So yes, I have ALOT of books in a stack next to my bed. Some are silly books one could pick up in an airport bookstore (CrossBones, A Suitable Vengenance) some are scifi/fantasy (Mists of Avalon, DragonQuest), some are bios (Lindbergh, Dag Hammarskjold), some are non-fiction (Mathematics in a Postmodern Age, Five Families), some are Classics (Purgatorio, Adam Bede, Anna Karenina).
But I'm also subtracting!
The Map That Changed the World. I have read four books by Simon Winchester, two that I loved and two that totally bored me. This book, on the history of geology in England, was very boring to me. His book on the 1906 SF earthquake was fascinating. Now, before you claim that the main difference is my interest in the subject matter (and you may have a point), I was split on his two books about the Oxford English Dictionary. Even though I was bored by this one, I'll try another of his books when I come across it.
The lady in the library bookstore recommended The Piano Shop on the Left Bank. As you can guess from the title, it is about a man's experience buying a piano and re-learning to play while living on Paris' left bank. It's a cute little book, more about pianos than Paris, but if you have any interest in France or in music, you'd probably enjoy it.
The Gray Wolf and Other Stories by George MacDonald. I want to like MacDonald, since he inspired Lewis, L'Engle, and Tolkein--all of whom inspired me. However, I just can't get through these stories. MacDonald just goes on and on and nothing happens ...
And, last but not least, The Golden Compass. This movie is making ripples for being "anti-Christian," which is a load of ... hooey. It's as "unChristian" as Star Wars or Narnia. The evil Magisterium tries to separate children from their souls/daemons, and wants to control the thought processes of all people. Some Christians say that the Magisterium is a poorly disguised stand-in for the church. What? Anyone who learns about the Magisterium and thinks of the church has some serious problems, probably including a guilty conscious. If the Magisterium reminded me of anything, it was the Socialist State. Nicole Kidman--a high-ranking member of the Magisterium--is very much like the White Witch, and even a little like Darth Vader. Not Jesus. Yeesh. The very worst you could say about this film is that it encourages antiestablishmentarianism. Well, fine. So did Star Wars.
And what's more-- (no, I'm not done with this rant), calling a person's soul a "daemon," is not evil. A "daemon" is a spirit, not an evil spirit, just a spirit. So, it's not a stretch to refer to a soul as a daemon. I hate when Christians make fools of themselves by displaying their ignorance. It makes us all look bad.
This is the start of a fun trilogy. It might not be LOTR, or even Narnia, but it promises to be interesting. I'll see the next installments. And, if I get through that list on the left, I might even read the books! :)
12 comments:
hey annie, another former esi'er, elliot, wrote an article about the same thing today. check it out (he's on my links list as "wordspew").
my only comment on this movie/book is that, as a fantasy, i have no interest in reading it or seeing the film. the genre doesn't interest me (...although, i LOVED LOTR & Narnia, due in no small part to their Christian themes, i'm certain). but i've seen the GC preview about a trillion times and it looks like a shoddy wannabe Narnia, and Narnia came across as a wannabe LOTR, you get the idea. it looks about as high-quality as the eragon movie (which i also didn't see).
Dawn--
I am SO sorry to say that you pushed several of my buttons, and I'm going to have to get on my soap box. Here, dear readers, is part of Annie's criteria for judging movies, muddled up in a bunch of prose:
LOTR revolutionized special effects and it stands to reason that we will recognize the Weta stamp on current movies, just like Industrial Light and Magic dominated for decades after Star Wars.
I don't like getting in critical discussions with those who haven't seen the films in question. Nevertheless, I agree, Eragon was not the best movie, although I do enjoy the books. Narnia, LOTR, and GC were all good movies. LOTR was by far the "best," but it was also striving for more. GC is just trying to be entertainment. And it suceeds. LOTR was trying to be a cultural statement, and it was. So it succeeded too.
Movies and books need to be judged on what they are trying to be, not on what some other movie was. Narnia wasn't a "wanna be" LOTR. It was its own creation. LOTR was written for adults. Narnia was written for children. That difference of intention is felt in the movies.
Also, I'm a bit puzzled by the very common notion that LOTR are Christian books. Yes, Tolkein was a believer, but there is nothing Christ-like in LOTR beyond what "the greatest story ever told" has in common with all stories. Virtually every great epic has a redeemer and a resurrection. The presence of a phoenix (Gandalf) or a great hero/king (Aragorn) doesn't mean it's a Christian story anymore than any other great epic is. I could teach a class on "Christ in the epics," but I won't write down all of my lecture material here. :)
Why is it OK for the Pevensie kids to fight against the White Witch, for Luke Skywalker to fight the Empire, and for the Fellowship to fight against the Forces of Mordor, but not OK for the heroes of the Golden Compass to fight the Magisterium? That's not rhetorical. That's a real question for all my readers. I don't get it? While Narnia has some clearly defined Christian allegory, the others don't, yet we willy-nilly call one "Christian" and boycott the other. As a sub-culture, we're twisted. (Yes, I do know the subculture went nuts with Star Wars and the Force, but they seemed to have accepted it at this point.)
