China orders 'The Da Vinci Code" pulled from theaters...

[lord of the mark]

Ok, ive never seen or read the Da Vinci code, and havent really followed it, but IIUC the gist of it is as follows'

Jesus was a charismatic leader of a revolutionary movement. He married a woman of questionable virtue. She was his loyal coleader. After his death, his movement was hijacked by certain followers, who gutted the revolutionary aspects, and made it a buttress to authority. These same followers were determined defenders of patriarchy, and blackened the reputation of the leaders wife. Afterwards, they continued to rule in Jesus' name, even though they had reversed his message.


Thinking about that, is there any way the current leadership of the Communist Party of the People's Republic of China could have ALLOWED the Da Vince Code to be seen?

[DRoseDARs]

A little more information...

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/10/wo...gewanted=print

June 10, 2006
China Cancels 'Da Vinci' Movie
By JOSEPH KAHN
BEIJING, June 9 —Chinese authorities pulled "The Da Vinci Code" off movie screens nationwide on Friday, apparently as a concession to Chinese Catholic groups that warned that the film threatened social stability.

The movie has already generated millions in revenue for the state-owned company that distributed it, and its popularity seems undeniable. The film, based on the best-selling novel by Dan Brown, which has been criticized as insulting to Catholics, had earned more money than any other in China this year and was viewed as a contender to overtake "Titanic" as the highest grossing film ever in China.

But protests by China's official Patriotic Catholic Association and a demonstration involving a few dozen Catholics in Hebei Province were cited as evidence that the film was becoming a political risk, according to people involved in the decision to withdraw it.

Removing the film after its strong 22-day run suggested that the authorities had struck a balance between Chinese Catholic leaders and the China Film Corporation, the state-owned company that brought the film here.

China Film was permitted to collect hefty revenues and recoup its investment in importing, advertising and distributing the film. But the state-backed Catholic leadership was also able to claim a victory at a time when it has struggled with the Vatican for the loyalty of Chinese Catholics.

"Our view is that it should never have been released in the first place," Liu Bainian, vice president of the Patriotic Catholic Association, said in an interview. "Removing it is the right decision for the sake of social stability."

Mr. Liu issued a call to boycott the film in mid-May, when it was first released in Chinese theaters, that initially went unheeded. He declined to comment on why the authorities had reversed themselves after three weeks of brisk ticket sales, but called the decision a victory.

"Of course, we are very happy," he said.

Weng Li, a spokesman for China Film, said the withdrawal had nothing to do with politics and was entirely a commercial decision based on declining tickets sales.

"The decision we made is no different from the way such decisions are made in America or anywhere else," he said. "It was based solely on ticket sales and not on any other factor."

He added that China Film had numerous other films awaiting release, including movies celebrating the Communist Party's 85th anniversary on July 1, and that "The Da Vinci Code" was crowding them out.

But a more senior official at China Film said China's Propaganda Department ordered the film removed from screens. The official, who said he could not be identified because he was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly, said the film had earned more than 100 million yuan, or about $13 million, and continued to sell far more tickets than any other movie.

"The decision was political and had nothing to do with declining ticket sales," the official said.

Foreign and domestic films are subject to intensive political scrutiny before being shown. Authorities tend to watch most closely for content that they think could undermine the Communist Party's power.

It is unclear whether religious authorities were allowed to see "The Da Vinci Code" before it was first shown in China on May 19 as part of a simultaneous global release.

But shortly after the Vatican urged Catholics worldwide to boycott the film, China's official Catholic church also called for a boycott. Some local Catholics said they viewed the quick reaction of the state-controlled Catholic church as an attempt to show that it is as attentive to Catholic sensitivities as the Vatican is.

China's official church has been sparring with the Vatican in recent weeks over the appointment of bishops, a struggle that undermined progress toward forging diplomatic ties between Beijing and the Vatican.

The religious case against the film gathered steam later in May, when a group of Catholics in Handan, in Hebei Province, threatened to burn down a theater that planned to show the film, according to Chinese Catholics and Hong Kong news reports. There were scattered reports of small-scale street demonstrations in Handan as well.

The threat of social unrest was cited by religious authorities in Beijing as a reason to withdraw the film, according to people told about the decision. But China Film did not issue the order until ticket sales passed 100 million yuan, making it one of the highest grossing movies in China's history.

We don't want to upset the Vatican? We're worried about hurting the Christian minority's feelings? Oh, what a load...

[Alinestra Covelia]

I think it's probably likely that the government doesn't want to generate any interest in the religion. Prior to its distribution in the west, marketing for the Da Vinci Code was framed consistently as a dialogue - church leaders were consulted and given their chance to speak (either for or more likely against) and the film was marketed as a thought-provoking commentary that you should at least see, even if you don't believe in it.

