Da Vinci Code provokes protests ahead of premiere

[scandium]

Da Vinci Code provokes protests ahead of premiere

http://breakingnews.iol.ie/entertain...78&p=y8z8z8584

Christian groups as far away as South Korea, Thailand and India protested against the movie The Da Vinci Code ahead of tomorrow’s premiere at the Cannes Film Festival.

They were planning boycotts, a hunger strike and attempts to block or shorten screenings.

And here I thought only Islam did such things.

[Ducimus]

Originally Posted by scandium

And here I thought only Islam did such things.

Jury's still out on that one. Lets see if they get violent and start riots and such like muslims do.

[scandium]

Originally Posted by Ducimus

Jury's still out on that one. Lets see if they get violent and start riots and such like muslims do.

Or like christian fundamentalists who bomb abortion clinics?

[CB..]

the bible actually mentions (i seem to remember) that angels were tempted out of heaven to sleep with human females---what happened to their bloodline ? i think that's a more interesting story me self--

[Ducimus]

Good point. But id argue thats not the mainstream biblethumper. In otherwords, how many Muslims were rioting over some (trivial) cartoons vs how many bible thumpers bomb abortion clinics? I'd argue that Islamic violence is more mainstream.

[CB..]

yup we lost the battle against fundamentalist religion (and quite a few other types of folks aswell) when we decided that a guy with a petrol bomb has more rights than a guy with some coloured pens-- yup we lost the war right then and there-- game over--

[Ducimus]

Your meaing evades me.


To reiterate one of my thoughts.. if your going to riot, at pick something a bit more meaningful then a couple cartoons. Cartoons!!! At least with something like abortion, you dont neccessarly have to condon the action done, but at least the zeal behind it is a bit more comprehendable by comparision. This isnt to insinuate that the object that is on the recieving end of these riots has more rights then the other.


Now, personnally the instant i heard about this movie i knew there was going to be protests, (all over the US) and to me, thats enteraining! Primarly beause when people shove Jesus down your throat so often at every opportunity its quite fun to see these people get their panties in a twist .

[kiwi_2005]

Samoa has banned this movie

Its seems some ppl take a hollywood flick to seriously

[scandium]

Originally Posted by Ducimus

Good point. But id argue thats not the mainstream biblethumper. In otherwords, how many Muslims were rioting over some (trivial) cartoons vs how many bible thumpers bomb abortion clinics? I'd argue that Islamic violence is more mainstream.

True, you have a point here. Recall though that it wasn't that long ago when christianity was every bit as backward (when scientific inquiry can and was judged blasphemous and its practioners condemned to death for it; the various "witch trials", etc). My point is only that Christianity is merely a little more evolved, yet being itself a religious doctrine not so different from Islam, shares many of its theocratic/authoritarian tendencies. Because it is more "wordly" now these tendencies are expressed differently (in a more "civilized" manner), but they remain all the same.

While the hooplah over this fictional movie is just as silly as the cartoon protests, the christian fundamental lobby does exert real influence on serious matters of policy that effect everyday life: things like religious based opposition to abortion and contraceptive use (where christian fundamentalist opposition to condom usage and distribution in African countries results, ultimately, in thousands of deaths to AIDS), the HPV/cervical cancer vaccine, and to stem cell research setting back who knows how long how many possible cures, all have real consequences to people somewhere everyday. However these stories are less sensational than a Muslim getting stoned for adultery in some 3rd world hellhole that most people have never even heard of, let alone been to.

[Ducimus]

Originally Posted by scandium

Recall though that it wasn't that long ago when christianity was every bit as backward (when scientific inquiry can and was judged blasphemous and its practioners condemned to death for it; the various "witch trials", etc). My point is only that Christianity is merely a little more evolved,

I agree, id never argue against that. The only difference between christiantly and islam is a few hundred years of evolution, but otherwise they are essnetually the same. Try telling that to the devote though! Ohhh thats entertainment. But i degress, this difference is a key difference. How often do you hear about a christian zealot hijacking airplanes, bombing buildings, or the like?

Then again In some odd ways modern christiantly is worse then islam because it's advocates are very manipulative and find new and intresting ways to force others to live by their beleifs. Sometimes im not sure which is worse, but in the end, if i had to put up with, and live with either of these groups, id pick the one that wont blow me up or decapitate me simply beause i dont agree with them.

[DeepSix]

The problem with Da Vinci Code is the same problem as with Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil and that recent book by... I think it was "Frey?" The one about addiction? They're all novels purporting to be true stories.

[Ducimus]

While i ahvent seen the movie, ive seen some of Davinci code in a little more detail on the history channel, and well, if you ask me, its alot like some masionic conspiricy theory......

[scandium]

Originally Posted by DeepSix

The problem with Da Vinci Code is the same problem as with Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil and that recent book by... I think it was "Frey?" The one about addiction? They're all novels purporting to be true stories.

This is not true. The novel is just that - a novel. It is written by a novelist who writes fiction and who has made no attempt to portray it as anything other than that.

Like most stories, outside of science fiction, he weaves the story around actual events (in this case historical/biblical ones) which he in turn takes some creative license with. In this way the move is no different from the rash of historically set films that Hollywood has been releasing lately (such as "Troy"), in which artistic license (or "historical revision" if the movie made any pretense at being anything other than a work of fiction, which The Da Vinci Code does not) is used throughout.

One of the things the zealots want added to the movie, in fact, is a notice shown at the beginning of the movie announcing that it is fiction - as if it needs it (when was the last time you watched a movie, any movie, with such a notice at the beginning of it?).

So the problem is not that the novel pretends to be non-fiction (at least no more than any other novel does), but that there is fear among the christian fundamentalists that their congregations might be naive enough to see it and not realize it is only a movie... and that they might (oh no!) even have their sacred beliefs challenged.

[TLAM Strike]

Originally Posted by Ducimus

...if you ask me, its alot like some masionic conspiricy theory......

Conspiracy! There really are two Masons in Kafiristan trying to slowly take over the world. Conspiracy my ass...

[Onkel Neal]

Not a very good novel, imo. Read it, found it pretty typical. If it was different subject matter, I can't see how it could have gotten published.