some editor had taken those books to the chopping block... but I digress.. .

Anyway.. there is some deleted ending to the golden compass squirreled away at Warner Brothers. I doubt it will ever see the light of day, or if the franchise will be revived since the movie did sort of destroy New Line Cinema: 
http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entert...09545.html

Anyway. Enjoy what might have been: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JWM3XrnlNTU

[Clueless Morgan]

I read them because my boyfriend at the time loved them. I was underwhelmed by them. As I recall I thought the first book was interesting but the second and third boring and almost unreadable.

It also, again as I recall, falls into one of those tropes that I hate where the fate of the world ends up hinging on whether two 13-year-olds fall in love. Nope, you've lost me there.

I also thought the whole concept of the creatures that "evolved" to use giant seeds for locomotion was entirely bizarre.

With all that said though, the scene where the girl was separated from her animal friend was heartbreaking ; I think I cried when I read it.

[Edwardo Piet]

I read them because my boyfriend at the time loved them. I was underwhelmed by them. As I recall I thought the first book was interesting but the second and third boring and almost unreadable.

I think that's what my brother said too. I remember him getting really enthusiastic about the first book, then reading the others and it wasn't worth talking about much