A Horse of a Whole 'Nother Color!

Ok, so after a crazy 13 hour stint at work, I conned one of my coworkers (sorta) into seeing the late-late showing of "The Golden Compass." I remember being interested in seeing it when I initially saw the previews, and when I found out it was written by Phillip Pullman, I knew it was something I wanted to see. I had read some of his other books of the young adult genre when I was in high school, and they were all great. I'm also a big fan of C.S. Lewis and the fantasy-as-allegory types of literature, so I had to see what this was all about.
Within the last couple of weeks, I've heard the controversy over Pullman's atheist views on the book/movie. I approached it in two different ways. The first I like to refer to as "the Harry Potter Principle." It's just a movie. People are worried about their children seeing this movie and wanting to know about atheism. Well, if a child watches a movie and all of a sudden is atheist, you have more to worry about than a movie. I am all for parents supervising what their children are exposed to, but chances are, most children won't grasp the atheist views. The second way I look at the controversy is more defensive. What better way to be able to defend your beliefs than to "know thy enemy," as Sun Tzu would say. Know what else is out there, and learn more about your own beliefs in the meantime. But I'm a twenty four year old woman. I'm pretty sure I am smart enough not to get brainwashed by a fantasy movie. I also think that since Pullman was up front and open about his atheist views rather than trying to sneak them in, and I respect that.
So, I saw it. I was sleepy, and had second thoughts, but I saw it. At the 12:15 showing. Zzzzzz.... huh?
I should probably start off by saying I am Roman Catholic, and went to Catholic schools until college. I'm no religious fanatic, but I do recognize the role religion has played in my life. Now, I've seen some atheist movies and read some atheist books. Carl Sagan's "Contact," for example. I can see the ideals there, and understand them. "The Golden Compass," however, was not only atheist, it was totally anti-religion, and I am not sure I was expecting that. It was almost surprising to see something so opposite my own faith. The movie itself was really entertaining. The actors were very good, and the story alone was really well written, and I will go see the next installment. But wow...Pullman really has some strong feelings about religion, and I am guessing the Catholic Church is in the foreground of his opinions. The "evil" organization, the "bad guys," are called the "Magisterium," which is actually a Roman Catholic term which refers to the teaching authority of the Church. It also is meant to interpret the Word of God. In a scene that takes place in a Russian-like town, I saw what looked like icons painted on the walls of a "Magisterium" building, very similar to those found in Byzantine and many Orthodox churches. Needless to say, I was amazed.
After all that, I am not quite sure what to make of the movie. I liked it, but at the same time, I feel almost hurt. Is that the right word, hurt? I'm not sure. Did anyone else see it? Let me know what you think...