Ford Motor Company had a poor year last year. If you listen to market analysis you get the impression that it was due to excess capacity (too many new vehicles in the market) which led to a reduction of prices, coupled with weak consumer spending across the board which affected a lot of companies – not just Ford.
But if you listen to the American Family Association, Ford’s profits slipped directly due to an AFA organized boycott of Ford. (Never mind that at the start of the boycott, Ford was already experiencing financial troubles.)
Other companies have also been boycotted by the AFA and other religious groups. Microsoft, Disney, and Proctor and Gamble among others. And of course religious groups are quick to take credit for any downturn in a boycotted business, if any.
So I fully expect that the thousands of Christians who have decided to boycott “The Golden Compass” will be declaring victory over its poor opening weekend.
I’m also sure that the people at New Line Cinema will be smart enough to not throw good money after bad – so I really don’t see them making a sequel to this film.
And of course, the Christian groups will be quick to take credit for that too.
Atheists are happy to let this movie stand or fall on it’s merits. And so far it doesn’t look good. This movie’s only chance now is to become a (ahem) cult classic. Still, I think the general Atheist opinion was that they hoped the movie would be absolutely great so we wouldn’t have to listen to Christian groups taking credit, or blaming the supernatural, for the natural failure of a mediocre movie.
Ah well. It won’t be the first time that religion is given credit for something that happened naturally.