American Library Association President Responds to Attempts to Censor "The Golden Compass"

[RestoreGore]

http://www.ala.org/Template.cfm?Section=News&template=/ContentManagement/ContentDisplay.cfm&ContentID=169110
Excerpt:
"It is one thing to disagree with the content of a book or the viewpoint of an author; it is quite another thing to block access to that material because of that disagreement. Removing a book from a school or library because the author is an atheist, or because a religious group disagrees with the book's viewpoint, is censorship that runs counter to our most cherished freedoms and our history as a nation that celebrates and protects religious diversity.

"We encourage librarians, teachers and parents to resist the call to censorship. Censorship results in the opposite of true education and learning. Young people will only develop the skills they need to analyze information and make choices among a wide variety of competing sources if they are permitted to read books and explore ideas under the guidance of caring adults.

"We realize, of course, that not every book is for everyone. Parents know their children best and should guide their children’s reading. If parents think a particular book is not suitable for their child, they should guide their child to other books. But they should not impose their beliefs on other people’s children.

"By resisting the call to censor and boycott ‘The Golden Compass,’ we send the message to young people that in this country they have the right to choose what they will read and that they will be expected to develop the ability to think critically about what they read, rather than allowing others to do their thinking for them."
End of excerpt
~~~

Bravo. When will these Conservative religious groups get a clue? I'm making sure I go see the movie this weekend.

http://www.goldencompassmovie.com/

What the fuss is all about:

http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/film/article2999647.ece

[NashVegas]

1. I Just Read an Article in Wired About This

http://wired.com

[RestoreGore]

2. And what did you think?

[NashVegas]

11. Suddenly I'm Interested In Seeing a Movie I Didn't Care About Last Night

In spite of all the ads it's running on the Sci-Fi network.

[RestoreGore]

17. Me too. But then I am into fantasy movies

And this just motivates me even more.

[blondeatlast]

3. Proud ALA member here!

I've left the biz, but support my fellow library-types (I was a paraprofessional). I was disappointed when the library I worked for did not support the ALA on an issue (internet filtering) once and made it known.

[ck4829]

4. Wouldn't trying to blot out something you don't agree with...

actually be worse than "Political Correctness"?

RW'ers:
Being Politically Correct - Unacceptable
Censorship - Acceptable

:crazy:

[GodlessBiker]

5. I love librarians! They are true defenders of freedom.

[sinkingfeeling]

6. Can't buy tickets early here, I'll have to wait until Friday.

[niyad]

7. now that the harry potter series is finished, the morans needed a new target.

when I encounter one of these fools, I ask, "in which of the six languages I read do you propose to ban my reading material? In the second grade, I was reading material you still are not capable of comprehending, and you propose to dictate what I can or cannot read?"

[Bitwit1234]

8. It is a shame that there are people

who have such narrow minded views that they want every body to do and believe what they do...if we started going thru the books in the libraries and wanted them to remove all the books, especially by republicans and the religious right wonder what they would say. Some body list the books I'll write Amazon and ebay and tell them to take them off. How about the American Book Clubs they should be next.

[RestoreGore]

9. It's Fahrenheit 451

And Conservatives love adding books to the fire. Some of them really are sad creatures.

[freethought]

10. Most of the reviews I have read on this flick

Have been cool to lukewarm. Whatever! Some critics are calling it dull and boring, but most are calling it visually stunning but lacking in story.
These Christian conservatives are only going to aid in making the movie a money-maker. In the world of Hollywood film controversy=ticket sales.
Might even see it myself.

[Fleshdancer]

14. from what I understand, the filmmaker took out a lot of the controversial stuff

This saddens me but I'll still watch the movie because I love the book.

[MissB]

15. I can't see how they'd do that for books 2 and 3.

:rofl:

[RestoreGore]

18. I'm a bit disappointed about that too

I like controversial stuff. ;0).

[MissB]

12. Spoiler alert:

Spoiler alert! Spoiler alert!



I do get why they're in an uproar. :rofl: In the third book, "God" is inadvertently killed. Which really is the goal of one of the factions. The entire series has a strong theme of religion = bad.

[Fleshdancer]

13. This book has been (and will remain) very successful

I'm glad to see it get so much attention from the nuts because everyone should read this series. If you haven't read it yet, I highly recommend it. It's targeted for kids but it's sophisticated enough for all ages.

[pdxmom]

16. This book has been on library bookshelves for 10 years, but it isn't

a problem until it's made into a movie? Proves that the Repukes don't read. My son read it when he was 11, loved it and read the others in the series.

I detest anyone who wants to censor any book, but 10 years after the fact is totally laughable.