da vinci codes

[boogieshoes]

so i saw the da vinci code last night. the book was better (isn't it always?), but all in all, not a bad ride. i think they still got the streets of paris wrong, heh.

best thing about the movie - the cgi effects were pretty cool. some of them seemed over the top, but it the way they did it really re-inforces what people see when they look at various symbols and etc. that should motivate people's brains - hopefully in the direction of symbological research.

most interesting change from the book to the movie - the change in robert langdon's character. movie!robert was a lot less sure of the historical interpretation that says that the RCC deliberately suppressed the sacred feminine and persecuted women in a consistent, persistent, logical manner than the book!robert was. in movie!robert, you see much more of debate over what the facts really mean to the truth. for instance in teabing's study in chateau villet, movie!robert is acting much more as a devil's advocate than book!robert ever did. in fact there wasn't much of danger of getting into an academic debate at all in the book, but there was definately that undertone to that scene in the movie.

what this does in terms of changing story dynamics is interesting. the basic underlying story is the fool's journey (yeah, i'm in love with the re-curring themes found in the tarot deck, why do you ask?). sophie is the fool, and in the book, robert is her guide along the path of wisdom. but in the book, robert is not a protector figure so much. he has a singular purpose - to instruct the fool on the path of wisdom. in the movie, robert becomes more of the knight figure - he's a companion, a protector of the pilgrim on her journey. and while he has some answers, he does not have enough to fully encapsulate the wise man motif.

in this sense, i think you should go and read the book - the book explains much more of the symbology and cryptograms used and how things fit together. it's well worth reading, even if you think it's total bunk. (which is okay, because after all, it's only fiction.)

worst thing about the movie: the reaction of the RCC and the Opus Dei in RL to the portrayal of the movie versions of same. it comes off as the ladies protesting too much.

incidentally, and pursuant to a conversation in ithilien's lj, if you'd like to do more research on the underlying themes of the da vinci code, i recommend starting with holy blood, holy grail. whether or not you think the research is shoddy, or the conclusions are bunk, or get pissed because this book written by men got a lot more attention than similar books written by women, the one thing hbhg has going for it is a printed list of sources in the back. it also lays out the original version of the mystery and why it the authors found it so interesting. by all means, go forth and do your own research.

what do the rest of you think?

-bs

Comments

[cordova829.livejournal.com]

Conclusions are bunk.

Take out the claims he asserts within Angels & Demons for a moment (a pet peeve of mine) and the idiocy within Da Vinci Code and you'll find a common theme: a vast conspiracy cover up. The problem with this is that while there are tons of cover ups within the Catholic Church, Brown's claims about Mary going to France to have Jesus' daughter have been discounted and proven to be fictious. The very first queen of Avalon, said to be a descendant of Jesus and Mary, carried no Arabic markers in her DNA when they tested her bones a year ago.

It's a very nice work of fiction, but I think Brown needs to get off of his "this is true" wagon and admit that he made most of it up. A little research will show and prove this.

[boogieshoes.livejournal.com]

actually, the only thing he ever wrote that said this is true is in... the prologue of a book sold as general fiction. the whole thing is general fiction. he never insists that it's true, and the statement itself is made entirely to set your mind's eye up to focus on the events as they unfold. a way to get you to suspend disbelief.

not only that, he can't claim truthfulness in any measure - there are a number of physical and logical impossibilities in the book simply based on current geography and street maps, never mind any historical influences.

wrt to queens... i'd never heard the claim that the first queen of avalon is supposed to be descended from Jesus and Mary - although we may be speaking of different things. the avalon i know of is associated with arthur - no one knows exactly where it is, and any queens thereof would have a far older lineage than Jesus and Mary. otoh, it was very common for the royalty in mainland europe to try to establish their descent from the Jesus/ Jesus family, as a sign of divine right to rule. (in england, it was more important to establish descendancy from arthur, as the mythical last true king of briton.)

i've also never seen any evidence one way or the other about whether or not Mary went to France after Jesus' death - whether or not she had his kid there. i've been meaning to do my own research on this - you have any sources?

-bs

[cordova829.livejournal.com]

He's been on multiple talk shows claiming that everything in the book is true. A far cry from when he originally wrote the book, saying it was a nice piece of fiction.

He went from being a fiction writer to a firm believer of his own bunk theories. Read Angels & Demons, or Digital Fortress. You'll see what I'm talking about.

[boogieshoes.livejournal.com]

angels and demons was written before da vinci code. so, iirc, was digital fortress.

which isn't to say he hasn't gone a bit gaga over the thing, but also consider - he's making tons of money with this book and movie. with this particular subject, would you make more money saying this book was fact, or fiction? iow, he may just be selling the thing as best he knows how (and doing a damn good job at it, too).

of course, he may have gone crackers.

-bs

[mrmeval.livejournal.com]

Damn I didn't know he was saying that it's all true.

[mrmeval.livejournal.com]

As cordova says conclusions are bunk.

I love the games where you solve puzzles. Myst, Riven, Rendevous with Rama, Zork I/II/III, planetfall, wishbringer and others except Seventh pest (was guest). :)

I have not read the book, nor seen the movie yet.

I love several science fiction novels that do similar puzzles. The ones that attempt to decode alien artifacts and others that guide you through a bizarre wonderland of gadgets which I like reading about. But I prefer solving the puzzle myself.

[boogieshoes.livejournal.com]

which is why i say to do the research yourself.

to allude to another fictional grail hunter, henry jones, sr - the hunt for the grail is not the quest to find the cup of christ, but to find the truth of yourself.

in any event, this subject is fascinating for it's potential influence on history. there is plenty of stuff out there, and it does amount to a puzzle, because there is plenty of other stuff that's been lost.

-bs

[mrmeval.livejournal.com]

I don't plan on doing research on fiction about a fiction. They can argue about their invisible friend all they want.