6 posts tagged “books”
This past weekend, Hitch and I went to go see the controversial new fantasy film, The Golden Compass, based on the novel Northern Lights by Philip Pullman, the first book in the author's His Dark Materials trilogy. Knowing ahead of time the author's atheistic worldview and intent, but not having read the book itself, made the experience an interesting one.
I like to start off talking about the things I liked, and there were many things about the movie to like. Nicole Kidman did a great job playing the icy villain Mrs. Coulter (any possible relation to Ann, I wonder?) The visual effects were awesome. The world of The Golden Compass is full of airships, pirates, ice castles, semi-Victorian architecture, witches, gypsies, you-name-it. It's a joyful fantasy world, and the film did a good job of rendering it beautifully and realistically.
Also, filmmakers are just getting better and better at making talking animals, and watching The Golden Compass makes that clear. In the film, every humans soul is on the outside of their body, represented by an animal spirit called a "daemon." So, in every scene you would not only have actors, but an equal number of CGI dogs, birds, wolves, foxes, cats, hares, etc. The great thing is that the filmmakers did this exceptionally well, and by the end of the movie you really don't notice anymore, and you wonder why everyone around you doesn't have a daemon with them. I like the concept of daemons, and on the movie website (linked in the first paragraph), you can take a personality quiz to determine what kind of daemon you would have. Turns out mine is a female chimpanzee named Azaria. Cool. :)
Now... On to the bad. Aside from the controversial stuff, there was a lot of stuff in the movie that bothers me about movies in general today. Sure, there were a few admirable performances (Kidman was great, and Daniel Craig was good as well, but he had far less screen time than advertised), but most of the actors were just a little over the top. I don't mind it so much from Dakota Blue Richards, who plays the young heroine Lyra, but from everyone else I just found far too much drama, and all that did was make the movie a little hokey for me after a short while. Hokey is not always a bad thing, of course, but when you consider some of the serious matter of the film (not to mention a particularly violent scene) it just comes across as inappropriate.
... And then there's the religious stuff. Like I said, I have not read the books. I've read a few articles on Wikipedia but even they don't necessarily show how anti-Christian the books themselves are. The movie itself did not really portray anything anti-Christian in itself. The Catholic Church, which is the villainous organisation of the books, is called an alternate title in the film: "The Magisterium." God is simply called "The Authority," and in the film there is no mention of the Authority being a God-like figure at all. For all we know as viewers, he could be a living man hiding in the shadows like the Emperor from Star Wars. There are no references to church, prayer, worship, or anything religious. When Mrs. Coulter (who, needless to say, works for the Magisterium) explains what it does, she simply says, "It tells people what's best for them." It's sad that that is all some people view religions as, but it is a valid point to criticise the Church for being legalistic. I'm all about that.
I guess I would be careful about taking an impressionable child to see the film, not because there is anything too anti-
Christian in the movie itself, but because by all accounts (including Pullman's himself) the books are an atheistic answer to C.S. Lewis' The Chronicles of Narnia. As someone who is somewhat mature in my faith (I hope) I think I could read them to understand Pullman's views and not be tempted into believing his message. However, if I was younger, it could be different. I almost turned atheist after reading Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged, and though I still think it's a great book, I don't like how it made me doubt my faith. Then again, a faith that has gone untested could be weak at times. I just don't think it's okay for the entertainment industry to actively try to test people's faith. Let them do it on their own. It usually works out better that way. :)
Oh, and just to make people jealous...
It's December 10. Christmas is 15 days away. And today, Hitch, myself, and my roommates all went to the beach. It was sunny, gorgeous, and a lovely mid-70 degree temperature outside. I love North Carolina... and maybe even Global Warming?
I'm sure anyone who's a fan of Harry Potter has heard this story already, but allow me to offer my thoughts. Recently, author J.K. Rowling revealed that the beloved Professor Dumbledore of her bestselling fantasy series was a homosexual. Honestly, the woman isn't stupid, so I'm sure she knew this news would cause a bit of an uproar, even though she revealed it in a very casual manner. And, I'm afraid to say, it has.
Unfortunately, this little revelation about a fictional character's sexuality has really made the two sides of the "culture war" more clear than ever. Travis at the Sword of Gryffindor blog recently wrote an excellent analysis of the opposing sides (and he also called that the culture war should stop, to which I say "Here, here!") I strongly suggest you read his post. I also have my own little thoughts.
