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| On an unrelated search in the Writer’s Market website, I found an article titled: Da Vinci Code spurs religious publishing boom Curious I clicked on the link provided: http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=domesticNews&storyID=2006-03... . This reminded me of when my parents came to visit two years ago. Mom perused our substantial bookshelves and came back with Dan Brown’s Digital Fortress.” “Don’t tell me you read Dan Brown’s books?” she asked brandishing it in front of us. Dave piped up, “I’ve read most of his books now.” “I’ve read Angels and Demons so far,” I added. “Including the Da Vinci Code?” Dave answered yes, while I said, “I started it.” Mom and Dave then discussed the particulars of the book and it came down to Dave saying, “It’s fiction, so I didn’t take anything in the book as fact.” (As usual, I kept my mouth shut.) I thought the subject dropped until we visited them for Christmas a few months later. Mom, my sister and I went to the local Christian book store, and as I perused the nonfiction aisles with Mom, suddenly she stops, grabs a book and thrusts it at me. I read the title: The Da Vinci Deception. I placed it back on the shelf saying, “I don’t need to read that.” I then walked away without giving her an opportunity to respond. So with the movie coming out this summer, and after reading the above article, I can’t help but wonder if this is a genuine controversy. Who’s being harmed here? Those dolling out the cash for Dan Brown’s book and now the movie to discover what all the hubbub is about, or to purchase a book going into detail proving or disproving something the buyer likely already believes? That’s not much harm, if you ask me. I honestly can’t imagine a novel or movie leading someone astray from their faith as these books proclaim is their purpose. I didn’t finish The Da Vinci Code. Though I think Dan Brown is a good writer, I couldn’t stomach the premise. It’s not that I consider myself weak in my faith. Quite the contrary. It’s more like just because I don’t like to read romance or erotica, it doesn’t mean I have a problem with sex. I’ll write my own little fiction and proclaim my beliefs changed because I read a novel and took it as fact. Is that Dan Brown’s fault, or my own for not having the mental will to say, “It’s only a story?” And if I can be swayed by Dan Brown’s writing, what about other novels or even nonfiction out there? Remember The Last Temptation of Christ? Martin Scorsese, the director of the film, said the controversy over his film is what spurred people to see the movie who otherwise wouldn’t have. He even admitted he made by far more money than he imagined, because the movie wasn’t that great. I bet Dan Brown was just as thrilled when people started complaining about The Da Vinci Code. His book sales shot higher than anyone I’m sure predicted, and it’s still selling well with the paperback out now (As of this writing it’s ranked as #12, the hardcover is ranked at #29 on Amazon for books). After reading the article above, I searched Amazon for “Da Vinci Code” books. It yielded 208 results. I then noticed a link on the side where someone had assembled a list of books discrediting Brown’s book. She listed twelve. Twelve books debunking a work of fiction? Ignoring the number for a second, isn’t “debunking fiction” an oxymoron? Going back to the number, I can’t help but agree with the article’s premise in that books on this subject are published because of their monetary value, and I will add, not their spiritual value. If these same people wrote their books discrediting a scholarly work such as Michael Baigent’s Holy Blood, Holy Grail (the author who is suing Brown for plagiarism) which is based on the same idea, and never mentioning Brown’s book, I wouldn’t be questioning their credibility and sincerity (especially if they wrote it before Baigent’s suit made the news). But would they have made as much money? I don’t think so, hence my cynicism. Same goes with the movie. Do you think it would have been made had not the book done so well? If no one had said a word, The Da Vinci Code would have retreated quietly into history, dusty bookshelves, and moldy boxes in the attic, just as The Last Temptation of Christ did after a new controversy came along to grab our attention – and our cash. |
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