"The idea that Copernicus was murdered by the Church is just too stupid for words."
So says John C. Wright , in his scathing review of Dan Brown's Angels and Demons.
Fact: Copernicus died quietly in bed at age 70 from a stroke, and his research was supported by Church officials; he even dedicated his masterwork to the Pope.
The joker is the same Dan Brown who wrote the Da Vinci Code, a work of fiction shot full of errors. Nevertheless on his webpage, Clown, (Brown, rather) claims that "Because my novels are so research-intensive, they take a couple of years to write".
Bull feathers.
By the way, John C. Wright is a well-known sci-fi writer who used to be an atheist but converted to Catholicism last year.
Check out his blog here- http://johncwright.livejournal.com/
Sunday, May 3, 2009
Angels and Demons and Clowns
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10 comments:
Yeah right. And this mental gimmick of these wierd anticatholics is really dangerous.. You know, people are fond of applying the "what if" in every thing..
This movie, which claims to be a FICTION in the background of actual and historical events , are more viral than that of religious propagandas of the ADD and INC in the TV and the net. Nice post, bro!
Brown's just making money at the expense of other person's reputations. The guy is an unscrupulous hack. Why does anyone even bother with Brown's junk?
Guys, it's fiction. A figment of Brown's imagination. He made it all up.
What is dangerous is that people have become so gullible that they'd mistake a pulp fiction novelist for an authority on faith and the Church.
- TE
I think that's because Brown has cleverly (and dishonestly) chosen to blur the line that divides fact from fiction. His book is a work of fiction, but he also claims that he has researched his background material. He also uses real, existing organizations in his works. Uninformed readers therefore do not know where fact ends and fiction begins. The ensuing controversy is where he makes his hay. And it is quite unfair.
The Curt Jester makes an ingenious parody of the Ron Howard production. He starts by saying:
"I am producing a movie on Ron Howard's family. In the movie based on my research I say his father was a drug pusher and his mother is a prostitute and that Ron Howard engages in S&M. All of the portrayal of Ron Howard and his family in my movie and the prequel I am doing later will be highly negative. I will present the Howard family as something totally based on lies and question whether his parents really were his parents in the first place. I will also attack his fans for being foolish enough to be a fan of him considering his background. My hero will follow clues that prove this evidence. Now of course this is just a movie..."Read the rest here.
You couldn't blame people, who are not too knowledgeable in Church history for believing the lies when the author himself and the director of the film are deliberately blurring the line between fact and fiction.
But here are what some Catholic Reviewers write, "(The film is) more than two hours of harmless entertainment, which hardly affects the genius and mystery of Christianity... (It’s) a videogame that first of all sparks curiosity and is also, maybe, a bit of fun."
From what I've heard, Howard is trying to pick a fight with the Church (unsuccessfully). He trumpets that Vatican hampered and prevented them from on-location shooting, trying to sensationalize the issue so he can drum up interest for his film. Silly guy. Good thing Vatican is not biting.
Is that why he had the premiere in Rome? To thumb his nose at the Vatican?
Poor guy. Maybe he has a chip on his shoulder.
I've got a question for you all, though. Are we contributing to the film's (and book's) popularity by discussing it here? I mean, Joe Public can read this blog, after all.
- TE
TE,
I think it's how the church officialdom reacts, and so far it has been largely ignored officially and even taken with good-natured humor.
L'Osservatore Romano says: Angels and Demons "posed no danger to the church". "It only confirms the centuries-old fascination with our faith and our symbols,...If only all anti-Catholic operations were like this one." :-)
Now when the film/book elicits confusion rather than popcorn entertainment, there are many famous blogs easily reachable like JohnCWright's that gives even funnier entertainment to dispel the confusion.
Hi Willy! I loved the link to John C. Wright's blog. Funny enough, I blogged about enjoying his Chronicles of Chaos trilogy sometime back. He has a delightfully erudite, dare I say, Catholic humor which is very refreshing.
On a more serious note, I am glad that the Church is dealing with this non-issue with elegance and grace. It really is harmless, almost endearingly brain dead entertainment.
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