Pullman film sanitised for Catholic consumption
The first film of Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials trilogy has been stripped of its religious themes for fear of offending Catholic audiences.
Director Chris Weitz said:
In the books the Magisterium is a version of the Catholic Church gone wildly astray from its roots.
If that’s what you want in the film, you’ll be disappointed.
While this may be disappointing for Pullman fans and supporters of free speech, they can take consolation that this pious bowdlerisation is not enough to satisfy The Catholic League, who are still calling for a boycott. It’s all part of an evil atheist conspiracy, you see:
The Catholic League wants Christians to boycott this movie precisely because it knows that the film is bait for the books: unsuspecting parents who take their children to see the movie may be impelled to buy the three books as a Christmas present. And no parent who wants to bring their children up in the faith will want any part of these books.
We are launching a major educational campaign designed to alert the public to Pullman’s game plan.
Grrr. If it wasn’t for that pesky Catholic League he would have got away with it, too!
(Hat tip The Freethinker)
Susan Cooper’s excellent “The Dark Is Rising” has also recently been filmed, and the film-makers have gone one further by filleting the original of its deeply heathen sentiments and bolting on a lot of sub-Narnia christian bollocks.
I think I’ll go kill myself now.