“The Da Vinci Code” Review

Angeline Tay asked for my thoughts on "The Da Vinci Code," Dan Brown‘s bestselling novel and box office smash.  I have to admit that I spent some time tonight trying to come up with a clever headline for tonight’s blog entry.  "The Da Vinci Code" is a title begging for a cliche or a witty pun.  How about "Decoding The Da Vinci Code"?  Or "Reading Between the Lines of the Da Vinci Code"?  Or "The Da Vinci Code is a Masterpiece"?  Or "The Da Vinci Code is a Master Piece of Work?"  Or "What Would Jesus Do about the Da Vinci Code"?  Or "Why does Hollywood Always Cast Ian McKellen as the Sage in Blockbusters"?  Nah, writing a snazzy, eye-catching blog title to describe this work isn’t worth the effort.  So as not to heap any more hype on this overblown work, I prefer an understated title like "’The Da Vinci Code’ Review."  Short, simple, to the point.  Over 28 books have been published so far in order to debunk the philosophical premise of "The Da Vinci Code," and all of them use some pithy twist on Dan Brown’s book in their own book titles.  Talk about free publicity for Dan Brown!  Christian churches worldwide have condemned the book and movie and called for boycotts.  Government film censors around the world have weighed on "The Da Vinci Code," even threatening to ban it.  Reaction to the book and movie worldwide have merely led to even more publicity and more ticket sales. 
 
All the brouhaha over this work tells me that Dan Brown is becoming one very wealthy man.  He is the primary beneficiary of all the hype and controversy surrounding "The Da Vinci Code," much like "The Blair Witch Project" became a $100 million box office hit because some moviegoers actually bought into the myth that it was real film footage from an actual event.  The hype around this work is far more intriguing to me than the storyline itself.  Those who criticize "The Da Vinci Code" actually perpetuate its popularity by generating continued interest from those who wonder what the hype is all about.  If Dan Brown avoids making the same mistake John Lennon did when he infamously claimed that the Beatles were more popular than Jesus, and he avoids making some dubious claim that "The Da Vinci Code" has sold more copies than the Bible, I think that the hype will continue.  Brown is close to overstepping his bounds, though.  His web site proclaims, "His acclaimed novel—The Da Vinci Code—has become one of the most widely read books of all time."  True perhaps, but consider this–World Adventurers is one of the most widely read Korea-focused blogs of all time.
 
I read the book, and tonight I went to see the movie.  I thought the movie was fine; better than expected after critics from Cannes to California had panned the movie for being too "serious," "slow," "foreboding," and "introverted."  I thought the movie stayed close to the book.  Some of the actors’ performances were stilted and underwhelming, most notably Tom Hanks’ portrayal of Robert Langdon.  Hanks’ performance was not what I would I have expected from an Oscar-winning actor.  Tom Hanks is still one of my favorite actors, although I think Kevin Spacey would have been a much better Robert Langdon.
 
One theme in "The Da Vinci Code" dominates all others; that is, a conspiracy and cover up have suppressed the greatest story never told.  The work claims that Jesus married one of His followers, Mary Magdalene, and that they gave birth to a daughter.  It postulates that Mary and her daughter fled to France and that the secretive Priory of Sion and their protectors, the Knights Templar, hid Jesus’ child and the body of Mary from the Catholic Church.  It goes on to claim that Church leaders, fearful that the Church would collapse and/or experience a crisis of faith if the truth about Jesus and Mary Magdalene’s relationship became known, spilled innocent blood for two millennia in an attempt to destroy all traces of the body of Mary Magdalene and Jesus’ descents.  Brown sets the tone of his book from the very first word written, "FACT" leaving readers the impression that the story is in fact true. 
 
