Can we do an Anti-boycott? Can we all go see this, and bring friends? Apparently, it’s a “punishable offense”, but perhaps the Catholic Church shouldn’t be talking about punishing offenders until they stop committing such offenses themselves.
ROME (AP) – A Vatican official reportedly called for a boycott of the upcoming “The Da Vinci Code” film Friday, saying it contained “slanderous” offenses against Christianity that would have provoked a worldwide revolt had they been directed against Islam or the Holocaust.Monsignor Angelo Amato – Pope Benedict XVI’s former No. 2 when Benedict was head of the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith – made the comments in a speech at the Pontifical Holy Cross University, which is run by the conservative Catholic movement Opus Dei, the ANSA news agency reported.”I hope all of you boycott this film,” the Italian agency quoted Amato as saying. He said the film, based on the best-selling novel by Dan Brown, was full of “offenses, slander, historical and theological errors concerning Jesus, the gospel and the church.”"Slander, offenses and errors that if they were directed toward the Quran or the Shoah would have justifiably provoked a worldwide revolt,” he said, referring to Islam’s holy book and the Hebrew word for Holocaust. “Yet because they were directed toward the Catholic Church, they remain ‘unpunished,’” he said.
Well im going just for the hell of it even if its just to laugh at tom hanks haircut
I am going to see the movie-just out of curiosity. Just as I saw the Brokeback Mountain only out of curiosity. By the way I have read another one of Dan Brown’s novels, Angels and Demons. It is absolutely aweful. It pictures all people not practicing a faith as cruel murderers. So I am amused to see Opus Dei enraged as they are, but I am not a fan of Dan Brown.
This is my first time writing to you so be gentle.Dave,you have a GREAT idea.Every non-believer SHOULD go just to PISS EVERY CATHOLIC OFF.We could make this the HIGHEST GROSSING MOVIE EVER by getting every ATHEIST
tparris welcome to the blog
I read the book and liked it. Love the fact that it has garnered so much attention from both theists and non. I have been looking forward to the movie and will see it for sure. I hope it makes more money than “crazy Mel’s” jeebuz flick did.
What are the Catholic flocks afraid of anyway? How insecure they must be feeling if they are worried that a movie could sway their followers from the b.s. they’ve been swallowing since childhood.(but wouldn’t it be nice if that happens) God forbid that anyone should have an indepedent thought!
Let ‘em boycott – all that will do is make sure more people go see the film out of curiosity and due to the added media attention. The Baptist protests over Harry Potter weren’t all that successful, were they? I’m skipping it (at least in the theater) because I think casting Tom Hanks in this role is a joke.
An anti-boycot is just what most of those who will boycot did for passion. That pisses me off, so I think I will do the same, piss them off by doing my part to make this movie a box-office hit.
I am also curious as to what Amato means by “unpunished,” because if what he believes is true, won’t “we all” be punished when we die? Island57’s comment about the insecurity of catholics hit it on the head… Glad to hear/read some thoughts from people who share some of the same ideas as myself. I’m sure I’ll be back here soon.
What concerns me is where Monsignor Angelo Amato says, “Slander, offenses and errors that if they were directed toward the Quran or the Shoah would have justifiably provoked a worldwide revolt”.
Worldwide revolt is justifiable for having your belief system questioned?
What an idiot!
Ren
Questioned? Let’s not forget that this is a work of fiction . Of course it’s loosely based on fact, hmmmm kinda sounds like a certain religion.
Perhaps Monsignor Amato would like some of my X_anax.
Hello, monsignor, it’s only a MO-VIE!
And Harrison Ford isn’t even in it!
Cripes, the Vatican must have bought shares in it, because this boycott will only cause more people to go see the flick than avoid it.
Of course, if you base your beliefs on a work of fiction, you might be scared that another work of fiction could topple your own.
Very loosely. There isn’t any real proof that a human being named Jesus ever existed at all. I read the book. It bored me, to be honest. The “codes” were far too simple. The characters too single-faceted, not like real people at all.
