The Golden Compass - Previewed

To parents sustaining the interests of children at home, The Golden Compass might seem like a God-send for the days after all the presents have been opened. It has everything an imaginative offspring could desire – talking beasts, armoured bears, flying Texan explorers and a rescue mission to the frozen north led by a daring young girl. But the ‘sting’, as they say, is in the tail. It’s not the film that will cause most concerns, but the interests it will open children up to.

The Golden Compass is the first of a three part series being developed by New Line Cinema, capitalizing on its success with the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Art direction by Oscar winner Dennis Gassner and an emotive soundtrack by Oscar nominee Alexandre Desplat combine for a gorgeous vision of a world much like our own, but where people are daily accompanied by their souls in animal form, scientists follow in the footsteps of Jules Verne and an evil Church wields unprecedented political power. New Line have gone to great lengths to try and play down the religious elements of the film, renaming the Church as the Magesterium and assuring parents in recent interviews that the focus is the power of the agency, not the agency itself. But there is little chance of escaping the film’s parentage, and even less as episodes two and three are released.

The Golden Compass is based on the first book in the His Dark Materials trilogy authored by ardent atheist Phillip Pullman. As the film approaches its Christmas season release, Pullman has attempted to recast his work as a defense of personal freedom, implying on one program his works contain no anti-Christian agenda. “It doesn’t matter to me whether people believe in God or not,” he tells a reader. “So I’m not promoting anything [like atheism]. What I do care about is whether people are cruel or whether they’re kind, whether they act for democracy or for tyranny, whether they believe in open-minded enquiry or in shutting the freedom of thought and expression.”

Pullman’s defense seems a little threadbare considering the trilogy’s plot revolves around a religious organization that outlaws unbelief while torturing children, a reinterpretation of ‘the fall’ as the beginning of true wisdom and a war against Heaven that culminates in the death of a dissolute and dishonest God. But leaving aside all interpretations of the novels’ content, there are the author’s own words to consider. Interviewed long before production of The Golden Compass began, Pullman told the Washington Post his writings were an answer to CS Lewis’ Narnia Chronicles. “I’m trying to undermine the basis of Christian belief,” says Pullman. “Mr Lewis would think I was doing the Devil’s work.” It was a belief he still held when interviewed by The Sydney Morning Herald in 2003. “I’ve been surprised by how little criticism I’ve got,” he confesses, reflecting on concerns raised by J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series. “Meanwhile, I’ve been flying under the radar, saying things that are far more subversive than anything poor old Harry has said. My books are about killing God.”

It remains to be seen how New Line Cinema will interpret Pullman’s complete work but one can only wonder what will be left of the plot if Pullman’s divine arch villain and his heroes’ struggle against Heaven are removed. However New Line is already committed embedding the brand into young minds, contracting major actors like Nicole Kidman and Daniel Craig for the series, providing a 50 million dollar war chest for advertising this year and entering into spin-off arrangements with major players like Coca Cola and Toys R Us. However innocuous editing may make the big screen versions, it seems unlikely that all of this attention will not result in leading young readers to the more antagonistic books. As it is, the New South Wales Department of Education has already added the trilogy to its curriculum for high school English students, describing it as ‘rewarding study’.

It never ceases to amaze me how beautiful lies can be made to look, but it is a formula Satan has been using to effect since he tripped the first man and woman in the Garden. My advice would be to avoid this particular piece of fruit, particularly because of its aftertaste. But if it must be eaten, plan to spend time explaining to your children that not every author is simply out to entertain them.

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