By DOLPH HONICKER
Critics who condemn movies sight unseen and would ban books they've never read fascinate me. I can only recommend to them Adolf Hitler's solution to their concerns: bonfires. Big bonfires.
A recent letter writer urged parents to prevent their children from seeing "Golden Compass" for fear their little tykes, having been infused in the Christian story since falling out of the crib, suddenly would flee the theaters like miniature Red Guards and espouse the cause of atheism.
Now that Christmas carols have faded into the ozone, ending another Pagan holiday adopted as a Christ fest, and as families sit on pins and needles awaiting the credit card bills from Wal-Mart for doodads and junk mostly made in China and bought on a last-minute whim for fear of leaving out Uncle Tim, I can only hope this brief can get at least a blurry-eyed New Year's airing.
Consider the aforementioned film. It's a fairy tale, a watered-down version of a book written by the Brit, Phillip Pullman, an acknowledged atheist. The word atheist is mentioned at least one time less in the film than the word Mormon in Mitt Romney's political speech explaining his beliefs.
But Christians, who thus far are an overwhelming majority in America, see Barbarians banging at the box office gate to view the movie.
Voicing particular concern is the Catholic League, led by its president, Bill Donohue. The "Golden Compass," the first of Pullman's trilogy of children's books titled "His Dark Materials," is an attempt, says Donohue, to "sneak his atheism in back door to kids. If he had any courage, he'd defend his work, but instead he continues to do what he does best--practice deceit."
Perhaps kids ought to shun the movie and, on visiting days, go see the Catholic priests and bishops building time for molesting kids who once were their peers.
In a November interview last year with "Today" host Al Roker, Pullman had this to say of Donohue's remarks:
"Well, you know, I always mistrust people who tell us how we should understand something. They know better than we do what the book means or what this means and how we should read it and whether we should read it or not.
"I don't think that's democratic. I prefer to trust the reader. I prefer to trust what I call the democracy of reading--when everybody has the right to form their own opinion and read what they like and come to their own conclusion about it. ..."
But it seems like when you're in the limelight, brickbats are flung from all sides. Terry Sanderson of the National Secular Society says, "We knew from the beginning that the producers (of 'The Golden Compass') intended to leave out the anti-religious references. We think this is a great shame."
Donohue counters: "Eighty-five percent of the people in this country are Catholic or Protestant and I'd like them to stay at home, or go see some other movie."
I'd recommend "Elmer Gantry."
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Honicker is a retired newspaperman and a freelance writer appearing regularly in the Liberal Opinion Weekly.
