What is Contraversial to One Person May Not be to Another...

Recently, Uday, mom, and I went to see a movie called The Golden Compass. We were excited to see the movie because Uday loves seeing the special effects of a movie in the theater. Mom was excited to see this movie because there is a part with witches and things similar to that nature... I was excited about it because I had heard it was a controversial movie! I was not sure why it was controversial, so I was looking forward to find out.

As I was watching I figured out that the "golden compass" was symbolic of intuition and/or inner truth. The next thing I thought was interesting is that the movie called the animals that were around everyone "demons" and that they were considered the soul of that person. The pre-adolescent kids' demons could change their form into different animals as different situations arose. As a therapist this is symbolic to me because, "diagnosing personality" is mainly done with adults since younger teens/children have not truly formed all of their personality. Children are still finding their true identity, as is illustrated in the movie by their changing "demons" or souls and adults have fixed "demons" (their personalities are already formed).

As I was watching the movie I was still having trouble figuring out why it is controversial? One mystery in the movie is for the main character (a girl called Lyra) to find out about something called "dust". I'm not sure myself what the "dust" symbolizes. In the movie they say that it is discovered in a parallel universes. It appears as though this "dust" is causing people to rebel against authority and that the "dust" is connected between the person and their demon (or soul).

In the movie, Lyra goes on many adventures. She keeps her promise and puts her life at risk to find her friend that was kidnapped along with many other children as the antagonist in the movie are trying to separate kids from their "demons" (or souls). She learns to master her fears, and makes friend with beings that she most probably would not have if she did not set out on this journey to save the kidnapped kids. At one point in the movie she is kidnapped herself and they try to separate her from her soul. The antagonists in the movie believe that separating kids from their soul is a good thing because it will lead them to have indecision. Indecision will cause the kids to do what they are told. Thus, the antagonist in the movie, also known as "The Authority", think that it is good for the kids to lose their free will and do what the authority tells them to do for their own good.

This movie has other interesting details and characters as well and Uday was satisfied with the special effects. It was not until I was walking out of the movie theater that I started to figure more of the movie out and how it could be seen as controversial.

The authority in the movie is symbolic of certain religions (that consider God as an authority). The girl is trying to eliminate this authority, and the authority thinks it is better if the children just do what they are told. I had to explain this to my mom and Uday because it is very subtle in the movie and difficult to find and figure out at first glance. Uday and I actually got in a debate afterwards because he said that I did not know anything about religion. Uday was brought up as a Protestant Christian in India (but didn't really follow the religion). He became "Born Again Christian" when he moved to Louisiana. Uday studied the bible a bit and thinks that he knows more about the things in the Bible than me. He did not see the movie the way that I saw it, in fact he did not seem to get it at all (in my opinion).

So to prove him wrong (what I do best) I looked it up on the Internet and discovered that I was pretty much on target. The people who consider themselves Christian, were outraged by the movie as they saw it as teaching children to kill God and not respect authority (I did not read this but I imagine they also mean parents as well). I also saw the movie in a way that religious people might get upset about how the golden compass was teaching the girl to listen to herself (intuition) instead of asking God (by praying).

It so happens that the movie is a book written by Phillip Pullman who people say is an Atheist. He has written a three part series of the novel (first of which is The Golden Compass) which is now being produced as a three part movie. Here is an interesting article that discusses these thoughts about him being an Atheist. Some comments said that this movie was to show the other side of "The Chronicles of Narnia". I have not seen that movie yet, but Uday thinks it is a really good movie. The comments also stated that the movie was subtle on purpose in the hopes that parents would find it innocent and then buy the book for their children. The book is said to be more specific and more detailed. Many religious societies have encouraged others to ban the movie and the book.

This movie got me thinking, I was looking for controversy and I had to look very deep and hard to find it. My mom and Uday did not see it and I believe most kids would not see it this way either. It makes me wonder if the religious people are more insecure about their beliefs that they become defensive easily. Even if the movie was teaching everything that the religious people might be afraid that it is teaching, what is the harm in listening to one's inner truth, questioning authority, and seeking the scientific proof? Ironically, I don't consider myself an Atheist, but I do participate in Atheist type behaviors, which I like to call educated behaviors.

If you get a chance to see this movie, please write your comments below...What is controversial to one person is not to another. I'd be interested in learning your take on the movie!

The Born Again Religion is Like Sesame Street!

I had the experience of going to the "Born Again" Church today with Uday, like we do sometimes, as he is of that religion. Even though I am not religious and call myself spiritual, marriage is about compromise and doing things for your partner, so I went with him today, as I also did last week. Well, I must confess, I really like the cookies and munch kins they serve there! Uday has also made compromises by changing his life style and going to the Unitarian Universal Church with me, the few times I have gone to check it out. We also brought gifts for the Children in Haiti as the "Born Again" Church was sending gifts to them for the Holidays! (I agree with this and wanted to support this effort, a specific reason why we went today). Last week at the "Born Again" Church, a Christian guy who works for a Christian radio station, spoke about how it does not matter what you do outwardly - such as going to church and following the list of "Christian" type things (that can also be called "man-made rules"), but rather it is about having God in your heart. I left Church that day feeling a sense of relief knowing that this was a message these religious people needed to hear but often did not. I was thinking that this was a much better teaching than I have heard the "Christians" discuss before. This guy was saying: "don't be judgmental, be more like Jesus".

Unfortunately, today in church my experience was similar to the ones I previously had with "Born Again Christians". This is because, one of the things the Pastor was preaching was that whom ever does not believe in Jesus is not going to heaven. I guess that means, at the very least, Muslims, Jews, Hindus, Buddhists, and the untouched tribes in Africa and the Amazon are not going to heaven! (if there is any such thing as a heaven). This is a typical theme I have run into since living in Florida from "Born Again Christians". Perhaps they say the same thing in the North, but I don't remember running into any people of that Faith during my life in New Hampshire or New York (just Catholics, Protestants, Methodist and the like).

Anyway, it got me thinking of an article by Virginia Heffernan which describes the "Sesame Street" they used to show on TV when I was a kid (1970's & 1980's) and how it has changed dramatically since then. In the article, Virginia writes about how they needed to change Sesame Street because they realized that in meaning to teach kids positive messages they were doing the opposite by accident. She writes about how, "Cookie Monster was on a fast track to diabetes [and] Oscar’s depression was untreated". I haven't watched Sesame Street since I was a kid but according to Virginia, Sesame Street is new and improved. No longer are the days where it shows the following: "a pretty, lonely girl like Sally might find herself befriended by an older male stranger who held her hand and took her home." Although when the show aired in the past, it was innocent and perhaps ignorant, it meant well. Illustrating such things as, "Love your neighbor as yourself". Times were different and more simple then, but as times have changed, and I have grown up, so has Sesame Street. In time, I think this might be the same for the "Born Again Religion". They are baby's now making baby steps with large effects. Although they seem to mean well, I can't help but wonder if they are spreading negative messages (indirectly, like Cookie Monster) as much as positive messages. Ironically, history & the current times are proof of so much negativity from religions trying to teach the opposite. Like they say in Church, "there is a season for everything". Let's hope this "Born Again Religion" catches up to the new season of Sesame Street and works harder to only create positive messages to their followers.

I'll pray for them!!