I like Tom Hanks, and I’m sure he’ll do a fine job, but why spend the money on a story that’s already been told unless there’s something that film brings to it that words on paper could not?
HeatheNZ
Touche! I guess “questioned” was not the correct verbage. I was focused on what the monsignor believes is justifiable to provoke worldwide revolt. Personally, my threshold is a tad bit higher. I reserve my unbridaled anger for more trivial matters, like starting wars on false pretenses, or repeatedly hearing things like, “never again” only to see it happen time and again. Bosnia, Rawanda, and Darfur spring to mind immediatly, just to name a few.
I liked both the code and angels & demons. Surely not masterpieces, but the litterary equivalent to a good “popcorn movie”.
If you want to read a good conspiracy book about the Templiers et al, go to Umberto Eco’s “Foucault’s Pendulum”.
Eco at least knows what he is talking about and is a good writer besides.
I’m not going to see the movie because
1) I read Holy Blood, Holy Grail
2) I read 1/2 Da Vinci Code
and
a) both are bullshit, but the writing is good in Holy Blood.
b) Da Vinci Code is terrible writing and a tired story — I couldn’t even finish it, it was so bad. If you know a little math, art history and have read Holy Blood, you find Brown’s “foreshadowing” irritating. His characters are flat, the situations and scenes poorly crafted, the dialogue listless. Dan Brown lis laughing all the way to the bank, and I don’t intend to add to his mirth, no matter how much the cardinal needs to be mocked.
I’m not really interested in reading the book or seeing the movie, but am a little curious.
Can anyone give me a BRIEF synopsis of the book?
Hey if it challenges catholics to think and/or pisses them off then I’m all for it.
Instead of wasting time, energy, and money on trying to force people into not seeing a movie maybe they should spend more time keeping priests from fucking little kids.
Alex.
Pixel,
The book is a mystery novel set in France and the UK that follows a murder and trail of clues revealing that the holy grail was not a cup that held the blood of jc but was a person, Mary Magdalene, who was married to hey-zeus and had a child by him. The bloodline of hey-zeus crisco became intermarried into European royalty and there are now potentially millions of people who can trace their ancestry to this line. A secret organization comprised of some very famous people like Leonardo and Sir Issac Newton have kept the secret and used it to blackmail the vatican which has it’w own organization to deal with this powerful secret. If the patriarchy allowed a woman to be seen as almost as holy as jc then it could cause lots of problems and challenge official church doctrine such as a feminine approach to religion which is already an issue with the prominence given to the madonna.
I just bought the book on CD and listened to it while on a recent drive and found it to be more interesting than I imagined given the popularity of it among the Oprah book club housewife set and general hoi-poloi. I’m actually looking forward to seeing the film version.
Alex.
operarus, I agree completely. The book was dreadful. I wrote better than Dan Brown when I was in grade 6. Horrible literature, no matter the viewpoint it represents.
As to the real world Opus Dei, I give you the word ‘cilice’.
Wikipedia is as good a place as any to check it out. Just don’t say I didn’t warn you.
Bad religionist. Bad!
So in his view, the muslims were justified in their worldwide revolt over some cartoons?
Is he jealous of the support they give to their superstition of choice?
Yet another ‘war on religion’ whinger. I blame the US religious right for starting all this.
60 minutes just totally skewered the historical claims made in the book. Apparently, the entire premise of the book is based upon claims made by a known con-artist named Pierre Plantard, and every piece of ‘evidence’ that both Dan Brown and Henry Lincoln (co-author of “Holy Blood, Holy Grail”, the book that Brown ripped off) cite in their stories has been thoroughly debunked as forgeries.
And yet the public is eating it up and Dan Brown is bullshitting all the way to the bank. Brilliant!
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/04/27/60minutes/main1552009.shtml
…would have provoked a worldwide revolt had they been directed against Islam…
He’s right about that, of course, though I doubt atheists would be among those pushing the double standard.
