May 22 2006
The Da Vinci Code – What’s All the Fuss About?
GUEST: Chip Berlet, Senior Analyst at Political Research Associates, and author of “Right-Wing Populism in America”
‘The Da Vinci Code’ has had one of the biggest opening weekends in box office history – $224 million worldwide. The highly controversial film is based on the best selling novel by Dan Brown and has been picketed by critics. The premise of the film suggests that Jesus Christ married Mary Magdalene, had a child by her and members of a religious order then tried to cover it up. The Da Vinci Code has already had already broken box office records in Italy, home of the Vatican. Members of a Catholic group called Christian Militants staged demonstrations outside some cinemas in central Rome over the weekend chanting slogans including: “Dan Brown, remember you will also be judged by Christ.” In fact the Vatican has called the movie and book a work of fiction and have not called for it to be banned. But various conservative Christian groups in South Korea, Thailand, India and France have protested the film, and planned boycotts and hunger strikes, and attempted to block screenings. Samoa, Lebanon and Jordan have banned the film, Thailand has censored part of the film, and the Philippines has issued an X certificate for the film.
Read Chip Berlet’s blog at www.talk2action.org.
Sonali’s Subversive Thought for the Day:
“I do not believe in immortality of the individual, and I consider ethics to be an exclusively human concern with no superhuman authority behind it.” — Albert Einstein
One Response to “The Da Vinci Code – What’s All the Fuss About?”
Near the end of the program, Sonali asked a woman caller who espoused to be atheist: “Do you think/believe that person who’s atheist can also be patriarchial?”
The answer she gave was yes; and although I agree…..I thought it wasn’t really a valid point to bring up, most people with an agenda to dominate over others, would find it irresistably easy to join a religion that inheriently supports them.
It reminded me of the often asked question put to gays – “why do you choose this lifestyle?”
The answer most of the time is that they don’t choose – why would they choose to lead a lifestyle in which society on many levels has punished people for living?
It’s easy to go through the motions of a religious life in order to reap the many benefits that come with it;
Putting the question conversly did make me think but I came to the conclusion that it wasn’t the best use of airtime to challenge the atheist woman who seemed like she was constantly having to defend herself which brought her to call the show in the first place.