'Golden Compass' opens amid Catholic boycott (in Guam)

"The Golden Compass," the movie version of the first book in Philip Pullman's "His Dark Materials" trilogy that has prompted a nationwide boycott by the Catholic League for its alleged atheistic message, will open in local theaters at midnight.

In the book, a band of inter-dimensional heroes -- led by an 11-year-old girl and a talking, regal polar bear -- crusade against an obvious parallel of the Catholic Church known as the Magisterium and a deity called "The Authority."

About 85 percent of Guam's population is Catholic, according to Pacific Daily News files.
Shelly Gibson, director of marketing and promotion for Tango Theaters Guam, said she had received about 60 e-mails from concerned citizens who threatened to boycott the film because of its controversial themes.

Gibson said the outcry against "The Golden Compass" was "ugly," but not as fierce as that against "The Da Vinci Code" in 2006, when boycotters called her home and said she was a disgrace to her ancestors.

"They did this with Da Vinci. They did it 'The Passion (of the Christ,)'" she said. "People are going to see exactly what they want to see. If they want to see the devil, that's what they're going to see."

Gibson said e-mails had not made Tango consider pulling the film from theaters. She said her Catholicism had taught her to believe in free will, not close-mindedness.

"I don't believe in censorship," she said. "People should come to entertainment just for what it is -- entertainment. And they don't have to if they don't want to."

The PG-13 film will be showing in theaters in the Micronesia Mall and the Agana Shopping Center starting at midnight. Gibson added that it was a shame that boycotters would miss out on a "breathtaking" film.

Archbishop Anthony Apuron did not call for a boycott of the movie, but said Christians had a responsibility to reject it.

"These books feature themes and messages that denigrate God and Christianity. The movie then, is a fruit, a byproduct of the books. Why should we as Catholics feast upon such fruits and aid atheistic beliefs?" he said.

Mixed responses
Although the original atheistic themes in Pullman's novel have been downplayed in the movie, Catholic League president Bill Donahue opposes the film because he believes it may encourage children to read the original series.

"If unsuspecting Christian parents take their children to see the movie, they may very well find it engaging and then buy Pullman's books for Christmas," Donahue said in an October release.

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' Office for Film and Broadcasting said the film was not blatantly anti-Catholic and is instead a "traditional struggle between good and evil and a generalized rejection of authoritarianism" in a favorable Web site review.

Pacific Daily News reporter Stephanie Godlewski contributed to this report.
By Brett Kelman
Pacific Daily News
bmkelman@guampdn.com

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Do you think that the movie will meet with protest in other countries as well?

The way the movie is described, do you think that the movie should have been banned in Guam due to it being so strongly Catholic there?

How do you feel about censorship in general?

Do you agree with Shelley Gibson when she said "I don't believe in censorship," … "People should come to entertainment just for what it is -- entertainment. And they don't have to if they don't want to."

Will you go to see this movie?

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