First, I don't understand all the Christians who are up in arms about Dumbledore being gay. Reading many of their comments, you would think they had wanted any gay character to be overtly negative. Of course, most of them probably would have been content without there being any gay character at all (and so would I). But let's look at it this way. Dumbledore is shown throughout the series as being an outstanding leader, role model, teacher, and overall moral person. He values innocence, friendship, and most importantly, love. Isn't it a good thing to have a gay character show those qualities? I really do believe that a reason many gay men and women lead lives of depravity is because for years society has said that depravity is the only thing homosexuals are capable of. Luckily, I have learned this to be untrue, and even though I think homosexual sex is outside of God's will, I'm fine with there being positive GLBT characters in fiction.
Second, for Bible-believing Christians who now think that the Harry Potter series is not redeemable, I would ask why homosexuality is any worse than the instances of lying, stealing, and other sins that occur in the series. Travis from SoG was very correct in pointing out that many Christians see homosexuality as a sin above all sins, and it annoys him as much as it annoys me.
But even more than that, isn't this a wonderful opportunity for Christian parents to talk to their children about homosexuality? Goodness knows there must be hundreds of gay kids in Christian households who could benefit from this. By all means, despite his sexuality, Dumbledore still seems to live a Godly life. He seems to have lived celibately, and he devoted his life to teaching and fighting the evil of Lord Voldemort. In fact, I would argue that he's a great example of what homosexuals in the Church are called to be. I know I'm certainly inspired by him. :)
Did Rowling mean it that way? Probably not. However, characters are meant to take on a life of their own outside of their author. Christian parents can reap a whole lot of good from this situation. They can teach their children that gay people are not bound for Hell (or even earthly depravity) just because of their orientation. In the off chance that their child is actually gay, they can start a wonderful dialogue. But of course, I'm having the feeling that people really like dialogue a lot less than they say they do, and that's a real shame.
There is a time in every one's life (several in mine, apparently) when they have to sit back for a second and examine the choices that they have made, especially the ones that have had the most impact on getting them where they currently are in life. The time of not worrying at all about "the issues" is over for now. Maybe next year it'll come back. For now, God has given me several subtle reminders that the thinking, learning, and doing for me is not over. By the way, subtle to God is probably the equivalent of hitting a person over the head with a brick.
There is something to be said for holding to your choices with a will that is unwavering, stubborn, and perhaps even a little abrasive. No doubt this stubbornness concerning choices is what can get conservative Christians labeled "fanatical" at times. Whether they want to admit it or not, strong faith is a choice. We make (or should make) conscious choices to follow God's Word, devote our lives to Him, and give up the world for Him.
However, while it is fine for a person (and especially a Christian) to hold on to their choices firmly, it is not right for them to hold on to their choices without thinking. It is important to stand back every once in a while and think, "Why am I doing this?" If you're a politician, "staying the course no matter what" may get you elected, but if you're an actual human being, it just makes you look like a pompous, self-righteous jerk. It is perfectly fine to stand back, look at your life, examine what's working and what isn't, reassess what you believe, and then start out new again from there.
Needless to say, some situations in my life recently caused me to enter such a period of reflection. I won't go into the details of either the situations or the reflections (after all, it looks like I'll be writing enough extra-long essays this semester), though I will say that on the surface my views haven't changed much. I am still pursuing celibacy, I still believe that same-sex relationships are not what God intended for us, and I'm still Reformed. However, by analyzing what these choices mean and how they've affected me, I have gained a lot of insight into who I am and what my relationship with God is like. More importantly, I've started to be more aware of how my choices affect others.
Even if I don't agree with a person's choices, I always admire people who recognize that life is simply a conglomeration of choices and that choices are an extremely important aspect of who we are. It's amazing how many people (on every side of the aisle imaginable) are afraid of the word "choice." My first choice, I think, was to not be ashamed of my choices. Lots (and I mean lots!) of choices followed that. The most important choices in recent years have been the three listed above (which some people might call beliefs--but I think beliefs are choices as well). But I've also made other important choices, some of them deliberate and some of them unknowingly.
I've chosen to accept everyone as a friend, no matter how different they are from me ideologically. I've also chosen to not be afraid of the so-called "gay label," and to be very open to having close friendships with gay men and women who have made different choices concerning their sexuality than I have. Sure, these choices have made things harder for me in some respects, especially in regards to my other choices which run counter to them. Temptation and tension are very natural consequences. But they have also set me on the course to become a bold, kind, honest, and authentic person (though I wouldn't say that I am these things just yet). I'm not going to cower away from relationships because I might get hurt, or because there might be disagreements, or because it might cause some people in the church to look at me funny.
Actually, that last bit reminds me of a scene from The Velveteen Rabbit, one of my favorite books. It's a bit of dialogue between the Rabbit and the Skin Horse:
"What is REAL?" asked the Rabbit one day, when they were lying side by side near the nursery fender, before Nana came to tidy the room. "Does it mean having things that buzz inside you and a stick-out handle?"
