NeverEnding
journeyman
Reged: 09/27/04
Posts: 56
|
|
As i was doing research on "The Da Vinci Code" i was appaled at how seriously people were taking every single word that Dan Brown wrote. At first, while i was reading newspaper articles, book excerpts, and other texts regarding the Da Vinci Code; i wodered why people would go through the trouble to explain that the Opus Dei is not evil and does not condone assassination. The book comes from the fiction section. Fiction: any literary work with imaginary characters and events, as a novel, play, etc.. So why are people trying to prove everything Dan Brown wrote wrong or not totally true? Why are they scrutinizing every paragraph as if it could eat whole through the table? Simply becuase people are ignorant. The masses buy into almost anything, especially when it involves written text, popular sales, and a conspiracy. I had almost forgotten how i had almost bought into the falsehoods when i read the book. Many groups, including the Opus Dei, are trying to clear their name, and the only way to do that is provide counter-examples of Brown's text. I for one am not pleased at the way they are going about it. Instead of politely saying "Dan Brown's book is fiction, and not everything in that book is going to be true." they have to discredit Brown to the point where he looks like nothing more than a man who is willing to do anything to get money or attention, even if that means demeaning large religous sects. This may be true, but i try to stick to "Innocent until proven guilty.". Brown was obviously trying to write a good book, which i believe he did. But its almost pure fiction. I beleive that to help stop the Brown Bashing is to include something to the effect of "This book is a work of fiction and is not entirely true, for more information researche the topic yourself.". Well maybe not that exactly, but something that will help take the pressure of The Catholic Religion and those whose names you think have been dragged through the mud. Please people, for the sake of intelligence, research your querries before coming to the quickest solution.
--------------------
"Beware of the man whose belly does not move when he laughs."
Some Asian person
|
Sephia
Supreme Goddess
Reged: 11/28/03
Posts: 876
Loc: MA, USA
|
|
Since its a bestseller and a good story, it has a potential of influencing many
Plus, it taps into religion and spirituality and the role of women in Christinaity, all 3 are very important and somewhat sensitive topics. Also, because so many people are willing to research further, groups who feel they have been represented see this as the best way to put forth their version (of the book and their views in general) and get many people to see it.
--------------------
"Your life is yours alone, rise up and live it" ~Terry Goodkind
|
dedknedy
stranger
Reged: 09/09/04
Posts: 5
|
|
Sure the book is fiction because the characters and story are made up. However the stories told within the book, I belive are mostly true. The story of the knights templar, priory of sion, the marital status of jesus and his bloodline. Check out a book called "Holy Blood, Holy Grail", a non-fiction book written in the early 80's that goes into great detail on this subject.
|
dedknedy
stranger
Reged: 09/09/04
Posts: 5
|
|
By the way, I know "Holy Blood, Holy Grail", isn't a historical document. I've heard about the Priory of Sion hoax, and I'm aware these books are pro-conspiracy, but I like to belive there is some truth hidden behind all this information.
|
NeverEnding
journeyman
Reged: 09/27/04
Posts: 56
|
|
It all depends on how open your mind is and how willing you are to believe what someone else wrote. The only way to come to a conclusion is to research the topics first-hand.
--------------------
"Beware of the man whose belly does not move when he laughs."
Some Asian person
|
Brookin
stranger
Reged: 10/04/04
Posts: 10
Loc: Preston, Lancs,Eng
|
|
I agree with the above - all we can do is keep researching. It may be that the answers we want are not available but that's half the fun. For me, Dan Brown's books are so influential because they can open up an entirely new train of thought. I read Baigent's "holy blood, holy grail" but it is heavy going (i'm no einstein) - DVC is not - it is accessable for the layman and therefore is influential.
Just as a final note - a quote i like
"history books are always written by the winners" - so how are we to know what is true and what isn't - bible included.
--------------------
Brookin - mental cookin'
|
Dazzle
addict
Reged: 04/02/04
Posts: 484
Loc: UK
|
|
The reason that people are fervently attempting to disprove the book - and rightly so - is because Dan Brown has the gall to put that stupid thing at the start saying FACT and then proceeding to talk nonsense about how all descriptions of places and paintings, etc. are entirely factual.
Such rubbish - some of it is completely subjective (The Last Supper) while other parts (the geography of France; there's a thread here somewhere on it too) where he has got the city the wrong way round, putting buildings on the wrong side of the river.
The stuff within the book is, for the most part, crap while other portions are susceptible to imaginary hyperbole.
But, since Brown states that it is FACT people, especially those who have parted money for the book, are quite within their rights to disprove the content - they feel cheated, condescended, and angry.
So, I didn't enjoy the book; thought it was complete rubbish and will never read another Dan Brown book (read one, read them all it seems from browsing here) so, you may be asking, what am I doing here?
I'd heard the book covered some topics of which I'd had a prior interest and, interested, bought it. Waste of money! I just ended up here. 
Regarding Baigent, Leigh, and Lincoln's book; they were, for the most part, writing fanciful rot. Interestingly, it is satirised beautifully in Eco's Foucault's Pendulum.
