Fantasy and Reality
I heard a lot about the Philip Pullman trilogy, mainly via the internet-as-word-of-mouth, and at the height of the Harry Potter phenomena. They were often touted as a kind of next-Narnia, both for their controversial theological content and for their alternative universe settings. My sister, something of a connoisseur of the fantasy genre, didn’t seem overly impressed with them, and I had no particular interest myself, although, eventually, I did get around to reading them. Well, the first one, anyway. It wasn’t until the middle of this year that I finally read the other two volumes. The first, which is soon to be released in the cinemas, The Golden Compass, put me off with its “daemons” and “steampunk” technology and mannered dialog. But I’m something of a completist, and couldn’t leave it alone. The second volume, The Subtle Knife was better, but not by much, but it’s the third, climactic book, The Amber Spyglass, where all the present controversy should really be focussed. All the hoopla is really pretty much just anticipatory. Pullman is stabbing viciously at the heart of organized religion, European, Christian religion, and how it’s poisoned our lives, particularly as children and how children are raised, and he’s got a point. The concept of “original sin” is pretty pernicious, and I can’t say that child baptism strikes me as anything more than a medieval hold-over from the days of much higher infant mortality and an organisational, cultic perspective on building up the believer base. The books, and, I’m sure, the movies – and it seems pretty certain the other two will have their time and ticket sales – will mute some of this, focussing instead, as much as possible, on the fantasy and adventure elements. I expect the armored polar bear fights to be pretty cool, and the flights of witches, etc., etc., but the books, the movies, are no Last Temptation or Passion, let alone “Piss Christ” or any of the other usual pop culture stuff that gets up the noses of believers. At least no one will go to jail or be beaten or threatened with death, no matter how ugly the rhetoric gets.