Invoking conspiracy and hiding behind a cover up allow Brown to create a fantastic story that:  1) Cannot be truly proven or disproven; and 2) Allow him to interpret actual events in such a way as to weave a believable narrative that can be neither proven nor disproven.  For example, consider the Priory of Sion.  Conventional wisdom argues that the Priory was founded in 1956, about 1,900 years after Mary Magdalene’s death.  However, Brown cleverly argues that the Priory actually existed long before and that the Priory’s founding in 1956 is a myth put forth by the Church.  By sowing seeds of doubt about anything considered true by conventional wisdom, Brown can build a believable story and cater to those who believe what they want to believe despite any empirical evidence to the contrary.  He explains on his web site:
Since the beginning of recorded time, history has been written by the "winners" (those societies and belief systems that conquered and survived). Despite an obvious bias in this accounting method, we still measure the "historical accuracy" of a given concept by examining how well it concurs with our existing historical record. Many historians now believe (as do I) that in gauging the historical accuracy of a given concept, we should first ask ourselves a far deeper question: How historically accurate is history itself?
Brown can always argue that what is actually true is often obscured by culture, tradition, propaganda, and political or religious suppression.  For example, to some a Christmas tree is a symbol of Christmas, while to others is it pagan symbol of fertility.  When reversed, a Buddhist religious symbol becomes a Nazi swastika.  The Canon gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John depict Jesus as God, while other early (Gnostic) writings such as the Gospel of Phillip and Gospel of Mary Magdalene paint an image of Christ as a man who is an intimate companion of Mary Magdalene.  "The Da Vinci Code" draws from widely-accepted facts, historical events, tradition, myth, and legend, dispensing them into a believable story that cannot be proven or disproven when examined from a relativist perspective.  Relatively speaking, I prefer to think of "The Da Vinci Code" as an entertaining story with one undisputable fact–it is making Dan Brown a very, very rich man.

Korea’s post-electoral political landscape

I rarely delve into politics on this blog, especially when it comes to the politics of my host country.  Tonight, however, I’ll wade into the political currents a bit in the aftermath of Wednesday’s Korean national election.  Let me first give you a short primer on the Korean political system.  The Republic of Korea, or South Korea, is a representative democracy.  The chief executive and head of state is the President, or Roh Moo-hyun.  The president is elected to a single five-year term and cannot run for re-election–a check-and-balance introduced into the Korean system to prevent autocratic leaders from holding office for life.  Chong Wa Dae, or the Blue House, is the Korean White House, or President’s home and office.  The legislative branch is governed by the unicameral National Assembly and presided over by a prime minister appointed by the president.  The current prime minister is Han Myeong-sook, a woman.  The Blue House is located in central Seoul north of Gyeongbok Palace, while the National Assembly is several miles away in Southwest Seoul on Yeoido (Island).  The Korean judical system is governed by the Korean Supreme Court, which weighs in on legislation and executive orders, much as the U.S. Supreme Court does.  Korea also has a Constitutional Court that renders opinions on constitutionality.  The court has been very influential in recent years, overturning the National Assembly’s impeachment of President Roh and ruling against the ruling party’s attempt to move the national capital out of Seoul.
 
The Uri Party ("Our Party") is the ruling party of Korea and generally considered liberal.  The Grand National Party (GNP) is the main opposition party and is generally considered conservative.  "Liberal" and "conservative" are political labels that mean different ideals in Korea than they do in the U.S.  Korea has several other political parties, including the Democratic Party (DP) and People First Party (PFP), a regional party.  The Uri Party has been the ruling party in the National Assembly since 2004.  President Roh is also an Uri Party member elected in 2002.  Until Wednesday’s national election, the Uri Party also held sway over the governerships of Korea’s 16 provinces and cities and well as local governments.  However, in the last two years the GNP has dominated the last four elections, winning big last Wednesday in gubernatorial and local elections held nationwide.  The DP also gained political ground.  Of the 16 governorships in Seoul, Daegu, Daejeon, and the provinces, GNP won 12, the DP two, an Independent one, and the Uri Party just one governorship.
 
Last Wednesday’s elections could be a harbinger of next year’s election, when the Korean people choose a new government.  The GNP appears poised to become Korea’s ruling party, although analysts have noted that the GNP also won the 2001 election and lost the presidential election the following year to Uri.  However, the results of this week’s elections were so devastating to Uri that it may lead to the break up of the party itself.  The Uri Party’s leader, Chung Dong-young, resigned yesterday, and other party leaders are considering resigning en masse.  Chung’s departure has opened the way for #2 Kim Geun-tae to assume the party leadership, while speculation is rampant that Chung and his supporters may leave the Uri Party.  If this happens, then Chung’s faction may join the DP or form a new political party (members of the Uri Party, including Chung, left the DP, or former Millennium Democratic Party, to form Uri).  The remaining core Uri members could regroup before the 2007 national elections and relaunch the party under a new name.  Korean political parties frequently morph and change names.  Former President Kim Dae-jung and President Roh will likely play influential roles in the drama unfolding at Uri, although they are constitutionally prohibited from running for another presidential term.
 
