DID YOU KNOW?

Did you know that Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy was once banned in the U.S.? Okay, it sounds too outrageous to believe, especially now that HBO's live-action adaptation of one of the best trilogy novels has been widely anticipated by fans across the globe. Pullman also won great acclaim from different institutions, including a CBE and a Carnegie Medal. But trust us, there was once a massive clamor across the country to restrict it in school libraries. In fact, it was even ranked on American Library Association's 2008 list, falling behind the Harry Potter series. Much of the uproar came from Christian followers and parents, who were worried that their children would read fantasy novels like this.

In case you were wondering, the fantasy novels are set in a series of parallel universes where two children, Lyra Belacqua and Will Parry, traverse through for different purposes. On the surface level, it seems so innocuous and child-friendly. Yet, many of the plotlines touched on the idea of fate or destiny, and whether it's something that we create or something we go along with. And this raised the ire of some Christian groups. Some believe the novels also promote atheism and defame the name of the Lord, while others go for more trivial concerns such as drinking wine and eating poppy. On several occasions, he admitted that his goal for writing the books is to "undermine the basis of Christian belief." He was convinced that religion is necessarily corrupt. What do you think?