The Golden Rumpus

Shaunti Feldhahn (in the Chicago Sun-Times, 12/8) criticizes the new movie The Golden Compass with the following words:

"'Making family friendly movies is laudable, and we are not so concerned with the film, per se, but it poses a bigger problem. Because parents and kids will see this movie and then want the books . . . and the books aren't watered down.'

Parents need to know that this first step will lead to another. And the next books are disturbing. We saw this trend with Harry Potter -- as each book and movie got darker and darker, to the point that many parents would never have let their kids read the last book, had it come out first.

I'm sad that parents even have to worry about this, especially at this time of year, when, as many families celebrate the birth of Christ, a foothold is given to books that want to do anything but."

I don't recall similar cautionary writeups about The Passion of the Christ, or The Ten Commandments--watch out, kids might want to read the books...when in fact the Bible with its angry, genocidal, racist, intolerant god with a penchant for the smell of burning flesh is far more disturbing than any of the Golden Compass books.

So, if your children seem poised to make the increasingly unlikely movie-to-book jump...they are doubtless safer with Philip Pullman's little fantasy than they will ever be with the Book at which he takes a little jab.