"Real isn't how you are made," said the Skin Horse. "It's a thing that happens to you. When a child loves you for a long, long time, not just to play with, but REALLY loves you, then you become Real."
"Does it hurt?" asked the Rabbit.
"Sometimes," said the Skin Horse, for he was always truthful. "When you are Real you don't mind being hurt."
"Does it happen all at once, like being wound up," he asked, "or bit by bit?"
"It doesn't happen all at once," said the Skin Horse. "You become. It takes a long time. That's why it doesn't happen often to people who break easily, or have sharp edges, or who have to be carefully kept. Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose in the joints and very shabby. But these things don't matter at all, because once you are Real you can't be ugly, except to people who don't understand."
I suppose, in the context of this book, my main decision--my main choice--is to be real. I don't know if I am yet or not, but I'm not afraid of the shabbiness, the ugliness, or the people who don't understand. Their choices are theirs, and mine--no matter how difficult sometimes--are mine.
Tonight I just finished reading Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, the seventh and final installment of the Harry Potter series of fantasy (but not children's) novels. I've been reading off and on for the past week. Obviously, when you are in charge of kids all day, you don't find much time to read. Then again, the book was fabulous (how could it not be?) so it was a quick read. There won't be any (major) spoilers in this post, so you can read on even if you haven't finished the book yet. I found the book to be the most literary of the series. Although all of them are wonderful stories with fascinating characters and suspenseful, gripping plots, the last book had the marks of classic literature: complex and intriguing characters, rich language, and most importantly, a definite, well-rounded theme. Without spoiling too much (it is, after all, in the title), the theme of the book was death, and how different people deal with that single most inevitable part of life. Author J.K. Rowling has been alluding to this theme for the entire series, but never has it been so brought into focus. Never has it been spoken of in such a philosophical sense, and never have the characters (or, for that matter, Ms. Rowling) so boldly stated their different views of death. It is an awesome book, and I nearly cried when I finished it. I consider myself a writer, although I have not really published anything. I used to write for a school newspaper, I write for the blog, I've written a few short stories and poems, I've written a novel and I am working (on and off) on a second. Writing is simply what I enjoy doing, and if I keep at it, I'm sure that I will be published in some way, shape, or form. So I might as well call myself a writer now, right? ;-) My main genre of interest is fantasy, and Harry Potter probably has a lot to do with that. I don't think it's a stretch to say that J.K. Rowling's books have influenced my writing. They have probably influenced the writing of many future fantasy authors. I don't mean that in the low sense of mimicry. I'm sure you have all seen plenty of authors trying to emulate Rowling's success by writing about young people who all of a sudden realize they have special, magical powers. It not the plot or the situations of Harry Potter that I would try to emulate; it is the themes of friendship, family, and love. Some of my favorite scenes in the series were the scenes where Harry would be at the Weasleys' house, or with members of the Order of the Phoenix, or maybe just with Ron and Hermione. Rowling knows how to write about the comfort that family and friends can bring, and during those scenes it literally jumped out of the page for me. It is scenes like that that I try to put into my books, and I can say that if it was not for Rowling, I probably wouldn't be doing that. It's not that Harry Potter made me appreciate family and friends; it's just that before reading those books, I would never have thought that such quiet, warm scenes would make for good reading. Well, those are my reflections on the Harry Potter books. Maybe now with them read and out of the way, I can start writing again! Once I'm out of camp, of course... Hope everyone is doing well! Jay
I don't know if I've mentioned this on the blog before, but I'm a HUGE Harry Potter fan. I've already pre-ordered my copy of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, the final book in the series. Also, the other day, I found the International Trailer for the fifth movie: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. Seeing as Book 5 is my favorite in the series so far, I'm extremely excited for the fifth movie. I'm also looking forward to seeing Helena Bonham Carter as Bellatrix and Imelda Staunton as Professor Umbridge. Oh, who am I kidding? Just check out the trailer!
By the way, if you're a big Harry Potter fan and like discussing what may or may not happen in the final book, head over to La Shawn Barber's Fantasy Fiction for Christians blog.
What would the title of your autobiography be?
Submitted by princesskasren.
My Dad and I actually talked about this once. He was listening to me talk about my political/social opinions (something I do quite often). He said I should become a pundit and write a book, and he pretty much summed me up in his proposed title: Is This as Good as It Gets?
Ah, but this asked for an autobiography title. Well, to be honest by the time my life is over I want to be famous enough that someone else can write a biography of me. Lord knows I talk about myself too much already.
