The Christian Right's Flawed Golden Compass Campaign

Lessons Not Learned from Harry Potter

It's been the hottest topic since, well, Dumbledore's outing . . . at least in the Christian Right demographic.

The big furor over Phillip Pullman's His Dark Materials fantasy series is really old news for some. Back in 2001, The Guardian and The Observor were reporting a Bible Belt backlash against Pullman's first book in the series, The Golden Compass. Why the new outcry against the Dark Materials books? The Golden Compass, the movie, will be released in the U.S. in December 2007.

The premise of His Dark Materials trilogy depends on who you ask. Fantasy fiction that tells the coming of age story of a girl and a boy as they wander through parallel universes, or, a young streetwise girl becomes enmeshed in an epic struggle to ultimately defeat the oppressive forces of a senile God.

The religious right, right on cue, are creating a stir over these books-and by extension, the movie-because the author is a self-professed atheist and his worldview is portrayed in these young adult novels. Message boards and forums have been on fire during the past few weeks. While it is good to see fellow Christians stand up for what they believe and unify against a common enemy, the process is a flawed one-just as it was with Harry Potter and the Da Vinci Code.

Information about the content of His Dark Materials and the perceived dangers to children spread like wildfire, and like the parlour game, Telephone, the cumulative errors are amusing-or at least they would be if this weren't a serious subject. It is painful to see so many people 'believe what they hear' without further investigation. A half hour spent with Google provides enough information from newspaper articles and interviews and summaries to understand that there is far more to the story. And, of course, the best method of research would be to go to the primary source, actually read the book and then make an informed decision.