Comments on: “The Golden Compass” uses stealth marketing, kids turned on to atheism

By: Meredith

Meredith — Wed, 12 Dec 2007 02:47:04 +0000

You know, I was so shocked when all the hoopla came out over these books having an “athiest” message. I read them as a child and again more recently as an adult and at no point did I ever feel like I was being sent an anti-religious or, more specifically, anti-Catholic message. Given that I’m a law student AND a Catholic, one would think that I would be especially vigilent for that sort of thing! The Dark Materials trilogy is both magical and thought provoking, a rare combination. While Philip Pullman does happen to be an athiest, I’m not sure that its fair that his personal beliefs should be the measure of his books.
Great entry - it is a welcome respite from the profusion of anti-Pullman entries that I’ve read elsewhere online recently.

By: Stef

Stef — Tue, 11 Dec 2007 17:52:22 +0000

You know, I’ve been thinking a lot about these books and the movie and the reaction. I LOVED these books when I first read them several years ago, LOVED them again last year, and LOVED the movie on Friday. BUT. When I was looking for presents to buy my reading Catholic nieces last summer, I did not buy them this trilogy. I think that my parents were not ready to have the “I have questions about papal primacy” talk until I was WAY past 10 and I think that finding one’s own religion is a private family matter.
On the flip side, my husband has a life-long resentment against C.S. Lewis– he read and loved the books when he was a child, and in his twenties re-read them and said “wait a second! That lion is JESUS!” He felt completely tricked and bamboozled. And while it can be said that my husband may have been expected to recognize the religious symbolism a little bit sooner, it’s still mean to trick kids, and it makes them mad.

By: Lisa @ Corporate Babysitter

Lisa @ Corporate Babysitter — Tue, 11 Dec 2007 13:19:07 +0000

OK, got it. Reign in the sarcasm. The LAST thing I want to do is lose readers! Good suggestions. Thanks, Amy.

By: Shaping Youth

Shaping Youth — Mon, 10 Dec 2007 05:00:18 +0000

Lisa, gotta say, both of us get a bit ‘pithy’ in our sarcasm at times and it can be misinterpreted by new readers…as well as give fans like me whiplash making sure I landed on the right blogspot! (ahem, yes, I have to side w/Karen on this one) S’pose you could always tweak the punctuation a tad for the clueless like me, w/either quotes or a query:
The Golden Compass Uses Stealth Marketing To Turn Kids Onto Atheism?

But your wry wit cuts like ‘two knives…incisive’ ;-) So don’t you change yourself, ya hear?
p.s. Thanks for the recent comment on Shaping Youth, too…appreciate the kindness.

By: Lisa @ Corporate Babysitter

Lisa @ Corporate Babysitter — Mon, 10 Dec 2007 03:20:02 +0000

Karen, a friend warned me about the title, too, saying it might stop people from reading. But I didn’t believe him. Next time I will. Thanks for reading.

By: Karen

Karen — Mon, 10 Dec 2007 02:28:39 +0000

fwiw, when I saw the headline to this post I almost left the blog–I thought it was serious. This is the first time I’ve read your blog (came from Outside the (Toy) Box) so maybe I need more time to get used to your own brand of levity/sarcasm. Just thought I’d let you know my reaction.

I also love the _His dark materials_ trilogy and can’t wait to see the movie. When I first read it in 2000, I thought, “All those people who are afraid of Harry Potter? This is the book they *should* be afraid of.” And from what I hear, they now are.