The Da Vinci Code
- 主题发起人 shusheng
- 开始时间
- 注册
- 2003-07-10
- 消息
- 9,868
- 荣誉分数
- 440
- 声望点数
- 193
Hm..., 公民报的编辑也混CFC的吗？
From today's Citizen:
One-third of Canadian readers believe the Da Vinci Code is true
The book has been condemned by Christian church officials, delighted conspiracy theorists and spawned a global pop culture phenomenon, writes Paul Gessell.
Paul Gessell
The Ottawa Citizen
Friday, June 24, 2005
Almost two million Canadians who read the mega-selling book, The Da Vinci Code, ended the novel convinced that Jesus Christ fathered a line of descendants on Earth, a new survey suggests.
The coast-to-coast survey for the National Geographic Channel conducted by Decima Research found that, among 1,005 adults surveyed June 9-12, 16 per cent had read the book in the past two years.
Among those readers, 32 per cent believed the story that "a holy bloodline exists and that this secret has been protected through the ages by a dedicated society," the television channel announced yesterday.
Assuming the survey results truly indicate public opinion in a country of 32.8 million people, about 5.2 million Canadians would have read the book and about 1.7 million would believe it to be true. Based on the survey sample size, results can be considered accurate within 3.1 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.
The survey was conducted to coincide with the 15-hour broadcast Sunday on the National Geographic Channel of Da Vinci Code Sunday. Programming includes three back-to-back documentaries about the book by author Dan Brown. The three documentaries are, in total, five hours long and will be broadcast repeatedly on the digital channel from 1 p.m. until 4 a.m. Monday.
The Da Vinci Code was published in 2003 and has since sold more than 25 million copies in 44 languages. The novel suggests that Jesus and Mary Magdalene produced descendants. According to the plot, Jesus' heirs were able to maintain their secrecy over the centuries because of an international conspiracy; clues to unravelling all these mysteries can be found in various books, architecture and artworks, including paintings by Italian Renaissance master, Leonardo Da Vinci.
The book has been condemned by some church officials, delighted conspiracy theorists, spawned a pop culture phenomenon and is about to be made into a Hollywood film.
Trailers for the film are already being screened in theatres alongside the latest Star Wars film, although not one scene has yet been shot. Britain's Westminster Abbey has refused to allow director Ron Howard to shoot scenes from the film there because the church believes the book to be "theologically unsound."
A. Trevor Hodge, a retired classics professor at Carleton University, has described The Da Vinci Code as "a bad book." However, Mr. Hodge said he is not surprised by the results of the National Geographic Channel survey indicating legions of Canadians believe the storyline to be true.
"There are a lot of people who will want to believe it," Mr. Hodge said. "They believe in conspiracy theories."
Conspiracy theories are, indeed, popular. Remember the dying days of the Brian Mulroney government, when public opinion polls showed fewer people supported the Conservatives than believed Elvis was alive and hidden away somewhere? How many continue to believe U.S. president, John Kennedy, was assassinated by the F.B.I.? And what about all those conspiracies to hide alien spaceship landings?
Mr. Hodge said the book is "dangerous." It's officially a novel -- and that means a fictional story -- yet it begins by stating that it is "factual."
Mr. Brown addresses these points on his website.
"The Da Vinci Code is a novel and therefore a work of fiction," he writes. "If you read the 'fact' page you will see it clearly states that the documents, rituals, organization, artwork and architecture in the novel all exist. The 'fact' page makes no statement whatsoever about any of the ancient theories discussed by fictional characters. Interpreting those ideas is left to the reader."
The idea of a sexual relationship between Jesus and Mary Magdalene is not new. Richard Wagner alludes to it in his opera Parsifal. Remember the broadway play, and later movie, Jesus Christ, Superstar? Sexual tension gripped the stage.
The idea of Jesus having descendants was popular for centuries in France, where some kings claimed Mary Magdalene was their ancestor. The late Diana, Princess of Wales, was even related to this family of supposedly holy rulers known as the Merovingian line of European royalty. That means Prince William, the future king of Canada, really could claim one day to rule by divine right.
