The Culture Beat

Dire warnings about The Golden Compass started arriving by e-mail about a month ago. The film, based on the fantasy novel of the same name by Philip Pullman and due for release on Dec. 7, is anti-religious, the messages said. Sounding like so many previous panicky – and usually false – warnings, it was easy to ignore.

This time, however, the message was basically correct: This first story in Pullman’s best-selling “His Dark Materials” points a condemning finger at a “church” that dominates the parallel world where the stories play out.

Pullman has told several interviewers that while he “can’t get away” from his Christian upbringing and still appreciates its language and symbolism, he no longer believes it is literally true.

“It’s made me what I am,” he said in an interview available on the trilogy’s Web site. “I do attack some manifestations of religious power, but that’s a different thing. I am angry (about the power of religious institutions), and possibly that comes out in my books.”

Ironically, the film’s producers at New Line Cinema are hearing criticism from both Christians and atheists for toning down the religious themes of the story. Some Christian leaders, such as Catholic League president Bill Donohue, say that children who see the relatively benign movie will be drawn to the books, where they will find a more pronounced atheism.

But activist atheists, such as Annie Laurie Gaylor of the Freedom From Religion Foundation, fault the film for not hammering religious institutions as hard as the book does.

“This must be the only film attacked in the same week for being too religious and for being anti-religious — and by people who haven’t seen it,” Pullman told Fox News.

These are confounding times for filmmakers who have grown bolder and more creative in exploring spiritual themes than in the past. A sampling includes this year’s Amazing Grace and the 2004 blockbuster, The Passion of the Christ, as well as the recent crop of fantasy stories with spiritual undertones, such as the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy and The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.

The Golden Compass, with its criticism of organized religion, may test the waters in a new way, as filmmakers ponder how much religion their productions can hold and how they can attract believers and nonbelievers without alienating either.

“I can see the problem,” said Linda Seger, a veteran screenwriter and script consultant who earned a doctorate of theology from the Graduate Theological Union. “I’m just guessing, but the movie probably is a product of the incredible division these days, when no one can satisfy anyone.”

Rather than offering any formulas, Seger, a Quaker who calls herself both a “born-again” and a “progressive” Christian, discussed the interplay she sees between film and faith.

“A lot of religious people who come to the film industry … have great intentions,” Seger said. “They have their theology and their talking points, but they don’t always realize drama is not about your belief system. It’s about your action. It must show faith in action.”

Words are important, but image is king.

“In a good movie, we can turn off the sound and still get the idea of what’s going on, because we see what people doing,” she said. “We see their value system because of how they treat each other.”

Seger also thinks movies work better when filmmakers know what they believe.

“I think some people work out their religious problems through the movies they make, but it’s better to work out your religious solutions in the movies,” she explained. “Your characters can be confused, but the better artists have a point of view that comes across.”

Then there’s the grittiness factor. In a compelling story, the conflicts are real and stakes are high.

“Some Christians doing movies or TV shy away from the grit,” according to Seger. “They want to be nice, but forget that to get to the nice place, you have to get through the grit. Even Jesus had to be crucified before the resurrection.”

While she’s not a fan of filmmakers who “wallow in the muck,” she thinks many Christians are too eager to get past the mess.

“If the filmmaker is not dealing with the hard things, they’re not dealing with the human experience,” Seger said. “True redemption shows that things are tough. If you skirt the issues, that’s cheap.”

First published in the Johnson City (Tenn.) Press, 1 Dec 2007.