His Dark Materials: Why the Controversy? - Part 2

Ah, it is Spring Break in Indianapolis and I am back to my blog on His Dark Materials.

In my last blog, I started to write about some of the controversy that has surrounded "His Dark Materials" trilogy, especially since the December 2007 release of the "Golden Compass" movie. Now, I will define what I think are the major issues and who might be offended by this series.

Books are challenged in school and public libraries for several reasons. The rationale for most modern challenges tend to be because a parent, teacher, or other adult believes the book is inappropriate or unsuitable for the targeted age group, that the book contains offensive language, or because the book contains subject matter that is considered sexually explicit. However, in the case of the His Dark Materials, most of the arguments seem based on the idea that the storyline promotes a religious point of view different from that of the person issuing the challenge.

But don’t be fooled avid teen fantasy readers and YA librarians! As with most wildly popular YA novels, these books contain a smattering of words one would not use in polite society, tender and unapologetic passages that encompass adolescent sexuality, the awful and intriguing business of murder, and of course the presence of witches and other magical and personified creatures. However, in the case of these novels, the would-be-censors seem to grab hold of the more prevalent stigma of deviant dogma.

There are five themes or subjects in this series that seems to offend and anger the religious faithful, scare parents of young children, and frighten librarians with the threat of challenges. These themes are:

1 - The God Killer (or the Subtle Knife)
2 - The Authority (or the God-like character)
3 - The Magisterium (or the ruling Church)
4 - Lucifer's Fall From Grace (or a biblical fractured fairytale)
5 - Original Sin (or Lyra’s prophetic role as the new Eve)

In my research I have found these themes to mainly touch the nerves of Christians, especially Catholics. However, some followers of Islam or Judaism might also find offense with some of the literary themes depending on their own personal ideologies.

Tomorrow, I will talk specifically about how these themes are represented in His Dark Materials, and why one might take offense from these themes.

Until then, keep reading!