Edited by Dazzle (10/05/04 10:16 AM)
|
NeverEnding
journeyman
Reged: 09/27/04
Posts: 56
|
|
Im glad that you posted here. It shows that theres not always one person who is right. But did you have to be so harsh? Let the people decide there own point of view before making one for them.
--------------------
"Beware of the man whose belly does not move when he laughs."
Some Asian person
|
NeverEnding
journeyman
Reged: 09/27/04
Posts: 56
|
|
Also, i happen to like Dan Brown's books.
--------------------
"Beware of the man whose belly does not move when he laughs."
Some Asian person
|
AAnnAArchy
Gifted Procrastinator
Reged: 10/20/03
Posts: 643
Loc: Las Vegas
|
|
Hey Dazzle, for entertainment purposes, I think Angels & Demons is better than DVC. Fact, fiction, I don't care. I have my own opinions about religious institutions, the pope, etc.
|
Dazzle
addict
Reged: 04/02/04
Posts: 484
Loc: UK
|
|
Quote:
NeverEnding said:
did you have to be so harsh? Let the people decide there own point of view before making one for them.
I have only decided for myself and will not dress my opinions in layers of euphemism. It's the polar opposite of those who declare the book to be the best thing since sliced bread. I'm only striking a balance - wouldn't want the scales tipped in the favour of any direction. 
|
Sephia
Supreme Goddess
Reged: 11/28/03
Posts: 876
Loc: MA, USA
|
|
lol... Don't you think that, for the cult of dan brown, it makes sense for them to a be a bit tipped? Just a tad wee little bit?
--------------------
"Your life is yours alone, rise up and live it" ~Terry Goodkind
|
AAnnAArchy
Gifted Procrastinator
Reged: 10/20/03
Posts: 643
Loc: Las Vegas
|
|
Quote:
Sephia said:
lol... Don't you think that, for the cult of dan brown, it makes sense for them to a be a bit tipped? Just a tad wee little bit?
A fine point. Yeah, we're not exactly the Cult of Dan Brown deprogrammers. We like his books and in general, we're here to talk about them with other people who like them. We usually save dissent for some of our other more rough & tumble boards. This is more a, well, fansite. That's not to say that other opinions aren't welcome, but it wouldn't be that fun for people who like Dan Brown to end up having to defend themselves all the time. Some of the time, okay.
|
Brookin
stranger
Reged: 10/04/04
Posts: 10
Loc: Preston, Lancs,Eng
|
|
I'm not trying to state that I entirely believe what anyone has written - all I'm trying to point out is that there is no-one alive today that was alive then, so we're all having to put some amount of belief in what no-one can truly know. That is what entices me, the many different theories that are out there and this bloodline theory does interest me.
--------------------
Brookin - mental cookin'
|
NeverEnding
journeyman
Reged: 09/27/04
Posts: 56
|
|
Yes, but if no one ever challenged Brown's ideas, this site would be very boring. The whole point of this thread was to have people post what they have researched about the topic and share it with others, not to have the scales tipped just a tad wee bit. every has an opinion. another reason for this thread is to not have Brown being bashed all the time. Come on people. Why doesn't fiction mean fiction to you?
--------------------
"Beware of the man whose belly does not move when he laughs."
Some Asian person
|
Ukkiwi
stranger
Reged: 10/08/04
Posts: 3
Loc: Manchester, UK
|
|
I think it was a fascinating book and I enjoyed it very much
--------------------
I am not 40 something, but £39.95 plus P&p
John 3:16
|
sinkintothehead
stranger
Reged: 10/08/04
Posts: 7
Loc: Right now, South Korea
|
|
First book in a long time that I read in a day. Enough said.
--------------------
"The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn't exist."
|
danaholic
member
Reged: 10/11/04
Posts: 163
Loc: Kent, England
|
|
I think Dan Brown's books are so great because they provide an insight to things that people didn't actually know about before. Whether the stories within them are fact or fiction, you are going to have to look further into them to see. They make the books interesting nonetheless. I personally think everything within them is true. That is, about the Illuminati, the Knight's Templar and the Opus Dei etc, but obviously not the characters and adventures.
|
langdon_lover
journeyman
Reged: 10/11/04
Posts: 66
Loc: England UK
|
|
Quote:
danaholic said:
I think Dan Brown's books are so great because they provide an insight to things that people didn't actually know about before.
i agree, they can educate you in other peoples religions and beliefs and you definately feel you understand more about the people of this world from reading them
|
NeverEnding
journeyman
Reged: 09/27/04
Posts: 56
|
|
Grrrrrrrr......Did you not read anything of the first post i made? Most of the stuff in this book is very loosely based on real things. The characters and their adventures are not the only fiction things in this book.
--------------------
"Beware of the man whose belly does not move when he laughs."
