Refuting The Da Vinci Code: The Week Before

There probably will be a lot of regional comments about DVC this week; so I'll just keep adding them to this one post.


AP, Opus Dei Misses Mark for Cannes Critics, May 16
“The Da Vinci Code” drew lukewarm praise, shrugs of indifference, some jeering laughter and a few derisive jabs Tuesday from arguably the world’s toughest movie crowd: critics at the Cannes Film Festival.

Paige Ferrari, Opus Dei Lite, May 16
"Da Vinci Code" Group is Perfect Fit for Celebrity Religious Tastes
[I couldn't resist!]

Deutsche Presse Agenteur in dailyindia.com, May 16
'The Da Vinci Code' brings snap, crackle, pop culture to Cannes

Peter J. Boyer, The New Yorker, May 15
"Hollywood Heresy" - An excellent New Yorker piece treating Opus Dei, the book, and the marketing of the movie. The heretical fictional plot, if you haven't read it: "The premise of Brown’s story is that Jesus of Nazareth was, in the words of a “Da Vinci” character, “a great and powerful man, but a man nonetheless. A mortal.” The Brown theology—asserted, lecture style, in speeches by two of his main characters, both scholars—holds that Jesus was a proto-feminist married to Mary of Magdala, his favorite disciple and the mother of his offspring. This Jesus preached a message that was in harmony with goddess worship, and the early Christians practiced a life-affirming faith devoted to the “sacred feminine” until, in the fourth century, a Catholic power play replaced this true Christianity with the patriarchal, sin-and-atonement version. According to Brown, the softer Christianity’s books were burned by the Church, as were five million of its more assertive women—“female scholars, priestesses, gypsies, mystics, nature lovers,” and the like. Even so, this original Christian Church could not be wiped out, and left clues everywhere telling of the sacred feminine—not only in Leonardo’s work (the artist was in on the secret) but even in church architecture."

Terry Lawson, Duluth News Tribune, May 15
"Da Vinci Code" Arrives With Deafening Silence

Chris Hewitt, Movie Critic, Pioneer Press May 14
"Storm around 'Da Vinci' won't keep fans away; Local fans eager to see how novel plays on big screen when it opens Friday"

Jeff Strickler, StarTribune, May 14
"Da Vinci" foes may help Hollywood cash in; Protests of the film of the blockbuster novel may serve only to stir up profits at the box office.

What's The Fuss, StarTribune, May 14
Things in "The Da Vinci Code" that have angered religious leaders -- and not just Christian ones

Graydon Royce, StarTribune, May 12
The veracity of Dan Brown's tale doesn't matter to an audience raised on conspiracy theories.

Kim Masters, Slate Magazine Online, May 12
Hollywood wonders why Sony hasn't shown anyone its controversial movie