Golden Compass

[ericgizmo]

Its ok. But then why are people talking about 300 and beowulf movies? Even though they were based on something. actullay 300 was based on a comic book and i doubt comic books were in the Medevil times nor was 300 in Medevil times. Like stuifzand said that reilgion was an imprtant ascept of the Medevil Times you can obisly see some people even though they dont know it You could compare how reilgion is just now adays to olden days. This section should be about stuff medevily not anything with lego as this subject was started. Medevil Life section should be where you can post anything that can relate to Medeviel stuff. But you should not start a subject that can offened reilgions or cultures etc.

[Blueandwhite]

Its ok. But then why are people talking about 300 and beowulf movies? Even though they were based on something. actullay 300 was based on a comic book and i doubt comic books were in the Medevil times nor was 300 in Medevil times. Like stuifzand said that reilgion was an imprtant ascept of the Medevil Times you can obisly see some people even though they dont know it You could compare how reilgion is just now adays to olden days. This section should be about stuff medevily not anything with lego as this subject was started. Medevil Life section should be where you can post anything that can relate to Medeviel stuff. But you should not start a subject that can offened reilgions or cultures etc.

I agree.

My biggest issue with this thread is that there is nothing really connecting it to medieval life. The topic starter describes the film as being a steampunk fantasy, which really isn't medieval at all. Moreover, the whole thing has simply become a philosophical discussion on the merits of religious sensorship. IMO, to say that this thread is on topic is something of a stretch.

[Bruce N H]

Hey all,

Just to clarify a little further, just because religion was important to those in the Castle era doesn't make all religious discussion therefore relevant here. To give a different example, let's take the Magna Carta:

On topic - How did the signing of the Magna Carta affect English feudal society? What were the events leading up to its signing and who were the key players? How did the powers of the kings relative to the nobility change, and was there any real affect on the commoners?

Off topic - The Magna Carta was a source document for the writers of the US Constitution and in many ways laid the foundation for the US political and legal system. Now let's debate whether we should vote for Clinton or Obama or Romney or Giuliani, since the political system they are running in ultimately flows from that action at Runnymede in 1215.

Okay, that's a pretty stark contrast and hopefully obvious. Real discussions here are going to more subtly tread somewhere between those lines, but let's try to stick more to discussing how religion shaped medieval society rather than how it shapes our own society or our individual lives today.

Bruce

[Asterios]

what it comes down to is this topic should have never been brought up in this topic since the film does not take place in medieval times so therefore if brought up this film should have been placed in off-topic.

[ericgizmo]

Theres an off-topic section?

[Asterios]

Theres an off-topic section?

Oops thought there was,guess not

[Scnicker]

This is a purely LEGO forum .
I hope I'll be seeing the Golden Compass this weekend. I'll try to comment on it when I do. Oh and using capital letters feels mighty fine .

[Asterios]

LEGO should always be capitalized and never spelled Legos or lego or just Lego it should always be LEGO

[ericgizmo]

How has that have to do with the topic?

[Asterios]

its my way of saying this topic is geschlossen

[The Blue Knight]

I like this discussion so far. It has been stunningly respectful given the pyrotechnic nature of the subject matter. Along that line of thinking, maybe we should get a new forum where movies can be discussed. The movies would have to relate in some way to castle Lego building. "Kingdom of Heaven" for instance would be in play due to the obvious applicability to castle Lego. But "The Seven Samurai" should be in, as well "300" and even a discussion of the cinematography of "Under the Tuscan Sun." That last movie couldn't be further in subject matter from castle Lego, yet a study of the sets and location and atmosphere (which creates a delicious sense of what ancient Roman Patriarcy was able to experience and indulge in, and has inspired me to revisit my own Roman building) would be allowed.

What do you think of a Movies forum? Just a thought, maybe the admins have bantied it about before.

As for the movie, it has been panned by critics as being to bland. The Oregonian (my hometown paper) called it "a beautiful bore." All window dressing, no suit. There is no question that the author of the source material is a strident anti-Christian, and that he wrote the series as a counterpoint to "Narnia," with the express purpose of dissuading children from becoming Christian, though more specifically Catholic. The movie's anti-religious message has been "dumbed down" according to the above cited Oregonian review. But that only makes it an interesting challenge for those of us who subscribe to a belief in an almighty (I made it lower case because its generic). My wife and I have decided that no Hollywood special effects bonanza is going to shake our faith, so we will most likely see it. Though on DVD, in light of the reviews I can't see plunking down $50 for the fam to see it theatres.

This thoughful thread has lead me to posit this; If I see it and dislike any anti-Christian message that may be present, I wonder if that would make me hold back from allowing myself to be inspired from a buiding standpoint? That's an interesting psyco-symatic exercise. There seems to be a wealth of inspiring architechture, ships, creatures, armies, etc. What might that say if I refused to allow my myself to be inspired--or is that even possible?

From a purely Lego perspective how many of you have "monsters" (recalling my old D&D days where a "monster" in an encounter was any non-human, and not necessarily evil) in armies. The armored Polar bears would be "monsters" in this context. Dragons, fell beasts, spiders, and unicorns are examples as well. My own armies are mainly troops, with few monsters or beasts. A few of those bears would make an outstanding cavalry charge!

Whew! A lot to chew on. Thank you admins, for leaving this post active, and giving the community some leeway here. Think about the Movie forum idea!

Richard

[ericgizmo]

WOW! That was a long post you made. With all you're grammer and really big words that i dont now what they mean. i didnt really read your post but since its long, got good grammer, and big words, i am thumbs up with your post!

[HeartOfDarkness]

I don't think the movie would be enough to shake much of a faith. However, it was made to lead to the books, which were made for the sole purpose of dissuading children from the Christian faith. I don't want to see this movie, not because it might shake my faith, but because I don't want to condone it by giving money to the makers.

[Blueandwhite]

I don't think the movie would be enough to shake much of a faith. However, it was made to lead to the books, which were made for the sole purpose of dissuading children from the Christian faith. I don't want to see this movie, not because it might shake my faith, but because I don't want to condone it by giving money to the makers.

I agree with you on that faith bit. If your faith (speaking generally here) waivers so easily that a fantasy film can shake it, you have to ask yourself if it is the movie that is doing it or your own inability to stand true to your beliefs. The Chronicles of Narnia openly promote Christianity and apparently the Golden Compass criticizes it. Frankly, I don't imagine that either series does anything more than entertain a few children.



This is my take on things:

Personally I'm just not offended if somebody who doesn't share my beliefs makes money from me. I'm sure I've handed money to countless clerks and vendors who don't see eye-to-eye with me. I think it's amazing how people can become so rattled by something like this. I mean, if you really think about it; how do you know what kind of person your spending supports. Buying a movie ticket doesn't mean your supporting what the author believes, just as buying a MS product doesn't mean that you want your computer to crash... oh wait...

[kelderic]

You know, it strange. I saw a preview for this movie on TV, and I thought about how cool it looked. Very much like LOTR and the Narnia movie. I was completely unaware of all of the religious complications until I heard a story on NPR about how the British Aetheist Something or other hated the movie because it was not anti-christion, like the books were, while many Christians hated the movie because it was anti-christion. Naturally, I thought this was humorous. Anyway, I am going to see it today, since finals are over and it is a half-day. The thing is, the normal reviews in the newspaper said that it was really good, so I'll just half to see.

Kelderic