© The Ottawa Citizen 2005
From today's Citizen:One-third of Canadian readers believe the Da Vinci Code is true
The book has been condemned by Christian church officials, delighted conspiracy theorists and spawned a global pop culture phenomenon, writes Paul Gessell.
Paul Gessell
The Ottawa Citizen
Friday, June 24, 2005
Almost two million Canadians who read the mega-selling book, The Da Vinci Code, ended the novel convinced that Jesus Christ fathered a line of descendants on Earth, a new survey suggests.
The coast-to-coast survey for the National Geographic Channel conducted by Decima Research found that, among 1,005 adults surveyed June 9-12, 16 per cent had read the book in the past two years.
Among those readers, 32 per cent believed the story that "a holy bloodline exists and that this secret has been protected through the ages by a dedicated society," the television channel announced yesterday.
Assuming the survey results truly indicate public opinion in a country of 32.8 million people, about 5.2 million Canadians would have read the book and about 1.7 million would believe it to be true. Based on the survey sample size, results can be considered accurate within 3.1 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.
The survey was conducted to coincide with the 15-hour broadcast Sunday on the National Geographic Channel of Da Vinci Code Sunday. Programming includes three back-to-back documentaries about the book by author Dan Brown. The three documentaries are, in total, five hours long and will be broadcast repeatedly on the digital channel from 1 p.m. until 4 a.m. Monday.
The Da Vinci Code was published in 2003 and has since sold more than 25 million copies in 44 languages. The novel suggests that Jesus and Mary Magdalene produced descendants. According to the plot, Jesus' heirs were able to maintain their secrecy over the centuries because of an international conspiracy; clues to unravelling all these mysteries can be found in various books, architecture and artworks, including paintings by Italian Renaissance master, Leonardo Da Vinci.
The book has been condemned by some church officials, delighted conspiracy theorists, spawned a pop culture phenomenon and is about to be made into a Hollywood film.
Trailers for the film are already being screened in theatres alongside the latest Star Wars film, although not one scene has yet been shot. Britain's Westminster Abbey has refused to allow director Ron Howard to shoot scenes from the film there because the church believes the book to be "theologically unsound."
A. Trevor Hodge, a retired classics professor at Carleton University, has described The Da Vinci Code as "a bad book." However, Mr. Hodge said he is not surprised by the results of the National Geographic Channel survey indicating legions of Canadians believe the storyline to be true.
"There are a lot of people who will want to believe it," Mr. Hodge said. "They believe in conspiracy theories."
Conspiracy theories are, indeed, popular. Remember the dying days of the Brian Mulroney government, when public opinion polls showed fewer people supported the Conservatives than believed Elvis was alive and hidden away somewhere? How many continue to believe U.S. president, John Kennedy, was assassinated by the F.B.I.? And what about all those conspiracies to hide alien spaceship landings?
Mr. Hodge said the book is "dangerous." It's officially a novel -- and that means a fictional story -- yet it begins by stating that it is "factual."
Mr. Brown addresses these points on his website.
"The Da Vinci Code is a novel and therefore a work of fiction," he writes. "If you read the 'fact' page you will see it clearly states that the documents, rituals, organization, artwork and architecture in the novel all exist. The 'fact' page makes no statement whatsoever about any of the ancient theories discussed by fictional characters. Interpreting those ideas is left to the reader."
The idea of a sexual relationship between Jesus and Mary Magdalene is not new. Richard Wagner alludes to it in his opera Parsifal. Remember the broadway play, and later movie, Jesus Christ, Superstar? Sexual tension gripped the stage.
The idea of Jesus having descendants was popular for centuries in France, where some kings claimed Mary Magdalene was their ancestor. The late Diana, Princess of Wales, was even related to this family of supposedly holy rulers known as the Merovingian line of European royalty. That means Prince William, the future king of Canada, really could claim one day to rule by divine right.
© The Ottawa Citizen 2005
