“The Golden Compass” uses stealth marketing, kids turned on to atheism
Speaking of unethical marketing to children, looks like New Line Cinema is using the evil powers of marketing to promote the atheist agenda in ”The Golden Compass.”
Based on the first book in Philip Pullmans’ trilogy, His Dark Materials, “The Golden Compass” is the story of a young, orphaned girl who sets out on an epic journey to find her best friend who has been kidnapped. If you want the whole story, you can find the movie synopsis here.
The trilogy has been compared to the Harry Potter series, but as the New York Times pointed out, Pullman’s books are “actually brainier and better written.”
The trilogy was recommended to us by a friend while I was lamenting my then-eight-year-old’s reading “problem:” finding suitable books for her developmental age that are written at a higher-than-her-age reading level. (I found that Fantasy books have been the best solution.)
I read the books first, in preparation discuss any questions she might have about the content.
I fell in love with them. And so did she.
That’s why I find it so difficult to accept the criticism that the story is promoting atheism to children. The Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights has gone so far to publish a response, “The Golden Compass: Agenda Unmasked” (electronic copies available for $5).
The Catholic League isn’t so concerned about the movie itself, as it is not the most offensive in the trilogy, but according to William Donohue, president of The Catholic League:
It’s a deceitful, stealth campaign . . . the film is bait for the books: unsuspecting parents who take their children to see the movie may feel impelled to buy the three books as a Christmas present.
Kind of odd for atheist-loving folks to buy Christmas presents, but whatever.
I can safely tell you that reading the books will not cause your children to embrace the atheist lifestyle. The books are not about atheism, they are about the dangers associated with power in organized religion. (I can see why this makes Catholics nervous.) And my daughter saw no religious symbolism whatsoever; rather, she saw it as the struggle between good and evil, “like most books are.”
I think the qualities that the books celebrate are those such as kindness, love, courage and courtesy, too. And intellectual curiosity. All these good things. And the qualities that the books attack are cold-heartedness, tyranny, close-mindedness, cruelty, the things that we all agree are bad things.
What bothers me is that there will be parents and children who will not be exposed to this wonderful story, because they are taking advice from people who haven’t even read the books.
And I don’t think parents can be “tricked” into buying anything. It’s children who are tricked. And I have to say, I’d rather have my kids tricked into buying well-written, imaginative books, than, say, a “Bee Movie” Xbox game, a “Bee Movie” rolling luggage case, ”Bee Movie” Fruit by the Foot value pack, ”Bee Movie” Happy Meals, a “Bee Movie” digital watch set, a “Bee Movie” pencil bag, or a ”Bee Movie” 2008 wall calendar.
Now that’s some stealth marketing I can get angry about.
December 3rd, 2007 at 12:04 pm
well said.
December 3rd, 2007 at 3:28 pm
So excited to have this series out there and to know about it — thanks, Lisa! What age for the books? 8-10?
December 3rd, 2007 at 3:34 pm
Mom, depends on the child. The books could be too scary for some 8-year-olds. But, if the child has read and enjoys Harry Potter, they’d probably be OK. If in doubt, parents should read it first.
December 3rd, 2007 at 4:51 pm
I am currently reading The Golden Compass and am completely enthralled. Excellent post. I was going to do a book review of it myself, but you’ve pretty much hit the high points.
December 3rd, 2007 at 6:14 pm
Chili, isn’t it wonderful? Just wait until you read the next two. Unbelievable.
December 9th, 2007 at 9:28 pm
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.
December 9th, 2007 at 10:20 pm
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.
December 10th, 2007 at 12:00 am
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.
December 11th, 2007 at 8:19 am
OK, got it. Reign in the sarcasm. The LAST thing I want to do is lose readers! Good suggestions. Thanks, Amy.
December 11th, 2007 at 12:52 pm
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.
December 11th, 2007 at 9:47 pm
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.