OK. I admit it. I'm a former English major who deigned to read The DaVinci Code. Well, actually I listened to the unabridged audiobook during my daily commutes, but still... I suppose I should be tarred and feathered for stooping so low.
Anyway, the book was interesting. I like puzzles, and the story consists of one puzzle after another, so it held my attention and kept road rage at bay. But it's not the Great American Novel. The characters are flat, and I'm not a fan of conspiracy theories, so it was the puzzles that kept me reading. Or listening, that is.
But what I find most interesting is how enraged the religious right is about this novel, and now the movie. It's a work of fiction, for pity's sake, and not a particularly good one at that. Aren't there bigger problems out there to worry about, like the plight of Afghani women, the AIDS epidemic, or the Avian Flu, just to start with the As?
What can these protestors possibly be so afraid of? That we're too stupid to discern fact from fiction? Making that distinction is the first lesson in high school English. If the adult population can't even do this, there's no hope for us in the age of an Internet where anyone can publish any groundless claim at any time. I know plenty of Christians who have read and enjoyed this novel, but who have recognized it as a work of fiction and are still firm in their faith. Christian churches need to understand that their believers aren't as stupid as the sheep they make them out to be.
If you don't like the idea of the story, then don't buy the book or go see the movie. Protest with your pocketbook; it's the American way. But don't assume that I'm too stupid to see the story for what it is, and don't infringe on my right to be entertained as I see fit.
2 comments:
I hear that, part II.
It felt very flat.
And it was fiction, and inaccurate. The old leader of our poetry group emailed Dan Brown to tell him that Brown put a town in the wrong country (Scotland instead of England), and Brown's response was basically: Sorry. I thought it sounded Scottish. (He didn't even think to check a map!)
Me again, K
'Kay, I just viewed the DaVinci movie. I read the book shortly after it hit the market. I enjoyed them both a lot as an adventure/mystery story.
But Jan, ya gotta admit, you were probably as tickled as I was that someone was actually voicing, for the pablum-eating sheep, the concept of "sacred feminine" images counter to His Wholly-Nerds' stories, no matter that there were some gross inaccuracies.
Let's face it, the single-most postive factor about the Harry Potter (BOOK) series is that it has snagged a whole new batch of young readers.
Sometimes, the end DOES justify the means.
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