The Code Of Fury

Last Saturday, I watched the film version of Dan Brown's acclaimed novel, The Da Vinci Code. The film is just a Hollywood adaptation, albeit a faithful one, of the book, but it is not the acting, or the direction or its fidelity to the book that is causing such a stir.

I have been rather puzzled by the global reaction to the whole Da Vinci affair. It has become quite evident that the book, particularly Dan Brown's style of writing, led many to believe fiction was fact. If it hadn't been for the inescapable contrivedness of the thriller plot that the book really rides on, I might have been taken in just as easily. After all, in almost every major religion, goddesses have existed, and continue to exist today. Why should it undermine Christianity and the Christian belief system if Jesus had a wife? In fact, it should make Him all the more divine, seeing as He set an example to humankind about the importance of procreation, and family.

I believe the film has come under such tremendous controversy simply because of the nature of the medium. Despite Dan Brown and JK Rowling and everything that is being said about the revival of reading, the truth remains that there are still millions of people who are far less likely to read a book, and at least 10 times more likely to watch a film. Who could refuse the convenience of an attention span that basically translates 5 to 10 pages of a book into a 20 second scene?

That the real power of film lies in the fact that it can reach every person in the world, irrespective of their level of education, and therefore, threatens to undermine the Church's power over them is something I imagine gives the Pope stomach ulcers.

But above all, what amazes me and frightens me is how fiercely we guard our investment in abstract notions of perfection, more than we do our lives sometimes. Radicals exist in every corner of society, but when ordinary people stop to listen to them, we can only hope that God will come down to Earth as an incarnation of reason and rationality, and peace will prevail.