OK--Off the soapbox. Sorry for the spew, Dawn. I've been really frustrated with Christian subculture recently. What else is new? :)
Holy crap! Wasn't expecting that. Good points, all. I don't feel as strongly as you do about any of it. This is all just my opinion, and I balk at the notion that I'm representing the Christian subculture. You may or may not have meant that, I'm not sure.
I think my point with my earlier comment was simply that I have noticed the growing trend in recent years to put great literary classics on film in great sweeping epics, some in a great way, some not so great. I tire of them, the same way someone who isn't a fan of romantic comedies tires of the way Hollywood churns those out, because let's face it, most of them are mediocre copies of the greats, like WHMS. The answer? Just don't see them if you don't want to! That's what trailers are for. I didn't like what I saw in GC's trailer (and I know NOTHING about the books), and subsequently, I was not compelled to see it OR read the books on which it is based. And that's okay. It has nothing to do with how Christian the movie is or isn't. (I frankly couldn't care less about this "controversy" w/ GC).
I read LOTR, but I'm not a fan of Tolkien, so I can't really answer your comment about the Christian themes there. I can say that I deeply, personally felt a lot of spiritual connections as I watched all 3 three films, as a reaction to the art and story that was being presented to me, the same way a person can connect spiritually with a piece of poetry or music, whether it's "Christian" or not. And sometimes, when I read Psalms or another scripture about battling the enemy, I recall scenes from these movies that helps me better understand the magnitude of what the Word is saying. Again, just my opinion. I represent no one but myself.
I know I was judging Eragon's movie by its trailer, having not read the book or seeing the film. I'm okay with that. It looked like crap. Everyone else I know who saw it happened to confirm that. No big deal.
Lastly, I didn't really call LOTR Christian, nor did I call GC not-Christian.
To close, I understand that most of what you said was not directed to me only. If it was, maybe you should give me a call and we can talk about it.:)
Heh, heh- Prince Caspian.
http://www.narniaweb.com/news.asp?id=1355&dl=14478175
Is "excited" the proper term I'm searching for?
Hey Annie,
I see you and my wife are chatting about some interesting things. I do want to add a few comments about the Golden Compass, only because of what some friends have told me. I went with some of my youth and youth workers at my church. One of the adults in particular loves the book series. After watching the film she told me that the Magisterium is actually called the Church in the book, and I think the author was trying to make the church look like a socialist state.
I thought the movie was OK, but not great. Still the it showed the trailer for Prince Caspian, and I was excited for it!
BTW, how is life and stuff. It has been a long time.
Oh dear--
My many, many apologies Dawn. I am so sorry that all came out at you. I meant them as general comments, but I definitely did not express myself well. I'm sorry. I had no bad thoughts toward you, just against some current trends that bother me. I should have vented differently.
You're right about everything. I lumped your comments in with others I was hearing. Bad me.
Dave--
I was confused, because I heard that the Magisterium was called "the Church," but I listened carefully and never heard it in the movie. Question answered. Stuffs good. I'm back in the Bay Area. Life's rolling on, nothing major to report.
Amy-- heh. heh. Yippee!
My dip into this conversation pool will be the equivalent of a quick toe dip- the director of the Golden Compass changed the Church to the Magisterium in an effort to stave off the inevitable backlash from the actual church. I don't think it worked. And lastly, you would've LOVED church last weekend, George brought up this movie (not by title but by plot) and it would've pissed you off, judging by your post!!
Dear favorite RN-to-be: I have a new dot in Central America. Is that you? How were you at church AND kickin' it in 'Salvador? Of course, that country with the dot might not even be El Salvador. My Central American geography is not good.
Yeah, I like George, and I think it would be better for my opinion of him if I didn't listen to that sermon. What concerns me is that "people" (a generic group out there, not George or any of my readers) are threatened by popular culture's attacks. Jesus is bigger and stronger, and totally unthreatened. So why should we be?
Many Christians living under oppressive regimes consider their governments as blessings to the gospel. The church GROWS under oppression and conflict, so I say Bring It On!
(Seriously, what has gotten into me? I'm SO FEISTY these days!)
Okay, cool! No worries! Besides, good blogs inspire this kind of dialogue. Rock on!
Alas, that Central American dot was not me- but in 17 days it will be. Know anyone else in that area- Nicaragua, Costa Rica perhaps? So see, I'm not that rad, I can't pull off an inflammatory church session and practice Spanish at the same time.
Ahhhh, in 17 days I will be warm and in the sun (I mean, hiding in the shade w/ SPF 45 slathered all over).
Off to study for my final that I plan on "mailing in" anyway. I have too much pride to outright tank a final.
I have a blogging friend in Nicaragua. Mystery solved?
Hey, you don't know me, but I know Jen in Lithuania and wandered to your blog while avoiding grading (I teach HS English), and I felt like weighing in.
I have read the His Dark Materials series by Philip Pullman (GC is the first book), and there is an athiestic slant. To avoid spoiling I don't want to say too much, but God does die. Beyond that, I did like the books, so I was looking forward to the movie.
I hated it. I thought about leaving. I felt they did a poor job explaining and expounding the depth of the story, took out key plot points, and what put me over the edge was how they treated the character of Iorek Byrensin.
Anyway, that's just my opinion. Glad to see a good discussion on these films/books--the recent Christianity Today also has an excellent article on GC. Thanks for writing and caring about books!
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