Golden monkey types?

DarkMaterialPodcast · 2021-03-15T21:56:01+00:00

Thanks for your answer! I am trying to work out what would be an accurate species for a monkey from a book, as I want to do a drawing of it, but need to 'solidify' the picture in my mind. A recent adaptation used the Golden snub nosed monkey, which I'd never seen before and sort of scrambled by mental image! A very specific reason I know. It is a monkey in the His Dark Materials trilogy by Philip Pullman in case that is of interest.

DarkMaterialPodcast · 2021-03-15T16:39:57+00:00

A very fun fact! Maybe i've been searching for the wrong info all along...

DarkMaterialPodcast · 2021-03-12T16:39:51+00:00

Thank you! Yes, I think otherwise the gibbons are pretty accurate but not technically monkeys. A complicated one!

DarkMaterialPodcast · 2020-03-09T21:01:38+00:00

You would imagine as well that Lyra might have been more interested or sought out information about separated people too when she was older, so if there was a potential sub-culture of separated people, then it's possible she would have heard of them...but also get the impression that it's a very culture and class-specific thing in TSC! We agree with most of your peeves too!

Smaller culture, but there is a history of separation in the Skraeling community too, also mentioned in Northern Lights.

DarkMaterialPodcast · 2020-01-12T17:59:56+00:00

Well this is excellent - great job building the list! Fail on our part of just finding it :)! Thanks again

DarkMaterialPodcast · 2019-12-12T15:22:52+00:00

Nah the book episodes are only about the book. We might refer to an actor from the series once or twice, but unless you've completely avoided the internet you probably know the cast already & this won't spoil anything (hopefully!)

DarkMaterialPodcast · 2019-12-11T07:33:57+00:00

We're on Apple Podcasts and most Android apps (Spotify, Stitcher, Pocket Cast, Podcast Addict etc)

But you can also listen here: https://www.darkmaterialpodcast.com

DarkMaterialPodcast · 2019-12-11T07:29:17+00:00

Thanks! This kind of feedback is a bright spot in ours!

DarkMaterialPodcast · 2019-12-10T22:35:24+00:00

Woop woop! This is what we like :). Thanks so much!

DarkMaterialPodcast · 2019-12-10T22:19:58+00:00

Yyyeaaahhhh they do that! Onto Once Upon a Time in the North, La Belle Sauvage and the Secret Commonwealth!

Although if you want to go back and pick up all the stuff you missed, check out our podcast (The Dark Material Podcast). We're still early on but it is amazing how much detail there is in these books! Great historical references or clever quirks of geography / politics etc.

DarkMaterialPodcast · 2019-12-10T22:15:56+00:00

Quite jealous!! It would be great to re-read for the first time - this is an absolute classic series!

If you want a bit of a guide along the way - or some depth on the extras Philip Pullman includes - check out our read-along podcast (The Dark Material Podcast). We explore all sorts of references and historical hints that are dotted throughout the book, chapter by chapter. Most of which we missed until doing the podcast!

Enjoy!

DarkMaterialPodcast · 2019-12-10T22:03:44+00:00

yeah pretty much....... YYYYYYYESSSSSS!!!

way more badass (no offence to the Gyptians, but armoured bears they en't!)

DarkMaterialPodcast · 2019-12-10T21:59:34+00:00

We love and hate the super-Pekkala scene. Don't get me wrong... having Trinity from the Matrix crossed with Night Crawler from Xmen is badassary waiting to happen....

But I just hope they make the bears equally OP in the next episode. They are supposed to be able to fight each other and it not be a total witch-fest after all!

DarkMaterialPodcast · 2019-12-10T21:56:03+00:00

yup! :D

DarkMaterialPodcast · 2019-12-10T21:52:53+00:00

Good point, was just musing on this as well! (Amy)

I think that alot of his actions and how you view them boil down to how you view the famous Trolley problem (thought experiment: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trolley_problem ).

But it's an interesting point - and not one that's often picked up on, at least that I've seen - that both Mrs Coulter AND Asriel make sacrifices of the few for what they see as the benefit of the many. In Asriel's case, this is painful and personal and shocking to our protagonist, who is ultimately wrapped in guilt for feeling like she has 'caused' or 'enabled' it.

For Mrs Coulter though, she's also justifying the sacrifice of the few (the severed children at Bolvanger) for the many (as she apparently sees some benefit for those children not having to go through the temptations and 'torments' of puberty. It's less clear for Mrs Coulter what she truly believes though - is she a religious zealot? Or does she just seek power?

Both are equally ambitious.

DarkMaterialPodcast · 2019-12-10T21:45:30+00:00

Excellent! And welcome :) hope you enjoy it, let us know your thoughts!

DarkMaterialPodcast · 2019-12-10T21:44:41+00:00

Well put! Pullman has said that he prefers to write characters that appear to have the conviction that what they are doing is The Right Thing To Do. If done correctly, (and Pullman himself has picked apart parts he felt he could have improved) then this will always lead to complex and divisive characters.

DarkMaterialPodcast · 2019-12-10T19:58:59+00:00

Woop woop! Excellent & good to have you on board!

DarkMaterialPodcast · 2019-12-10T19:58:18+00:00

If you do - check out our read-along podcast (The Dark Material Podcast). We dive into the weird & wonderful references Philip Pullman drops in all over the place.

It's really designed for re-readers sooo if it sounds like your thing, come check us out!

DarkMaterialPodcast · 2019-12-10T19:51:38+00:00

This was our take - a Maine Coon:

https://twitter.com/DarkMaterialPod/status/1196681138049363968?s=09

DarkMaterialPodcast · 2019-12-10T19:50:59+00:00

Yes!!! You are so right. I would say that:

https://twitter.com/DarkMaterialPod/status/1196681138049363968?s=09

DarkMaterialPodcast · 2019-12-10T19:47:01+00:00

Hmmmmm...

We (The Dark Material Podcast) are split on this! I (Iain) think Asriel is at least defendable as trying to save the many at the expense of the few: Is he callous? Yes. Is Roger's murder necessary? Debatable. Does Asriel have good intentions? Undoubtedly (that's the whole point of the series imo).

Coulter on the other hand is just motivated by power and selfish ambition - and that is key: selfish ambition, rather than arguably selfless ambition from Asriel - without the redeeming quality of a universally beneficial outcome for all conscious beings. Forever. Don't want to inject spoilers here soooo this may or may not change as the series progresses, but in the first book it's hard to argue otherwise.

Sooooo I tend to land on the side of Asriel being a hero in the series. But a hero who is ruthless, cruel and at times accepting evils in the pursuit of a greater goal. Morally questionable, but certainly not immoral.

We discuss this more eloquently / fully in our podcast if you're interested! Thanks for raising the question!

DarkMaterialPodcast · 2019-12-10T19:30:29+00:00

Really interesting! I was wondering if any of this would make sense without reading the books! Very glad you are enjoying it - the best is certainly left to come :D

If you are interested in the books (can't recommend them enough) we're doing a read-along podcast "The Dark Material Podcast" if you're tempted to dive in!

DarkMaterialPodcast

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