IT’S just a story. Let’s say it again, louder: it’s just a storr-eeee!
Hmm. Doesn’t seem to have done much good. They’re still obsessing about Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials trilogy, wondering if it’ll poison the impressionable minds of schoolkids and turn them against God.
To judge by the current brouhaha, you wouldn’t think the first book in the trilogy, Northern Lights, had been out since 1995. But it’s the fact that they’ve made a movie of it – called The Golden Compass after the American title of the first book – that’s getting it all the attention at the moment. That film opens on 7 December in the USA, 5 December in the UK.
From the panic among religionists – Catholic, of course – you’d think it was a manual on how to commit genocide three times before breakfast (WMD provided) rather than a piece of fiction that contains an equally fictional deicide.
A tale in Toronto’s Star tells us that the Halton District School Board have pulled the book from the school’s library shelves. It’s a Catholic school, of course. Apparently, there was a complaint. The other two books in the trilogy are also off the shelves, but available if students ask for them.
However, their pulling the book then prompted a neighbouring school board, the Dufferin-Peel Catholic board, to conduct an “informal review” of the book.
“Halton Catholic elementary principals were directed not to distribute the [school's] December Scholastic flyer because The Golden Compass is available to order,” the Star tells us.
The Halton board have issued a memo saying Pullman’s books are “apparently written by an atheist where the characters and text are anti-God, anti-Catholic and anti-religion”. Gosh! How utterly obscene!
The Star story reminds us that, in the USA, Catholic organisations “are urging a boycott of the movie and accuse the books of being anti-Christian and promoting atheism” (see, for instance, this Houston Chronicle account). Where will this evil end?
There is also mention that the books have “been compared to the Harry Potter series”. Well, really! What next? How utterly depraved! How low can they sink?
This contributor, for one, can confirm (having read all seven books) that young Mr Potter is a caring, compassionate character, mischievous at times but otherwise mostly respectful of authority (when it deserves to be respected), who matures into a fine young man and uses his powers wisely and for the benefit of others.
That’s more than can be said for the powers wielded by the Catholic hierarchy.
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NOTE: Read earlier Freethinker blog articles on the Materials trilogy: “Material differences” and “Of materials and magisteria”.
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The Freethinker was founded in 1881 by GW Foote, an outspoken critic of religion. After the publication of 
November 24th, 2007 at 5:21 pm
By banning he books and telling kids in their schools not to read them will only make the kids want to get a hold o the books even more thus the moaning and banning will only backfire.
November 26th, 2007 at 2:58 pm
Compare and contrast. When The Lion the Witch and the Wardrode film was out a couple of years ago, lots of CoE Primary Schools fell over themselved to promote it; some even bussed kids to the cinema to see it. Then (probably) ruined it for the kids with assemblies explaining the true meaning of the film.
Now they are falling over themselves to prevent children seeing a similar fantasy film. Fair?
I don’t mind my kids seeing both at the appropriate age: but then, I guess I am one of these terrible unbelivers who lets others make up their own minds.
November 26th, 2007 at 7:50 pm
What, ENTIRE universe? even Wales?