Golden Compass furor

From Christianity Today:

Golden Compasss Under Fire

Just a little over a year ago, a major motion picture hit theaters worldwide carrying a message full of hooey, heresy and borderline blasphemy. But rather than stage boycotts and cry foul, many Christians embraced the film as a "tool" for evangelism and for "engaging" popular culture; one even called it Dan Brown's "gift to the church."

So it was with The Da Vinci Code. Now here comes The Golden Compass, slated to hit theaters in December, and Christians are reacting quite differently. Instead of seeing the film as a tool, opportunity, or gift, some are already calling for a boycott because of the movie's anti-religious elements.

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I feel part of the difference in reaction is that Golden Compasss is targeted primarily at children and parents may see it as an attack on their children's burgeoning spiritual development. And on their parenting efforts. Not being a parent, I suppose I'm not as alarmed. Parental and religious authority is continually questioned and maligned in our current popular entertainment. I can't really see how this is any more egregious. And peddling fear about it is potentially more harmful, in my book, than the movie/books themselves. Fear bred in ignorance will eventually bring about resentment and either cruelty or curiosity. Confronting it, respectfully acknowledging its artistic merit (if there is any), debunking its myths and misconceptions, and - most importantly - admitting where it may have a point is much more productive in the long run. Pull the teeth of the Bumble, to paraphrase Yukon Cornelius.

I would think that a wise and knowledgeable parent would explain the subtle symbolism to children of a certain age. It could be a great opportunity to teach lessons in witnessing to skeptics - and addressing the child's own honest questions about authority and control, actually. Kids will hear all of author Pullman's arguments and stereotypes eventually. Why not take this chance to explain the fallacies in them? Just as with The Da Vinci Code, I'm sure there will be balancing books and guides published to coincide with the movie's release. Parents without much knowledge of philosophy and apologetics could utilize them in preparation.

Also, if we go after this thing with torches and pitchforks, won't we just be proving Pullman's point that we don't trust people to think for themselves?

I had made plans to see The Golden Compass before I knew about any of Pullman's books. It just looked really cool. I may see it yet. I've read Bertrand Russell, so this guy holds no terror for me.

News - 'Bionic Woman' sister recast, healed

Just read an article on the change of actresses and abilities for the role of Becca Sommers on Bionic Woman. She's no longer played by Mae Whitman and she's no longer deaf.

I am not happy about this, for two reasons.

First, could it be any more obvious that they are trying to up the hottie factor? They dropped a short, average-sized, cute-but-punk actress and replaced her with petite, pretty, former tween pop singer Lucy Hale.

And how many beautiful women do they need? Can't anyone on TV be simply average? Michelle Ryan (Jamie Sommers) is very pretty. She's also, in Hollywood parlance, "voluptuous." This means she actually looks like she eats three squares a day and fills out a C naturally. Is that their problem? A little insurance against people who find the bionic woman "fat"?

Secondly (and most egregiously), they took away Becca's deafness. They say it doesn't serve the plot anymore. Since when does deafness have to be a plot device?!?! Is Jamie Sommers' skin color a plot device? Can't she just have a deaf sister and know sign language without it being a special thing? Could they not just communicate that way and nothing be made of it? And if they felt compelled to have it be utilitarian, fine. Make Jamie insist that her bosses give her sister bionic hearing. Have her sister argue with her about the identity aspects of it. Just Google cochlear implants' divisive effect on the deaf community and you've got material for a month. It was not rocket science to think of that. Took me three seconds.

I am SO disappointed about this move. I was looking forward to seeing a disabled character with depth, who wasn't played as a saint and had a giant chip on her shoulder that wasn't related to her disability. Not gonna happen now.

I'll watch Bionic Woman for all the other reasons I said I wanted to earlier: Female empowerment; promising lead actress; great fight scene potential. But I'll be more skeptical about it. They'll have to impress me to keep me coming back. And Lucy Hale had be better be good.

TV - Goodbye, Girls

After several months of coquettish avoidance, the CW network and the creative team behind the show have finally announced what has been obvious to the entire world for a painfully long time: Gilmore Girls will be no more after this season's finale.

Easily one of the ten best series of this century, the show has been in decline for the better part of 18 months due (in no small part) to the abrupt departure of its original creator, Amy Sherman Palladino. I don't mind them stopping before it gets too ugly. But it will be sorely, sorely missed.

The rapid-fire dialogue - fortified with seemingly limitless literary and pop culture references and rare, razor-sharp wit and sarcasm modeled after 1930s screwball comedies - gets all the glory and it IS what hooked us. But the loving yet hard-fought relationships between the slightly off-center characters also kept us coming back.

Gilmore Girls had something for everyone. There was just enough teen angst for the high school girls who hung on every twist and turn in young Rory's love life. The literate (e.g., namechecking Dorothy Parker and Robert Benchley) and nostalgic (70s and 80s references in every episode) quips and the confrontations between single mom Lorelai and her judgmental, controlling mother kept adults in stitches week after week.

Special kudos to actress Lauren Graham (PBA), who anchored the show both in humor and in drama and set the pace for all the other actors in delivering an hour's worth of dialogue in 43 minutes week after week. NO ONE else could ever be Lorelai Gilmore.

Here's a first season sampler. In less than two minutes they reference Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom, Noah, Shaft, Charlie Brown specials, Richard Simmons, Barbara Hutton, the Menendez murders, The Waltons, Wonder Woman's invisible plane, gauchos, Flashdance, Annie Oakley, Elsa Klensch, Bob Barker, Oscar Levant, Howard Cosell, Mary Poppins tunes, Emily Post, the Iran-Contra scandal, Fawn Hall, Judy Blume, 50s monster movie titles, Nietzsche, Dawson's Creek, and The Odd Couple:



The Gilmore girls - Lorelai, Rory, and Emily - were a breath of fresh air for seven years. May their Friday night dinners go on forever!

Series Final Score:
Season 1 - A
Seasons 2 & 3 - A plus
Seasons 4 & 5 - A
Season 6 - B
Season 7 - B minus