LifeSite & USCCB: The Golden Compass

[Joe_5859]

Another embarrassment from the USCCB. Wish I could say I was surprised.

Even if true that the most vitriolic anti-Christian rhetoric has been removed (which I’m sure Hollywood would be business savvy enough to do), that’s hardly the point.

As has been noted, this is relatively the least offensive of the trilogy, which is hardly an accident. Get people roped into the story before hitting them with the angriest stuff. So, firstly, even if the movie is relatively innocuous, people will naturally want to read the book afterward, which is not innocuous.

Secondly, Hollywood obviously wants to make a trilogy of movies. Those movies would no doubt follow the books’ pattern of being progressively more anti-Christian. If this movie flops, those sequels won’t get made.

Plus, why help put money in the pocket of a man who is so virulently anti-Christian?

All good points, and I would certainly want to encourage people not to financially support Pullman through purchase of the books or tickets to the movie.

That being said, would it be fair for the USCCB to review this movie based on how anti-Christian the movie sequels (that have not been made) may or may not be? Or would it be fair to base the movie review on the books?

I’m honestly not trying to defend the books or the movies. I’m just having trouble seeing what is missing from the movie review. How would you do it differently? They seem pretty honest in their assessment of the movie and repeatedly say that the movie, taken by itself, can be seen as something other than anti-Christian.

Here’s an excerpt:

Is Pullman trying to undermine anyone’s belief in God? Leaving the books aside, and focusing on what has ended up on-screen, the script can reasonably be interpreted in the broadest sense as an appeal against the abuse of political power.

Will seeing this film inspire teens to read the books, which many have found problematic? Rather than banning the movie or books, parents might instead take the opportunity to talk through any thorny philosophical issues with their teens.

The religious themes of the later books may be more prominent in the follow-up films which Weitz has vowed will be less watered down. For now, this film – altered, as it is, from its source material – rates as intelligent and well-crafted entertainment.

Now, I’m certainly not one of those people who cry “But it’s just fiction!” I understand that fiction effects people and I would never want to encourage anyone to support His Dark Materials, The DaVinci Code or the like. That’s not what I’m trying to do here.

But it seems that this review does address many of the issues people have raised. They let people know that the book is more overtly anti-Christian than the movie. They inform people of the director’s intent not to water down the sequels (if they are made). They encourage parents to discuss the problematic content with their teens (not pre-teens or young children) if they allow them to read the books.

What else could they have said short of saying “Please boycott this movie!”? For them to do that would be to step beyond the parameters of their role. Their function is to review movies so people can make an informed decision before going to see the movie. They do not attempt to tell people what to do, as they do not have that authority. If they tried, I have no doubt that people would call them out on that.

I can’t believe I’m actually defending a USCCB movie review (which I often don’t care for) for “The Golden Compass” (a movie I believe people would do well to stay away from, based on a book I think people should stay even further away from). Maybe I should go lie down for a while!

 

[He_Man]

All good points, and I would certainly want to encourage people not to financially support Pullman through purchase of the books or tickets to the movie.

That being said, would it be fair for the USCCB to review this movie based on how anti-Christian the movie sequels (that have not been made) may or may not be? Or would it be fair to base the movie review on the books?

I’m honestly not trying to defend the books or the movies. I’m just having trouble seeing what is missing from the movie review. How would you do it differently? They seem pretty honest in their assessment of the movie and repeatedly say that the movie, taken by itself, can be seen as something other than anti-Christian.

Here’s an excerpt:

Now, I’m certainly not one of those people who cry “But it’s just fiction!” I understand that fiction effects people and I would never want to encourage anyone to support His Dark Materials, The DaVinci Code or the like. That’s not what I’m trying to do here.

But it seems that this review does address many of the issues people have raised. They let people know that the book is more overtly anti-Christian than the movie. They inform people of the director’s intent not to water down the sequels (if they are made). They encourage parents to discuss the problematic content with their teens (not pre-teens or young children) if they allow them to read the books.

What else could they have said short of saying “Please boycott this movie!”? For them to do that would be to step beyond the parameters of their role. Their function is to review movies so people can make an informed decision before going to see the movie. They do not attempt to tell people what to do, as they do not have that authority. If they tried, I have no doubt that people would call them out on that.