…
I enjoyed the book and recommend it. Do you remember the Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys mysteries from childhood? This book is similar–the chapters are short and each one ends with an exclamation pointed cliffhanger! LOL It’s a fun and quick read.
FUCK THE CHURCH! THEY ARE UNHAPPY THAT THEY CAN;T RIOT AND KILL PEOPLE? FUCK THAT!
Couldn’t really get into the book (made it about a third of the way through), suppose I was expecting something like Foucaults Pendulum, so maybe I didn’t give it a fair go.
Seemed like a lot of half arsed ideas that offer an opposing opinion to another bunch of half arsed ideas wrapped up in a mystery story.
Ohh yeah I’m unhappy about my lack of riot time too.
Intercaust although I feel the same way as you do you think you could possible express your outrage in a more dignified and respectful manor
Dan Brown always touted his book as fiction. If those with guilty consciouses construe differently then I have only one thing to say to the brilliant Mr. Brown–CHING-CHING! I think the next book I write will focus on religion. That way I can take JC to the bank too!
That concept seems to be popular in some circles… some person whose name I can’t remember was made a comment in Time magazine a few months back as to how evangelical Christians have become the Jews of the 21st century (specifically, that they are being terribly persecuted in today?s society).
Yes. Moronic might also be the word I would use to describe such statements. I?d use the less empathetic ?silly and overdramatic? for some of my friends who like to complain about the trials and discrimination they face as faithful Christians. From what I can gather, at least, there are few groups LESS persecuted in the United States than Christians.
The amusing thing is that his point is completely moot, because the movie is NOT about the Holocaust, or anything else. That’s such a worthless argument. They’re not even similar. Unless of course he’s comparing the “persecution against christians” to the Holocaust, in which case he is an utter moron.
On one newscast I heard a woman complain that her son had read the Da Vinci Code and now he no longer believes in Jesus. I exclaimed to a friend of mine that I could not believe it was that easy to get someone to give up their religion. Here atheists have been working around the clock for years for that effect. They have been debating the existence of god and the ignorance and violence associated with religion. And all the time, all they had to do was write a book of fiction that debunked the whole religion. Just one book of fiction could do all that.
And my friend said, “Why are you surprised? All it took was a book of fiction to get them to believe in their silly religion to begin with.”
If this whole Da Vince Code thing gets even a few people to question their beliefs and hopefully abandon it then it will be well worth it.
I suggest that every person in here ask a friend to see the movie with them and even offer to buy the tickets.
Alex.
I plan on going to see it and I only get to the movies once or twice a year. I will got to a IMAX but that’s different, it’s usually science based. I’m a pay-per-view kind of guy and just put it on my DVR if I want to see a movie.
I am glad that the book makes wackos angry. I am less than happy that it may someday start a new mythology(and a new group of wackos). If it hasn’t already done so. It is curious that the author calls it a complete fiction, while believers begin to assemble. Seems a bit familiar. The entire judeo-christian-muslim theology is fiction and people still murder each other over the details.
Alex-
Thanks for the synopsis of the book. Seems pretty silly of the Catholic church to get in an uproar over this book – but I guess they get upset over any challenge to their doctrine.
You recommended V For Vendetta to me and I really enjoyed it, so I might go see DaVinci on your recommendation.
You might be my new favorite movie critic!
pnuhn@gampac.org
Too funny – and too true!
I’m sorry I can’t go along with the original suggestion of an anti-boycott.
I am going to boycott the movie: because Tom Hanks can’t act his way out of a paper bag.
I’m not going to see this movie, it’s a waste of $ and time. Matter of fact, I can’t remember the last time I went to a movie theater.
I have a hard time reading fiction anymore, it’s as bad as TV.
