Questing for Atlantis

Simply put, the recently released film The Golden Compass is one of the best mainstream, pro-liberty films in quite some time. It establishes its freedom bona fides right from the start; the introductory voice-over tells the story of a universe where people’s souls exist outside their bodies, where an oppressive government rules the world with an iron fist, where scholars developed a device that told only the truth, and where the government destroyed all but one of those devices. That device is of course the golden compass for which the film is named.

From this high point the film continues to carry on with its message of individualism and free thinking. The protagonist Lyra is a young girl of strong willfulness and determined to live her life by her own rules and not ones arbitrarily imposed upon her. She is also remarkably insightful, a trait that prompts multiple authority figures to be quiet and do as she is told.

The main villain of the movie is the cloyingly sweet Marisa Coulter. An agent of the government (called the Magisterium), she appears at first to support Lyra in her desire to be free. After Lyra leaves with her she reveals her true nature. Mrs. Coulter speaks in glowing terms of how the Magisterium tells people what to do, and that society can only function when people do as they are told. This loathsome nature of Ms. Coulter is fully realized in her home where she acts as a tyrant, treating Lyra as little more than an amusing pet. Lyra eventually rebels against this oppression and runs away. At this point she falls in with a number of different individuals and groups, all of them united in their support of freedom and opposition to the Magisterium, eventually journeying to the far north to rescue children kidnapped for the purpose of experimentation into destroying free will and free thought.

Much ado has been made by religious conservatives over the supposedly atheistic message of the film and the books it is based off of. Having read all the books and seen the film, I assure you all that the film has been fully excised of anything that might be even remotely religious. The Magisterium, an autocratic theocracy in the books, is now simply an autocratic, totalitarian government. Likewise things that concerned religion in the books, for example the nature of the soul, have been changed to be the nature of free will or similar concerns of a more secular nature.

This film is a must see for anyone who loves liberty. It promotes the values of freedom, self-determination, and resistance to oppressive authority. Even more importantly, it puts these views in a highly accessible format, so not only is it a good time for those already aware and who enjoy a good story, it is also an excellent vehicle for introducing young people to the cause of Liberty. It is highly recommended that you go see this film, and if you go, make sure to take your younger siblings along with you and discuss the ideas with them afterwards.