davinci code

[devilwoman]

whats all the hpe about. why is it so special? i dont get it, its just a film and book is'nt it?

[SaxyJag]

Yes, it is, supposedly, just a work of fiction. However, it gives (agruably fictional) credance to the idea that the Holy Grail is not an actual drinking chalice, but is the bloodline of Christ, descended from a child he had with Mary Magdalen. Supposedly the mysogenistic / paternalist Catholic church have suppressed hidden gospels and the importance of the female in the church to suit their own ends.

There is supposedly an organisation known as The Priory of Sion, that have held the secret truth of Christ's bloodline for centuries - Leonardo da Vinci being one of the grand masters of this organisation. He is supposed to have left clues in his work. The Catholic church will have no truck with this.

In DVC, a curator, believed to know the secret, is murdered (we're led to think by a rep. of Opus Dei, a devout Catholic organisation) and the main character, an expert on symbols, sets out to find out the whereabouts of the secret and the identity of the murderer.

cont.

[SaxyJag]

I think the hoo-ha is because the church see the ideas put forward as blasphemous. The incredible thing is that despite this, they pay lip service to the fact that 'it isn't even true, it's fiction'.

My own thoughts are that the church is running scared, and that whilst it is, as its author says, a work of fiction, it's touched a nerve with the church. Maybe, for them, it's a little too close to the truth for comfort.

[Rumford]

It's very clever market manipulation by the film distributors/makers and the book publishers. Get something banned or attacked by 'authority' and you've got a guaranteed audience.

Try and catch the 'Father Ted' episode where they try to get a film show stopped for a good send up of the process.

[JamesEverton]

Agree with Rumford but it's also because there are enough people about who are prepared to believe that there must be some truth in it.

[LaLaLand2006]

To some the Bible is a work of fiction so I don't get it either....!

[jno]

part of it is just luck. Sometimes a book catches everyone's eye. Gone With the Wind, Watership Down, Captain Corelli, whatever. This one has conspiracy theories galore and a vaguely educational tone, so you finish it feeling you've learned lots of important things (though most of them may be rubbish). I think the writing, by Shakespearean standards, is awful - worse than Jeffrey Archer's! - but the narrative races along. It's a good holiday novel, enough to keep you going for 2-3 days on the beach.

[devilwoman]

great thanks for all your answers, though i wont be reading it or watching the movie, its not my cup of tea.

[Areevia]

the reason its called a fictional book is because its all fiction that we read. if any shread of it was true than the movie woulnt be a fantasy now would it. true, the author has used som e real historical figure but then so do thousands of other writers. the only reason no one says anything about there book is because most of those books dont catch up the way they were intended. it all depends on how strong do you think your faith is. if you think that this book will make you question things then dont read it, but if you just like reading good and intelligent fiction then DO read it.

PS would you let me know what happens in the end because i have been looking for the book like crazy and so far i cant find it.

PS PS Cool name by the way.