Noticed previews and reviews all over the place for the film of Philip Pullman’s “The Golden Compass”, but ignored them due to some prejudice against Pullman and “His Dark Materials” – I think I only drew any earlier conclusion when I saw some TV vote “contest” concering Pullman, J K Rowling and J R R Tolkien up against DNA’s H2G2. Anyway, must have got the wrong impression of Pullman’s position.
Very interesting e-mail interview with Pullman by Peter Chattaway on FilmChat, sent to me by Sam.
Perhaps a little too cock-sure, but very direct about Dawkins, Tolkien, C S Lewis and Rowling, but a perspective I’d sympathise with. Probably too extreme a “materialist” for my “new-physicalist” position. More later.
Interesting, Sam see’s Pullman as an idiot, in his reading of Tolkien anyway.
I find it baffling how he can not see any moral complexity in Tolkien. Very odd.
Hi Sam, unfortunately I’m no real authority of Tolkien … I was never impressed enough to read beyond cursory interest. It was telling to me that neither of my boys, who read widely, were taken by Tolkien either.
I can see the complexity, but the good and evil aspects just seem too obviously signalled to me too.
Whatever the validity of Pullman’s content his style seems interesting, from what little I’ve seen.