acoolsha

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The Da Vinci Code 30 May 06

Section: article

Categories: distraction / in-a-cinema

Went with A. to see the movie again. I already commented on it at length below →.
I recently came across the following sad article from the International Herald Tribune →. Just a few quotes…

Opus Dei’s happy day

As a member of Opus Dei, I would like to thank Dan Brown and Ron Howard for “The Da Vinci Code.”

For the record, I do wear a spiked metal band on my leg for a couple of hours a day, just like the movie’s murderous Opus Dei numerary, Silas (that’s always the first question). But I do not wear a robe, except at graduation ceremonies. I’m an English professor at a state university and am finishing a book titled “Modernist Aesthetics and Consumer Culture in the Writings of Oscar Wilde.” So much for stereotypes.

I knew early on that I wanted to pursue a deep communion with God, since that’s what allows me to be truly happy. And I wanted to enjoy all the richness of the secular world. (All right, all except sex, which undoubtedly is one of the richest parts of living in the world.) This is where the adventure begins. Can one be totally focused on God, praying meditatively for hours a day, and also be totally focused on the world – making money, competing or collaborating with colleagues, going out with drinking buddies? The answer, for me, is yes.

Curiously, I have found that liberals – perhaps more than conservatives – often get the idea of mortification. They understand that merely giving money to help the needy is inadequate and patronizing. One key element behind corporal mortification is to feel solidarity with the poor and the suffering, denying oneself some comfort, whether it be by fasting or wearing a cilice.

This last paragraph is simply outrageous. It represents a new depth in patronizing self-absorption.

  • Title: The Da Vinci Code
  • Directed by: Ron Howard
  • Writing credits: Akiva Goldsman (screenplay), Dan Brown (novel)
  • Starring: Tom Hanks, Audrey Tautou, Ian McKellen, Jean Reno, Paul Bettany, Alfred Molina...
  • Year: 2006
  • Cinema: Turm Kino, Frankfurt