The Golden Compass
Dec. 15th, 2007 02:17 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
helen99After dining at an excellent Korean restauraunt, I accompanied friends to see The Golden Compass last night.
Fortunately I have not read the books yet, so I didn't know what I was missing, but it seemed like there was way more to the story than what was shown. For example, why was the Magesterium so intent on severing children from their demons (souls in animal form)? What happened to the boy who lost his demon due to the Magesterium's "intercision" process? What happened to Lord Azrael, who was about to be arrested and executed for heresy by the Magesterium? Did Lyra and her father ever encounter the Dust that was disovered in the North? Did they visit other worlds?
I guess all of that might be shown in the sequel, if this one does well enough to make a sequel of it. I get the feeling that "The Golden Compass" was mainly setting the stage for the sequel.
The Magesterium is obviously based on the Inquisition-era church archetype. I usually avoid anything to do with that subject like the plague. The most sickening aspect of the Magesterium was their belief that severing people from their souls to better manipulate them was 'for their own good'... The worst scene was when they almost did that to Lyra.
Once the Magesterium realized they weren't confined to their own world any longer, they planned to invade other worlds and dimensions with their sickness. As their representative said, "My dear man, the authority of the magesterium is everywhere".
Hearing this said, in the way it was said reminded me too much of certain aspects of our own world's current events. By seeking to own and control everything, everywhere (including the Arctic and Antarctic), they are severing the Earth's soul from itself the way they have already done with much of the earth's human population.
The movie did not leave one with a happy feeling... I found it to be realistic and appropriate to now. The talking warrior bears, the Aletheometer, and the Demons - they all exist here in one form or another...
After the movie, we went to visit with friends and talked about the nature of evil. I think severing a child from its demon was damned evil (even if it was just a story).
Fortunately I have not read the books yet, so I didn't know what I was missing, but it seemed like there was way more to the story than what was shown. For example, why was the Magesterium so intent on severing children from their demons (souls in animal form)? What happened to the boy who lost his demon due to the Magesterium's "intercision" process? What happened to Lord Azrael, who was about to be arrested and executed for heresy by the Magesterium? Did Lyra and her father ever encounter the Dust that was disovered in the North? Did they visit other worlds?
I guess all of that might be shown in the sequel, if this one does well enough to make a sequel of it. I get the feeling that "The Golden Compass" was mainly setting the stage for the sequel.
The Magesterium is obviously based on the Inquisition-era church archetype. I usually avoid anything to do with that subject like the plague. The most sickening aspect of the Magesterium was their belief that severing people from their souls to better manipulate them was 'for their own good'... The worst scene was when they almost did that to Lyra.
Once the Magesterium realized they weren't confined to their own world any longer, they planned to invade other worlds and dimensions with their sickness. As their representative said, "My dear man, the authority of the magesterium is everywhere".
Hearing this said, in the way it was said reminded me too much of certain aspects of our own world's current events. By seeking to own and control everything, everywhere (including the Arctic and Antarctic), they are severing the Earth's soul from itself the way they have already done with much of the earth's human population.
The movie did not leave one with a happy feeling... I found it to be realistic and appropriate to now. The talking warrior bears, the Aletheometer, and the Demons - they all exist here in one form or another...
After the movie, we went to visit with friends and talked about the nature of evil. I think severing a child from its demon was damned evil (even if it was just a story).