Home Page

Monday, December 03, 2007

A Moment on My Soap Box

I read news reports today where some conservative Catholics as well as other religious groups are condemning "The Golden Compass", stating it's "selling athiesim to children". I'm sorry, but last I checked, fiction was about entertainment, and perhaps thought-provoking ideas. Should we just limit all movies to documentaries? Nah, that wouldn't work... no one would agree on the facts. All this hoopla is all surrounded around the author, Phillip Pullman, who is a self-confirmed athiest. Sigh. So what? Seriously? Do you honestly think a movie could single-handedly take down the Catholic church?

Shouldn't we see these movies with our kids, answer their questions, and focus on our own beliefs as a family? Oh, wait. That would be too easy. Too free-thinking-American.

While I froth at the mouth about this subject - I realize it's free speech to express your dislike for what you might think this movie does or does not stand for. I also realize we're also free to decide to not patronize a movie, or change the channel, etc. Don't these conservative groups realize that bad press is big dollars?

In other news, I just counted all the grey hairs on my head, as tomorrow is my 37th birthday. Counting all those I've pulled in the last month, I have about 5. By the way... the old wives' tale that pulling one grey hair brings two back? Not true. I've been pulling the same 5 or so since I was in my mid-20's. :)

8 comments:

Bar L. said...

Happy Birthday to you! I am planning to post it on my blog tomorrow, hope that's cool. You seriously look great and keep looking greater so screw the age thing. Plus HELLO your under 40! Anyone under 40 is sooo young, just wait 11 years from now and you'll know what I mean.

As for your soapbox...please make it stop, what the hell is wrong with people? Please don't get me started on this. I think people are crazy to ban movies for any reason. If you don't want to see it don't' go. Period. Its called FREEDOM and ART and EXPRESSION.

Nik said...

Ya know, I went through my rant about this same thing last week, so I'll spare you here. But, I will say this, yes the author is an admitted atheist, but there's no way a kid (of any age) is going to watch this movie and see any anti-religious tones whatsoever. The Chronicles of Narnia was written by a "Christian" author and supposedly has religious undertones, but you'd have to really read into the stories to find them. Somewhere along the way, groups of people forgot that this is simply entertainment. (So much for sparing you, huh? lol)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!!!!! I hope you had a wonderful birthday and I wish you all the best.

Cupcake Blonde said...

Happy Happy Birthday! And I don't have any grey hairs yet. Should I be concerned I will wake up one day and be totally grey? Maybe I will turn white like my grandfather on my mom's side? Don't we usually take after one side or the other when it comes to things like that?

Anyway...about the movie. I love how people think entertainment can corrupt people and make everything fall apart. Uh, if you do not wish your kids to see the film, don't take them. And how come it was okay for them to tote Narnia and Passion of the Christ as Catholic-friendly but heaven forbid a movie going against some people's beliefs is persecuted. It just makes me upset and gives me more reason to dislike parts of the church. Reason number 363 why I do not regularly go any more.

Teri said...

Happy Birthday!!! Hope you had a wonderful day.

This is a huge soapbox for me as well. being a teacher, parents go overboard and I have to make changes all the time. One time I had to send a student out of my room when I did my read aloud to the kids because the mom thought the book was innapropriate. So everyday after lunch for about a month the kid had to go to another teachers room until I was done.

I have been going grey since 18.

Unknown said...

Happy birthday Loraloo, hope you have a good day. About your rant, I have read the books and they are good, not great, but good and there are some very interesting anti-religious themes running throughout the books. However, they are not overboard with them and from what I understand, the movie even toned those down so the most anyone is going to notice is that the story doesn't have anything nice to say about 'Mother Church'...just like everyone else in America...

Sheena said...

Happy Birthday! Hope you had a great day!

"Reason number 363 why I do not regularly go any more." -Vegas Princess

DITTO.

Martin said...

I have been hearing about this for awhile and listened to rhetoric from both sides. My viewpoint?

This same issue was raised about the Da Vinci Code when the film came out. The book was controversial but making it a film made people think that they were taking that next step to converting the masses. Fiction is fiction. If we freak out about another book turned film just because it is going to film (and not before), we are just a few steps from asking for the author's head a-la Salman Rushdie's Satanic Verses.

Distant Timbers Echo said...

I'm gonna watch The Golden Compass twice, just to piss 'em off!

btw, sorry about the grays.