Donna Freitas: October 2007 Archives

I am a bit star struck. Well, more than a little bit.

Philip Pullman, author of "His Dark Materials", the subject of a growing controversy from the religious right, and a man who is about to see his extraordinary novel, "The Golden Compass," turned into a movie by New Line Cinema, is this week on a rare visit to the United States. For the last two days, I've had more than just a glimpse of my literary idol: I had the amazing opportunity to sit down and talk to Mr. Pullman at length about theology and Dust and the imagination, among other wonderful things.

When first I learned I'd be having this conversation with Pullman, my stomach tied up in knots. I felt flushed and nervous. You have to understand: I think Pullman is one of the greatest literary figures of our time, and his trilogy, "His Dark Materials," is one of the greatest literary achievements I've ever come across--the kind of story you come back to again and again at different ages, each time discovering something new, reading it in different ways, asking new questions, and realizing there is always more to find with each encounter, all marks of great literatue.

As a scholar of religion, a liberal Christian (yes, we do exist), and a lover of great fantasy literature, I am deeply saddened by the growing wave of fearful-to-the-point-of-hysterical online chatter about Philip Pullman's "His Dark Materials" trilogy, which was sparked by the upcoming Dec. 7 release of the film version of the first book, "The Golden Compass."

Just last week my fellow Beliefnet blogger Rod Dreher fed the frenzy. His Crunchy Con post waxes poetically and mournfully about his "children losing God, especially before they have a firm hold on Him," particularly" to the work of a man who openly says he wishes to destroy God in the minds of his audience"--and thus, according to Dreher, who threatens to suck all the happiness out of life. Dreher ends with an insulting generalization about liberals, and how "because liberals refuse to take God seriously, [we] have trouble understanding people--Jews, Muslims, Christians and others--who do."

Give me a break.

I’m a liberal and I’m a Christian. I also take God seriously. Very. And so does Philip Pullman.

Curl up in your comfiest blanket and prop yourself with a stack of soft pillows. Close your eyes, put a smile on your face, and let yourself drift back to that time in childhood when storybooks carried you gently off to dreamland.

Are you there yet?

Open your eyes, but don’t move. Just watch “Pushing Daisies.”

ABC’s peculiar new television series "Pushing Daisies" is both a magical and mysterious show to watch--an ineffable, playful hour-long something that reaches deep into your heart and soul and past and shows you how it’s possible to be at once the delighted child, the love-struck adolescent, and the confused, quirky adult struggling to be good and ethical and responsible, yet who is tantalized and tempted by the enchantingly forbidden, beguiled by the aroma of a just-made apple-pie-with-gouda-crust sitting on someone else’s windowsill to cool.

If only we could take just a tiny slice....

The new documentary "For the Bible Tells Me So" is framed by devout Christian families who tell moving stories of how they've navigated the challenges and ups and downs of facing their son or daughter's sexual orientation in the context of a faith tradition that loves to shout in the streets and from the pulpit Leviticus 18:22, that those same beloved children are "abominations."

First off, I'm happy that ABC gave "Men In Trees" a second chance at life--and a second season, which premiered on Friday.

The series turns on a NYC writer Marin Frist (Anne Heche) who heads up to the tiny, quirky, male-dominated (so to speak) town of Elmo, Alaska for refuge after her fiance dumps her for another woman. In Elmo, Marin finds a kind of spiritual solace at the very least, if not a reawakening to all the things that really matter in life: good, loyal friends, a sense of community, natural beauty, true inspiration--and this NYC girl decided to make Elmo her new permanent home. Of course, the hot mountain man named Jack (James Tupper, Heche's real-life lover) who fell in love with her (we think) might have helped convince Marin to stay, but then he went back to his childhood sweetheart Lynn (Justine Bateman) the second she came back begging for forgiveness.

We all know that Marin and Jack are in for a second chance though.

This weekend "The New York Times" offered a bounty of articles that parse religious and spiritual trends within realms as diverse as Ben Affleck's new movie ventures to authors of literary fiction. Don't miss the following: Tyler Perry's confession that...

Bill Donohue, president of the Catholic League, is at it again. Known for his hard-hitting attacks on, well, just about anything and everything (including Miller beer), Donohue has decided to settle on one big target for the time being....

"Halo 3" debuted with as much buzz and fanfare as its predecessors, maybe more, but there's no surprise there. Rated "M" for "Mature, it's the top selling video game of all time. But perhaps what might stun readers is that...

Yes, it's true. I am seeing the CW's Smallville series to the very end. I can't help it. I still love it. And if the season premiere says anything about what's to come this year, I'm excited. A brief recap:...

Finally! Finally, a good romance at the movies once again! But why, why, why are all the good ones somehow related to Jane Austen? The last time I was overcome by something romantic on the big screen it was "Becoming...