Today I officially start my campaign against Dan Brown. Brown, as I am sure many of you know, is the author of the now extremely famous Da Vinci Code (which has Tom Hanks slated to play the hero in the upcoming film.) The book is a fun airport read, and you will enjoy it while you are reading it, but the reality is Dan Brown sucks as an author. Though his story is fun, it is ages old and I cannot figure out why intelligent people are eating this shit up.
Let’s do a quick synopsis. There is an age-old story that Mary Magdalene carried the child of Jesus of Nazareth. The story then takes a couple turns, but the bloodline turns out to have produced the Merovingian family. They were French rulers who sucked at their job. A guy by the name of Pippin takes over and becomes the new king. How did he get to be king you ask? Well, the pope gave him the authority to do so, because Pippin protected the Pope from some Germans. Conspiracy theorists would say papal authority ended the Jesus bloodline, because it would infringe on their own power.
Anyways, the Knights Templar, for some reason came upon this information about the bloodline and preserved it in their ranks (there is a 300 year gap here, but just roll with me), and eventually took the Holy Grail to England. Though according to Brown, and the old legend, there is no actual cup, the grail is a symbol for the bloodline. As you may know, the Templars were extinguished by Rome, which causes every conspiracy theorist great delight, because now there is a primeval secret society one can trace all secret societies back to.
Where were we? Oh yes, the story. Well, the main character is caught in the midst of a plot that would finally open all of this secret information to the public. Chaos ensues, love finds a caller, and all ends well. Here is my problem with Brown. First, he ties many loose tales together to create a grand narrative that provokes many readers. He uses a lot of literature, history, and artistic examples as proofs in his story. Though interesting reflections, Brown alone can tie all of this together. Real scholars have as much ease at proving all of this, as they do in proving the recognized biblical story.
I think the reason Brown’s books are such a sell is that they provoke people to question authority. Though Catholicism is not in a majority in America, the typical American I believe, still recognizes the pope as a very high religious official. Since most Americans aren’t catholic it is perfectly acceptable to question the Pope’s authority, and make wild assumptions that he and his running dogs have spent vast amounts of energy to hide the truth.
The other selling point is that people believe that they have learned something from this book. Brown is very good at using many examples, and he explains his logic, so the average reader buys into his wild and unprovable story. If you read it, it does sound very good. However, the reality is that there are holes in his argument big enough for a truck to drive through.
What frustrates me the most is the legitimacy people give this book. If it sold itself as a cheesy thriller, than I would be completely fine with it. The media really took to this work. The history channel has taken some of the 18 hours a day they dedicate to Hitler and World War II and have started running shows like “The Truth about the Da Vinci Code.” Dan Brown is not a religious scholar, he is an art historian who has figured out how to sell his discipline to the lowest common denominator.
I do not believe Brown has presented this text as non-fiction, but as an almost journalistic look at contemporary religion. The book comes at a perfect time, when people have become interested in Gnostic gospels, and other secondary early Christian texts. There is so much to know about these texts and many people seem to think Brown has summarized them all quite nicely Far too many readers believe this book is academically sound. I beg to differ.
I am fine with reading this trite, but if I hear one more TV show, university lecture, or secondary text on the Da Vinci Code I am going to scream.
Oh yeah, and by the way; Dan Brown’s writing is not that great either. It is short, basic, and lacks eloquence.
Did you read The Da Vinci Code, Josh?
yes I did read it. It took 2 days, and it did hold my attention. It was entertaining, and nothing more.
Here is an article from Salon entitled “The Da Vinci Crock”. 😉
http://www.salon.com/books/feature/2004/12/29/da_vinci_code/print.html
Damn straight.
He presented the priory of sion as fact, even though it was founded in 1956.