The GNP is in good shape heading into the 2007 election.  It has several candidates well-positioned to run for president, including party leader Park Geun-hye, daughter of former President Park Chung-hee, and Lee Myung-bak, the outgoing mayor of Seoul.  Lee was considered the party front-runner for his efforts to beautify Seoul, until he was accused of favors last April and when Park was slashed by an assailant.  Now, Park has commanding lead in the polls.  Park is a sentimental favorite among Koreans who admire her father, a polarizing figure praised for energizing the Korean economy and criticized for human rights abuses.  Koh Gun is yet another presidential contender.  He is a centrist figure who may break away from the GNP and form a centrist party.  All three are strong challengers to Uri’s possible presidential candidates, notably Chung Dong-young and Kim Geun-Tae.
 
At present, barring any dramatic changes in Korea’s political landscape, the most probable scenario is that Park Geun-hye will win the Korean presidency and become the country’s first female leader.  The GNP will likely win a slim majority in the National Assembly.  The Uri Party will probably splinter as members leave the party.  Most departees will join the DP, which has some political momentum.  The liberal opposition will divide itself two parties, Uri and DP, while the GNP will become the ruling party, most likely in 2007.  It remains to be seen whether the GNP can hold onto their momentum for foreseeable future.  The future depends on whether the GNP addresses Korean voter dissatisfaction and shows political restraint.  If it doesn’t, the party may lose its political momentum very quickly.
 
Sounds a bit like a Korean drama, eh?

Goodbye, Shawn

I was going to write about the results of yesterday’s Korean national election, but this news is far too tragic to postpone until tomorrow.  Shawn Matthews, one of Korea’s top bloggers, committed suicide on May 23rd in Beijing.  His blog was read by thousands, and he was loved by many readers from around the world.  My wife introduced his blog to me last year, and I read it occasionally.  Last year I blogged about Shawn on two occasions, on June 25 and November 27.  His current blog, China Life Blog, has been virtually shut down, but his previous, award-winning blog, Korea Life Blog, is still active.  Read it soon because it too may be shut down in the future.  All traces of his life in China except for Jake’s post have vanished from the Internet.  I hope that Shawn’s Korea blog remains online so that people can read his fine work.  He was a very talented blogger.
 
His friend Jake posted an entry discussing what happened.  His ex-girlfriend, Ling Ling, recently started a blog of her own, most likely inspired by Shawn.  I won’t speculate on the specifics of Shawn’s death–read Jake’s narrative to learn more about what happened.  Shawn’s story reminds me of another tragedy that jarred me when I was younger–the suicide of one of my high school classmates.  He was a star basketball player with a full-ride scholarship to play basketball at a state university.  He was an excellent student and had what many thought was a rock-solid relationship with his wonderful girlfriend.  He was popular and beloved by our hometown.  Yet he committed suicide not more than two months after we graduated from high school.  The entire community was shocked by his untimely death.  Many suspected that breaking up with his girlfriend triggered his death, something I later confirmed with his ex-girlfriend.  At the time I felt so mortal, especially after another classmate died a month earlier in a car accident, and a third one nearly drowned.  We were high school graduates with a very bright future, but we were scared to death of dying and cognizant of our own mortality.  It was a very somber summer.
 
In case you are wondering why I’ve posted two tragic posts this week–Shawn’s death and the fall of Barbaro–no worries.  Life is good here.  I’m busy and a bit tired perhaps, but none the worse for wear.  Unlike Shawn, I will never live my life online through this blog.  Shawn’s blog was appealing to readers partly because he often blogged about his personal life.  This may have made him more vulnerable to suicide.  When you are popular in any way, even as a blogger, you find yourself under increasing pressure to perform.  When you write about the drama in your life, blogging magnifies those feelings.  The audience eggs you on and asks for more, more, more.  I wish Shawn could have sought comfort and praise through another means.  He might still be alive today.  Now one of my colleagues is working on helping Shawn’s family return his remains to the U.S.  What a sad ending to someone will immense promise.