I am busy Friday but I will see it some time. Anything to make the people who despise me think about their faith. I hope this movie opens some eyes in this blind country, kinda like The Matrix. I love movies that make you think.
i cannot go to movies because of all the idiots
Regarding the woman whose son no longer believes in Jesus because of the DaVinci Code:
I don’t see why people see their faith as something that delicate. Like, you look the wrong way, and *poof* it will be gone.
People can’t take it from you. Nobody can make you give up your faith.
There are often instances in which people do give up their faith. I don’t believe their faith was strong to begin with.
Relating this back to another thread, about that angry Rabbi who thought many atheists had merely had a bad encounter with a religious person or something of the sort, I feel the same way. Personally, one of a few big turning points for me INVOLVED some horsesh!t going on in my church, and a few bad-natured people encountered there.
But that’s certainly not to say that I’m an atheist because of these things! I wouldn’t be a faithful believer again if someone could prove to me that these were just bad apples or something.
The seed was planted in my mind from the beginning. All it took was something to make me look. Maybe that’s all this son needed. It might be a work of fiction, but maybe he just needed someone to get him thinking to give up his faith.
I think this woman is just terribly upset that her son is a godless heathen, and rather than believing he’s a horrible person to be an atheist, she’d rather blame it on someone whose name is already surrounded by controversy to begin with.
The bible-thumpers are upset by Dan Brown even though he writes fiction. That is no surprise because they are great fans of and believe in the fiction of their good book.
If you can believe the bible is real, why not believe that Dan Brown’s book is real?
This is great. The shoe is on the other foot when the Church is worried that an obvious work of fiction is going to have an impact on people’s faith. How many times does it have to be pointed out that this is just a fictional story. Just goes to show you what the church think of their followers intellegence level. Oh the sweet irony.
that guy can’t write books anyways. he writes to a 12-year-old audience. i guess that’s why the church is mad; it’s above their reading level.
I think it’s funny how a few years ago, Jewish groups got really upset over “Passion of Christ” or whatever that Mel Gibson movie was, and all Christians did was say that they were being outrageous, etc. And now that Christians are upset about a movie that critizes them, they want people to boycott the movie. Strange…when a movie makes other groups angry, those people are just silly, but when it makes them angry, people shouldn’t see it.
I read Da Vinci Code in the beginning of 2003 and I thought it was ok…nothing I would read again. I’ll probably see the movie, but after it’s been out for a few weeks, when all those who belong to the cult of Dan Brown have already seen it a few times. It might be a good one for the drive-in theater…then if it’s stupid, I can always turn around and watch another movie. It just amuses me that people have to write non-fiction books about how a fiction book was, well, a work of fiction.
Yes I will go see it…
I support this action!
Crazy Filipinos….
http://today.reuters.com/news/newsarticle.aspx?type=oddlyEnoughNews&storyid=2006-05-10T125058Z_01_MAN152651_RTRUKOC_0_US-PHILIPPINES-DAVINCI.xml&src=rss
Surely they should be more concerned about a supernatural means of retribution than a natural one.
If the Vatican calls for the boycott of this fiction film, it is not because they are afraid of it or feels that is going to change believers faith. It is understandable to find this film offensive to Christianity. Wouldn’t you be offended if somebody insults someone you love? It is like writing a fiction book about Hitler claiming that he was a wonderful and caring human being and everything we all know about him are pure lies. How would jews feel about it? Well that is the same principle. I am Christian-Catholic and nothing in a million years will change my beliefs. I respect atheists or any other religious groups. The good thing about this world is that we all can be tolerant with each other and never pretend that we know the absolute truth because only a fool would think such a thing.
jessy:
That’s just tough stuff. Don’t like? Don’t watch.
Be careful what you say. You may end up w/egg on your face.
We’re NOT a religious group.
‘Live & let live’, eh? Well, maybe your side of the fence needs to learn that lesson a little better.
jessy,
I actually think you are wrong. religious authorities have been at pains to repeat the message that this is fiction (duh) and should not be considered as truth by the faithful. This indicates that they view this not as an insult but as a threat to existing dogma.