Of course, we know that's probably unlikely to be the whole story. The whole story probably is that the film's distributors don't want churches to boycott and blacklist straight off the bat. Mel Gibson's "Passion" has proven that churches are a powerful demographic at the box office. And if they can make a discussion out of it, then they lose less money at the box office, plain and simple.

For a government like China's, even the discussion of religion is unsavory - regardless of whether you're debunking or supporting a certain orthodox viewpoint. The government prefers to exercise power through its established political institutions, and religious institutions are no exception. You can decry this as a ruthless authoritarian gag on free speech, or you can defend it as a natural suspicion of a history of western evangelizing (both of which have varying degrees of merit, in my opinion) but ultimately the Chinese government is at least consistent in its opposition to religion. It's hardly out of place among Communist governments, either.

Now, if the Chinese government were in a secret farfetched plot to promote Islam as the state religion, then that would be a very interesting state of affairs. Can you imagine the balance-of-power issues that 1.3 billion Muslims would bring to global politics? Bring on the popcorn - that would be a show I'd pay to see!

[Urban Ranger]

Originally posted by Jon Miller
I know a lot of people who really believe it, most of stop doing so once they saw the Discovery Channel special...

None of you watched the earlier National Geographic Channel special on The Da Vinci Code?

The book itself clearly lifted the plot from the non-fiction book Holy Blood, Holy Grail.

[DinoDoc]

What non-fiction book?

[Urban Ranger]

It's filed under the "non-fiction" section in a book store...

[DinoDoc]

Originally posted by Urban Ranger
It's filed under the "non-fiction" section in a book store...

Is that due to the fact it treats a hoax as being real?

[snoopy369]

More accurately, it's filed in the "metaphysical" section of most book stores. (Well, or religion, depending.)

In any even, neither section purports to not be fictitious. It does purport to be a section of books whose authors did not intend to write them as fiction.

There's quite a wide difference there A Million Little Pieces and such...

Any of the "soft science" sections, psych/self help/religion/metaphysics, could easily be accused of containing quite a few fictitious works There's a reason bookstores no longer really use the word 'non fiction'

[Bosh]

Originally posted by lord of the mark


Ok, ive never seen or read the Da Vinci code, and havent really followed it, but IIUC the gist of it is as follows'

Jesus was a charismatic leader of a revolutionary movement. He married a woman of questionable virtue. She was his loyal coleader. After his death, his movement was hijacked by certain followers, who gutted the revolutionary aspects, and made it a buttress to authority. These same followers were determined defenders of patriarchy, and blackened the reputation of the leaders wife. Afterwards, they continued to rule in Jesus' name, even though they had reversed his message.


Thinking about that, is there any way the current leadership of the Communist Party of the People's Republic of China could have ALLOWED the Da Vince Code to be seen?

Good one

[Darius871]

I find it hard to see Mary Magdalene in any other way analogous to Jiang Qing, but it is a good point.

[DRoseDARs]

And the Chinese don't elevate Mao to God incarnate. The Da Vinci Code hints at stripping Jesus of His divinity into just some Jew speaking pithy words and pissing off the Jewish establishment and Roman rulers of the time doing it.

[Darius871]

Originally posted by DRoseDARs
And the Chinese don't elevate Mao to God incarnate.

Well I'd say there's a very fine line on this one...

Edit: I see you said "don't" not "didn't," nevermind.

[Barnabas]

I read 2 days ago that more than half of frenchmen have read the da vinci code, and of those who read it, more than half think it is true that jesus was married to mary magdalene and had offspring with her.

[Jon Miller]

Originally posted by DinoDoc
What non-fiction book?

It's speculative theology. Not near as bad as Da Vinci Code and the Da Vinci Code lifts many more (obvious hoaxes) from other places.

The non-fiction book doesn't include all the obvious hoaxes of Prion of what have you and the Knights Templer, instead is just speculates that the Mary and Jesus had a child...

The speculation that Mary and Jesus were lovers is fairly old.. it is not far from there to speculate that they had a child.

Jon Miller

[Jon Miller]

Originally posted by Brachy-Pride
I read 2 days ago that more than half of frenchmen have read the da vinci code, and of those who read it, more than half think it is true that jesus was married to mary magdalene and had offspring with her.

People really want to beleive it, which I don't really understand. Despite the fact that there is show after book after website after paper showing that 80% of it is hoax and the rest is unfounded speculation.

It makes me depressed about the human race.

Jon Miller