decide for yourself
I went to see The DaVinci Code last night. And, since I have this platform to say what I think, here goes...
I really liked it. Of course I don't agree with all of the ideas it uncovers in pursuit of the "Holy Grail"...but I am almost certain that none of the people involved in making the movie really believe it either. It is a work of fiction based on a few historical events that are pulled together to make an entertaining drama. It is actually refreshing to see stories of this quality get made in an era where only prequels & sequels of every semi-successful film of the last 100 years seem to make it to the screen. And, on that note, I will also say that the filming on location in Paris and using well-respected French actors (don't get me started on Hollywoods use of English in movies where it makes no historical sense...) made me enjoy it that much more. Also, my parents and I are headed to London on Sunday, which will allow us time to explore both of the famous cities used in this movie.
Back to the film...it is undeniable that The Church* has a dark and bloody history and this is not by any means the first film to bring that to light. It is also pretty clear by the end of the film that they are not trying to "unseat the Holy See*" or disprove the foundations of Christianity. They dialogue about what a remarkable being Jesus was (historically) and Hanks' character, Robert Langdon, even recounts a time in his life when he thinks Jesus helped save him.
Whatever your views on Jesus, if your personal beliefs can be shaken by a Hollywood film, then I suggest you spend some more time searching yourself.
Films like this are exciting because they spark interesting conversations in all realms of pop-culture, take advantage of the opportunities. My prayer is that we take every chance we get, as the church, to show love...and that we could restore the worlds view of the church, not through protesting or forceful behavior modification, but by living genuine lives full of hope, peace, and compassion in the midst of this chaotic age.
(* referencing The Vatican)
I really liked it. Of course I don't agree with all of the ideas it uncovers in pursuit of the "Holy Grail"...but I am almost certain that none of the people involved in making the movie really believe it either. It is a work of fiction based on a few historical events that are pulled together to make an entertaining drama. It is actually refreshing to see stories of this quality get made in an era where only prequels & sequels of every semi-successful film of the last 100 years seem to make it to the screen. And, on that note, I will also say that the filming on location in Paris and using well-respected French actors (don't get me started on Hollywoods use of English in movies where it makes no historical sense...) made me enjoy it that much more. Also, my parents and I are headed to London on Sunday, which will allow us time to explore both of the famous cities used in this movie.
Back to the film...it is undeniable that The Church* has a dark and bloody history and this is not by any means the first film to bring that to light. It is also pretty clear by the end of the film that they are not trying to "unseat the Holy See*" or disprove the foundations of Christianity. They dialogue about what a remarkable being Jesus was (historically) and Hanks' character, Robert Langdon, even recounts a time in his life when he thinks Jesus helped save him.
Whatever your views on Jesus, if your personal beliefs can be shaken by a Hollywood film, then I suggest you spend some more time searching yourself.
Films like this are exciting because they spark interesting conversations in all realms of pop-culture, take advantage of the opportunities. My prayer is that we take every chance we get, as the church, to show love...and that we could restore the worlds view of the church, not through protesting or forceful behavior modification, but by living genuine lives full of hope, peace, and compassion in the midst of this chaotic age.
(* referencing The Vatican)
posted by Bethany at 4:18 AM
4 Comments:
I'm with you. I've been pretty frustrated with the reaction in the States. The book is found in the fiction section for goodness sake!
Last Sunday, my church had a special guest, a textual critic. He addressed some of the issues that are brought up in the book and it was informative. But also a little strange that we felt the need to do that. I'm a little taken back by people who are taking this book/movie as an expose.
Lastly, did you guys see that albinos are in an uproar over the movie? They are not happy to be portrayed as the bad guy. There has been plenty of news coverage on albinos that are not killers. Whew! What a relief.
Amen to all of that! Bethany, I may even repost your words on my blog (giving credit to you, of course) because you took the words right out of my mouth! :) It was funny because my pastor refused to give a sermon on De-coding the DaVinci Code because he felt it was an insult to our believers in the church. I was thinking the same thing. It is good to be informed, but not in panic-mode as many churches are in now.
Well said. I can't wait to see it.
Well, My Love, Mike and I just finished reading it last week. It was quite a thriller and we haven't seen the movie yet, but we did grow weary of ALL THE TALK ABOUT THE DANG SACRED FEMININE! Good night! Whatever Mr. Dan Brown really believes, who knows? But what our concern was that this could propose a great excuse for someone to discount Jesus or embrace sexual "freedom" because he/she "never trusted the Church anyway..." or something like that. Of course, that's purely hypothetical and we have yet to talk to anyone that has used that, but it did cause me to crinkle my nose in distaste, to be literal. :)
I agree that it is great conversation starter and I recommend reading it to be culturally relevant at least, but parts of it kinda made me feel like I do when someone talks bad against someone in my family...even if they're joking and don't mean it. Maybe the movie doesn't do that as much.
Anyway, I wanted to join in the discussion...what do you think?
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