VATICAN CITY -- The Vatican on Wednesday condemned the film "The Golden Compass," as "the most anti-Christmas film possible" and said that "when man tries to eliminate God from his horizon, everything is reduced, made sad, cold and inhumane."
The Pope would have seen the movie earlier but after all the payoffs from priest molestations he's confined to weekday matinees.
Vatican Blasts "Golden Compass"
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
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You know, what's really stupid about the church's condemnation of The Golden Compass movie is that it isn't atheistic at all - it's full of very spiritual themes. Read the book or watch five minutes of the movie, stupid Catholics, before condemning such a rich film!
The biggest motivation of all the characters in the story is, quite literally, to keep their soul. And the theme of how one's soul is of utmost importance is repeated all the time throughout the movie.
For the ice bears, their soul is embodied in their metaphysically created armor, which they wear all the time. When this armor is taken away from the one ice bear he's deeply tormented and spiritually sick.
For the children, who have these neat animal helpers who follow them around, the severing of this animal from them is the amputation of their soul - and the Magisterium is a nefarious organization trying to do this to children. The main character's entire through-line storywise is to help rescue the children who are losing their souls through the terrible operations the Magisterium is performing on them.
I mean, the entire theme of spiritual sovereignty and the importance of the soul could not be hammered harder throughout the story! If anything, the church should get behind it.
Same thing with The Last Temptation of Christ, a beautiful movie which if anything reinforces the traditional beliefs about Jesus held by the Church. The Pope banned the movie when it came out because there's a section of the movie in which Jesus imagines what it would have been like if he had gotten married, had kids, and not been a spiritual teacher. But it all turns out to be his final thoughts before dying on the cross, where he reaffirms his peace about his life's path. So if anything the movie demonstrates what the Church wants people to believe anyway - that Jesus chose to express his spiritual nature, not his mortal or fleshly nature, in his life's work.
Anyway, I personally detest it when a deeply spiritual movie that would be really good for kids and adults alike to go see gets bad press from something like the Catholic Defamation League, which is literally a fat guy at home on his laptop with access to an expensive PR firm. They broadcast his complaints to the media, then suddenly all good Catholics think they can't take their kids to something.
HARRUMPH.
Rant over!
Toodles
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