Enough already with the hype over “The Da Vinci Code.” Has the art of compelling fiction been completely lost?
The recent opening weekend success of the silver-screen version of the best seller, second best all time behind Star Wars: Episode III, has been met with a Catholic backlash that has vaulted this entertaining story into a stratosphere of media attention that is certainly undeserved- even History Channel features have already spawned in the wake of fever over Dan Brown’s book.
So what should be made of all this? Clearly, people are generally incapable of discerning well-composed fiction from reality, and because of that, it is difficult to blame the Catholic Church for being as vocal as it has been over the manuscript. Especially when you’ve got as much to hide as the Vatican does. Which begs a tangent question: is Gnosticism still a threat to the Church?
Some countries, including Belarus and Kenya, have outright banned screening of the film. Kenya has even gone so far as to cast a “curse” on the film makers and hoped that they would “equally perish with their silver!" Pretty unlikely after an opening weekend that pulled in $77 million dollars in the United States alone.
Through all the fog and haze stirred up by all sides involved, one thing remains clear to us- “The Da Vinci Code” hype has lost all touch with reality.
We applaud Dan Brown for authoring a work that has claimed lofty accolades and has opened the minds of millions of readers. His success is undoubtedly due to his talents in fictional writing. Our applause ends, though, when the general population takes the stage.
Even with excellent presentations on the facts surrounding this fable, people are still infected with Da Vinci fever- going as far as flocking to a featured chapel in Scotland, despite the facts. There is a percentage of the population that just wants to believe… and is willing to make leaps of logic to arrive there.
This is where the argument the Catholic Church makes converges with the general naivety. We support the explorations of the possibilities that surround the period of time extending from now to ancient Judea, but we also support objective, empirical evidence when considering elements of such a delicate nature- in this case, religion. Let us enjoy the brilliance of writers like Dan Brown without the risk of disturbing another person’s dogma. We can accomplish this together by keeping our minds open and our thoughts unbiased. [AllAfrica.com, Star-Telegram, BBC No. 1, BBC No. 2, USAToday] Associate Managing Editors Michael Gimignani and Eva Kis and Senior Editor Dwayne Robinson did not participate in this week’s editorial.
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