The Golden Compass

The Golden Compass is on USA, a great movie, very unfairly boycotted by Christians of all stripes. Philip Pullman, the author of the trilogy the movie is based upon does, indeed, say that the books are "non-Christian," and inversion of Paradise Lost. Be that as it may, the movies remove the theology from the books. It's not a vast liberal theology to attack religion; Hollywood isn't stupid, it's one vast open conspiracy to make money. They're not going to alienate a vast portion of their audience, unless there's money in it. And there's probably not (remember, this isn't an Oscar-bait movie). Especially after these midterm elections.
But, as I was saying, the movie is great. It's such a shame it failed financially. I'd love to see the take on the later books in the series.
The books, on the other hand, have always been morally problematic for me. Not the over-arching message. People can say whatever they want, and there's some good stuff in the books. No, the big problem for me is the death of Lyra's friend Roger. Lord Azrael kills him to get the other world, infuriating Lyra. Yet, in later books, the issue seems completely paved over. Azrael is one of the good guys, and Lyra decides to do all she can to help him. In order to achieve what he achieves, which, in the context of the novels is "good", Lord Azrael murders a child, tearing away his soul. This seems monstrous to me, far more than the end justifies the means. Yes, one may argue, Lyra and Roger are the true heroes of the story. And, indeed, fair enough. But Azrael is one of the heroes. Azrael's battle sets Lyra on her path. And Azrael is a monstrous murderer. Even after meeting her friend in Hades, or Sheol, or whatever miserable afterlife the books provide, Lyta seems to forget that Azrael is a killer.
It's always troubled me

Next time: Sufjan Stevens and punk rock!