authority or not?

[orangerful]

For those of you with questions about 'His Dark Materials' and the rumors that swirl around it's ending, Scott Westerfeld just did a fantastic post on his blog breaking it all down. Semi-spoilers for the end of the series, but if you're truly curious about what happens to the "god" at the end of HDM, this will hopefully clear up some questions (not all, you should still read the books and interpret them for yourselves!)

I really want to read the books again. Or, I guess read them for the first time since I've only experienced them as audiobooks. The first time through you're just so caught up in the story that there's hardly time to think about the metaphors/images/parallels/agendas/etc. Especially since it ended completely differently than what I ever expected.

Comments

[sideflip1.livejournal.com]

keep all HDM stuff spoiler friendly! i'm only half way through the second book. (i read the first book over the summer and just recently started the 2nd book). and can't wait to see the movie!

thanks...! :)

p.s. i got a job at the Cecil county public libraries, it's a Library Associate II substitute position. im doing training right now. will be good to get extra evening and weekend hours while i'm working somewhere else.

[orangerful.livejournal.com]

OMG Congrats on the job! I hope you enjoy it. Dunno what Cecil county is like...you'll have to give me all the low-down dirt ;)

Spoiler free, yes ma'am! Though I can't guarantee comments will remain that way! So be careful scrolling down (especially the one below this one)

[bittertwee.livejournal.com]

See, I actually disagree. Of all the ridiculous things that get the christian right into a kerfuffle, I think they're right about this one, if "right" means "correct that the books are a direct attack on their beliefs". Pullman is on record as saying so himself, and even though some of what he's trying to get across is done through allegory, at other points he's not subtle at all, especially in Mary's story, where the religion she rejects is the one in our real world, not some fantasy-world Authorty/Magisterium.

Also, the Authority who dies may not be the "real" god in Pullman's world, but he's clearly the god which has been mistakenly worshiped by everyone. So not only does the god of Pullman's world die, he turns out to have been a big fraud all along.

So I can see why the christian right is upset. (the funny thing is that they were so focused on the absurd Harry Potter- witchcraft connection that they seem to have missed this one until it became a movie) The issue is their response.. They have, as usual, gone into "ban and burn" mode. My question for them would be- if your faith is so strong, why are you so threatened?

Snopes (which, if it leans in any direction, leans left) has more on this, including the fact that Pullman has apparently said "My books are about killing god".
http://www.snopes.com/politics/religion/compass.asp

(and, I know you know this, but in case anyone reading this doesn't- I'm in Pullman's corner! I love the books, at least, the last two. I just don't think we should pretend they're anything other than what they are.)

[orangerful.livejournal.com]

I think it's correct in the "certain point of view" category. You know, how most people who have not even read the books complain about them and send around spammy emails saying how evil they are. And we can be like "oh, no that's not true, they don't kill God." (we don't mention because God does not actually exist in HDM, the one that claims to be the creator is a sham of a sham that fooled all those worshiping types). (look, I may or may not be trying to trick people into reading the books! shhhh!)

And that is the same question I always ask - if you fantasy novel is going to threaten your faith, perhaps you have other issues to worry about. I think those of us that enjoy reading these books are a bit more open-minded about belief systems and such.

For me, Pullman is like Joss (I've said this many times) in that they both don't believe in a "god" (or "sky bully" as Joss says) but they are both very spiritual people who believe in respecting other people, creatures, the earth, the universe, balance...and I think that is a BIG red flag into what is wrong with what most organized religions have become today...

I really want to hear Pullman's thoughts on the movie! His website hasn't been updated in ages.

Did you see the movie yet? I really want to know what you think of it!