Where It All Began...

The Golden Compass, also known by the title Northern Lights, is the first book in a three-part series by Phillip Pullman. The trilogy, called His Dark Materials, also includes The Subtle Knife and The Amber Spyglass. In the books, there exists a myriad of universes coexisting parallel to one another. The story begins with Lyra, a young girl who lives in a world much like our own. In Lyra’s world, however, each person has a “daemon”, which is basically a physical manifestation of the soul in the form of an animal. Daemons of children can change form at will or based on emotion, and once a person reaches adolescence, its form becomes fixed. The Golden Compass follows Lyra through her struggle with the Magisterium (the name given to a powerful organization like our own Catholic Church). The Magisterium, attempting to understand and eradicate original sin, are performing experiments on children whose daemons have not been fixed yet. The experiments are cruel and involve severing the powerful link between a person and their daemon, a traumatic experience that often leads to death. With the help of witches, a gypsy community, and armored bears, Lyra helps free the children.

While His Dark Materials is an award winning series, Pullman has garnered much controversy over his works. Religious groups accuse him of portraying the Church as an enemy. Pullman, a self-proclaimed agnostic, has also been quoted saying that his books are about “killing God.” Influences, among other works, include Paradise Lost, which Pullman reversed in a way, not condemning original sin, but shedding it in a more positive light. A strong theme through the books is the concept of "Dust." Dust is described as an elementary particle that gravitates towards and nourishes intelligent life. Thought by the Church to be the source of original sin, they believe it is evil. 

Criticism is aimed at the series as a whole, The Golden Compass being the least controversial of the three books. With the popularity of the book series and the genre in which it was written, critics especially condemn Pullman for imposing his "agenda" on children, an impressionable audience.

In this clip, Pullman gives his advice to parents who may have fears for their children reading his books or seeing the movie. What is quite intriguing is that in this clip, and throughout the whole interview as well, Pullman mainly talks about the book. Even though it's apparent that the interview was most likely conducted in response to the movie, evident by the movie posters in the background.