I was speaking about the book and the movie, DaVinci Code, to the eighth grade class here at St. Edward School recently. I asked if any had read the book. No one had. I asked if any planned to see the movie. Every hand went up.
Such is the power of the movies. So every eighth grader now has a copy of the OSV brocure on the Catholic Response to the DaVinci Code. I am buying a copy of the "DaVinci Hoax" for the Faculty room, and ordering 1500 of the brochures for the parish.
Now I see a Vatican official has suggested a boycott of the movie.
I read the book some time ago because the Opus Dei protests at that time brought it to my attention. I like to decide things like this for myself, and so...... This kind of stuff is just going to further ensure that the movie will be a moneymaker. Sigh.
I do like your approach of providing ready access to catechesis about the misconceptions that can arise, especially in our younger folks, from seeing a movie with this type of pseudo-historical information.
"The novel is an international murder mystery centered on attempts to uncover a secret about the life of Christ that a clandestine society has tried to protect for centuries." I quote this from the link.
Educated "Catholic"adults actually believe this work of fiction!What then are they telling their children? This is how damaging the book really is. I never realized this until tonight at a reunion with my high school classmates. They are convinced that I need to read the book for my own education!!!What a waste of time and money.
Father Jeff - What a great idea to prepare the students before the movie - rather than trying to do damage control after! And you're right - movies are powerful.
I'm going with Barb Nicolosi's idea that we "othercott" the movie by going to see "Over the Hedge" the weekend DVC opens.
Father, I have compiled a good number of resources on the Da Vinci Code. I also recommend Amy Welborn's book -- I imagine some of your eighth graders might be intimidated by the thickness of The Da Vinci Hoax; while I find it to be the more 'scholarly' of the two, Amy's book is a quick-yet-substantial read and perfect for giving to a teenager. (In my humble opinion).
Mark Shea has also come out with a book on the subject in a Q&A format, which I imagine is also accessible for the younger crowd.