I can’t believe I’m actually defending a USCCB movie review (which I often don’t care for) for “The Golden Compass” (a movie I believe people would do well to stay away from, based on a book I think people should stay even further away from). Maybe I should go lie down for a while!

The Bishops are on earth to lead members of God’s Church to Heaven, not give “fair, unbiased” movie reviews.

They need to reevaluate their role if they think reviewing a movie is so important, esp. with its publicly intended goals.

Plus, most critics have agreed the movie is terrible (see: )
so apparently not only are they being naive or disingenuous, but they stink at reviewing movies too.

forums.catholic-questions.org/showthread.php?t=203866

 

[Joe_5859]

The Bishops are on earth to lead members of God’s Church to Heaven, not give “fair, unbiased” movie reviews.

They need to reevaluate their role if they think reviewing a movie is so important, esp. with its publicly intended goals.

Plus, most critics have agreed the movie is terrible (see: )
so apparently not only are they being naive or disingenuous, but they stink at reviewing movies too.

forums.catholic-questions.org/showthread.php?t=203866

Okay, fair enough. But what should have been included in the movie review that was not? They did bring up the fact that the novels are anti-Christian and the movie is a watered down version. What more should they have said? Do you think they should they have told people to boycott the movie?

 

[KathleenElsie]

Our Diocese of Greensburg paper ***The Catholic Accent ***on page 14 has an artical entitled “Golden Compass”: A clear campaign against the church

dioceseofgreensburg.org/DOGWeb/wsotft3.nsf/SearchByKey/9F86021D4AE8F5E7852573A9006AB343.html%between%

 

[SamDash]

All good points, and I would certainly want to encourage people not to financially support Pullman through purchase of the books or tickets to the movie.

That being said, would it be fair for the USCCB to review this movie based on how anti-Christian the movie sequels (that have not been made) may or may not be? Or would it be fair to base the movie review on the books?

No, it would not be fair to review the movie on those bases.

But, who says they have to review the movie at all?

I would have simply made a statement to the effect of, “We will not review this movie, but urge the faithful not to see it because the books are virulently anti-Catholic, the three books become progressively anti-Catholic, we do not wish to financially support the author, etc…”

 

[Joe_5859]

No, it would not be fair to review the movie on those bases.

But, who says they have to review the movie at all?

I would have simply made a statement to the effect of, “We will not review this movie, but urge the faithful not to see it because the books are virulently anti-Catholic, the three books become progressively anti-Catholic, we do not wish to financially support the author, etc…”

The USCCB has been reviewing movies for a number of years. They review every major motion picture. For them to forgo a review completely would not be helpful. All it would succeed in doing is leaving people with less information to base their decision on. If they were to make such a statement, better for them to have made such a statement for “The Da Vinci Code” than for this movie.

I understand what you’re saying, and agree wholeheartedly that the books and movie should be avoided. I just disagree that it is the right approach for the bishops to take. When it comes to popular media, a bottom-up approach is better than a top-down.

For the bishops to make such a statment would completely destroy their credibility with a lot of people. We Catholics still take a lot of flak for the Church’s “Forbidden Books” list, and that was hundreds of years ago! If the bishops did issue such a statement, it would only serve to alienate people. The “liberals” would be crying “Censorship!” as the “conservatives” would cry “So you take a stand against a fantasy movie, but you won’t take a stand against pro-choice Catholic polititians?”

In doing the movie reviews, I think their whole approach is to do an honest assessment of a given movie’s strengths and weaknesses, particularly in regards to morality, so that the review might serve as a tool for Catholics to make an educated decision for themselves about whether or not to go see that particular movie. For those Catholics who are well-formed in their faith, this is enough for them to make a good choice. For those Catholics who are not, they likely wouldn’t listen to the bishops calling for a boycott anyway.

If we should expect for USCCB to make such a statement, why not the Vatican? Why was the Vatican silent regarding “The Da Vinci Code”? It seems like many of us are frustrated with our bishops and so this type of thing only fuels the fire. If we weren’t already frustrated with them, this probably wouldn’t bother us so much.