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).
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(no subject)
Date: 2007-12-17 04:11 pm (UTC)Due to the religious nature of our society, the movie producers tried to downplay some of the anti-established religious themes that were in the book.
In the books one of those is the reason why the Magesterium was so intent on the severing is Dust. In the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve didn't have settled daemons. When they gained knowledge from the Tree of Good and Evil their daemons settled. Children's daemons don't settle so children are seen as innocent beings. Dust doesn't settle on children and only settles on adults. Adults are more evil than children (from the previous argument about settled daemons) so that must mean Dust is evil. Really Dust is unknown, and fear of the unknown drives most of "Dust=evil" idea. The truth is that Dust isn't evil at all, but that's all spoilers.
Oh and the boy who lost Ratter died very soon after he was found. What happens with Lord Azriel happens at the end of the first book, but it seems they wanted to put it in the second movie instead.
Either way I recommend the books. They're a great read, just don't start reading them before you have something important to do. You won't be able to put them down. =)
(no subject)
Date: 2007-12-17 06:33 pm (UTC)Oddly, this reminds me of the public school system. Kids are (usually) not dead by the time they graduate from school, but sometimes it's hard not to flatline emotionally and spiritually after 12+ years of it.
(no subject)
Date: 2007-12-17 10:31 pm (UTC)If I remember correctly, in the books the nurses at Bolvangar were experiments in cutting. Supposedly adults survived cutting and turned into very docile and controllable creatures. No child had survived cutting for very long hence more experiments. It'll break your heart to read about the caged daemons.
I really do recommend reading the books. He paints a far more colorful and rich picture than the movies do. Though the movie had it's perks (including Nicole Kidman's performance. PERFECT ABSOLUTELY PERFECT) you really need to read the books.