Personally, I have not read any of Pullman’s books, but I’m seriously considering it after seeing the movie. I’m stoked that kids are into these books, which from what I’ve heard, seem to be the best follow-up to the Harry Potter craze to date.
So why the big controversy? Well, it seems that authoritative groups get a little prickly about their authority being challenged. Where’s the best place to start when trying to affect widespread change? At the bottom. In this case, with the children. What the chur. . . er, I mean, Magisterium is trying to accomplish in this case is to detach children from that which gives them knowledge of the world; in other words, that which gives them the ability to think for themselves and question convention. The goal of the Magisterium is, after all, not only to rule their world, but to rule all worlds outside their own as well. Does any of this sound familiar? And perhaps just a tad biting? At one point near the beginning of the movie, a member of the Magisterium even says “… if we don’t stop this, there will always be freethinkers challenging our authority.”
Which, besides the need to fix that kid’s teeth, is pretty much the only thing that bothered me about the movie. The religious and socio-political overtones are *so* obvious that it almost feels like an insult to the over-twenty crowd. However, that’s not the crowd to which the books or movie were marketed. Which means that the kids in the theater today will someday watch this movie again as (hopefully freethinking) adults and say “Ooooh, I get it now.”
So, there’s a church-like organization in the film which represents the “bad guys.” This is why right-wing groups are in hysterics. The “don’t say anything bad about my religion/political party/pagan cult and don’t say anything good about anyone else’s” mentality is getting a little old. And if we’re being honest, the only reason these people are so upset by the depiction of the church in this film is because it’s so damn accurate.
What’s the goal of any religion? To spread it. To convert others. To take that religion and make it accepted and taught everywhere, not just in our own backyards, but every country, every continent, everywhere in the world. (Hmm, circular reference, much?) What Pullman does is expose to his audience – in this case, a very specific audience with the potential to affect real change in the world – some of the reasons why this might not always be the best thing to do. And I, for one, applaud him for it.
I was never taught to question authority, but as I grew older I realized that those in charge were rarely the ones who cared about those being ruled over. At our most basic level, humans exist for one purpose: to promote our individual survival. Those with power have always, and will always, do whatever they can to prevent those without it from challenging the status quo. This will continue, until we learn to question, to challenge, and to demand the best for ourselves. We have become a species of sheep, content to follow and obey.
I only hope that a generation of shepherded parents don’t belittle their children into dismissing the message of these books & films. I hope that, armed with the knowledge that such a choice exists, future generations affect real change in the world around us. And what will happen if parents endeavor to raise freethinking children? True, a good proportion of those children will ultimately decide to adhere to commonly held statutes and conventions. And some will not. But guess what? They will all have made that decision on their own. And that is what will take us from sheep to shepherds.