Some Asian person
|
danaholic
member
Reged: 10/11/04
Posts: 163
Loc: Kent, England
|
|
Well I apologize NeverEnding, but your post was very long and I don't really have time to look through and analyse every single word - especially when it's hard to understand. I was just providing my opinion on why the Da Vinci Code is so influential, as were you. But I agree with you in saying that
>> I beleive that to help stop the Brown Bashing is to include something to the effect of "This book is a work of fiction and is not entirely true, for more information researche the topic yourself." <<
|
langdon_lover
journeyman
Reged: 10/11/04
Posts: 66
Loc: England UK
|
|
even if it is only loosely based, it is still based on something, and Opus Dei is a real organisation, so we can learn about their beliefs from the book.
|
Sephia
Supreme Goddess
Reged: 11/28/03
Posts: 876
Loc: MA, USA
|
|
Opus Dei is not the villain it is made out to be. dan Brown's books are fiction, I think we can all agree on that. They are based on theories, aka: not yet proven but plausible explanations. People find interesting stuff in DVC et al and do their own research. That, I think, is what makes them so valuable.
--------------------
"Your life is yours alone, rise up and live it" ~Terry Goodkind
|
langdon_lover
journeyman
Reged: 10/11/04
Posts: 66
Loc: England UK
|
|
Quote:
Sephia said:
Opus Dei is not the villain it is made out to be
i don't think dan brown set out to intentionally make Opus Dei appear as a villain, just believers who were scared for the future of their religion, and were mislead into thinking they could save it.
|
danaholic
member
Reged: 10/11/04
Posts: 163
Loc: Kent, England
|
|
Quote:
langdon_lover said:
even if it is only loosely based, it is still based on something, and Opus Dei is a real organisation, so we can learn about their beliefs from the book.
Yes, and if we intriguid by a particular aspect of the book, we can look further into it. You cannot make everything 'real' accurate in a book because it is fiction. You have to suit it to the story, and that is how Dan Brown had made his books so good.
|
NeverEnding
journeyman
Reged: 09/27/04
Posts: 56
|
|
Yes oh my god yes. Finally you people understand it! I congratulate all of you. good work. i was beginning to think i should discontinue this thread (if i can), but now i see that you people were at least trying to understand it, and did. Especially you danaholic. But you others did just as well. Congrats to you all!
--------------------
"Beware of the man whose belly does not move when he laughs."
Some Asian person
|
Brookin
stranger
Reged: 10/04/04
Posts: 10
Loc: Preston, Lancs,Eng
|
|
Getting back to the main theme then - why is it so influential. I think the DVC is so influential because of the subject matter and the current worldwide social climate. I feel (my opinion) that christianity is slowly dying off in the western world. Churches are struggling to "hold on to their flocks" and a lot of people now seem to see jesus and the rest of it as some form of fairy story like Father Christmas etc. Dan Brown's book offers a far more plausible theory than the "messiah" story in today's scientific world and I think people are looking for an alternative. Dan Brown's theory is one such alternative and a very interesting one.
Also - Why shouldn't we believe this story when the likes of Newton, Da Vinci, Debussy, Hugo (priory of sion grandmasters) believed in it also and there is no doubting their intelligence....
As for the book itself - ok - not shakespeare - but enticing nontheless - how many other fictional writers have websites like this.
--------------------
Brookin - mental cookin'
|
danaholic
member
Reged: 10/11/04
Posts: 163
Loc: Kent, England
|
|
Quote:
NeverEnding said:
Yes oh my god yes. Finally you people understand it! I congratulate all of you. good work. i was beginning to think i should discontinue this thread (if i can), but now i see that you people were at least trying to understand it, and did. Especially you danaholic. But you others did just as well. Congrats to you all!
Is it me, or is there just a hint of sarcasm here?
|
AAnnAArchy
Gifted Procrastinator
Reged: 10/20/03
Posts: 643
Loc: Las Vegas
|
|
More like condescension, but it's not going to happen again, right NeverEnding? (psst, and in your sig, NE, "Oriental" is considered offensive to Asians - oriental refers to things, like rugs or cuisine)
Okay, back to discussing DVC...
|
danaholic
member
Reged: 10/11/04
Posts: 163
Loc: Kent, England
|
|
What was the topic again? Oh yes, why is DVC so influential. I think it's because most people start reading it with no prior knowledge of anything in the book. So, because DVC is so interesting, they get drawn into what Dan Brown writes.
|
NeverEnding
journeyman
Reged: 09/27/04
Posts: 56
|
|
Thanks for the sig help ill chang it after this post, but no, i was not being sarcastic. Im just very happy to see that you all are at least somewhat understanding what im saying. Also, not being critical or anything but you should research before saying that newton and the other were involved with the priory of sions.
--------------------
"Beware of the man whose belly does not move when he laughs."
Some Asian person
|
langdon_lover
journeyman
Reged: 10/11/04
Posts: 66
Loc: England UK
|
|
many books do say that newton was involved
|
danaholic
member
Reged: 10/11/04
Posts: 163
Loc: Kent, England
|
|
If you actually did any research, you would know that Sir Isaac Newton was a grandmaster in the Priory of Sion.
|
poia
The Modeleter
Reged: 01/25/04
Posts: 168
Loc: NJ
|
|
Previous
Index
Next
Threaded
Edit
Reply
Quote
[Re: 
