http://blogcritics.org/ A sinister cabal of superior bloggers on music, books, film, popular culture, politics, and technology - updated continuously. en Copyright 2005-2007 by the authors Mon, 29 May 2006 12:05:28 EDT http://backend.userland.com/rss Blogcritics.org custom software http://blogcritics.org/ Phillip WinnSunday, August 26, 2007, marks the switch of all Blogcritics.org article feeds from full-content to short-content. This is the result of several converging factors, and is unfortunately a permanent decision (as permanent as any decision can be on the web, that is). We are aware of all of the reasons that this is a Bad Idea, and we are aware that some of you will be quite upset about having to click on something to read the free content, and we're sorry. Unfortunately, despite great effort, full-content feeds are not currently economically viable. Two other factors are involved: full-content feeds have resulted in an unprecedented level of content theft, with BC content appearing on many websites, usually spam sites, without attribution or permission. This duplicate content causes a cascading set of problems, not the least of which is that search engines generally aren't favorable to duplicate content, and don't always guess correctly. Finally, our RSS advertising partner is strongly in favor of short-content feeds. We hope that you'll continue to subscribe to BC via RSS, and when an article grabs your eye, it's only a click away, still free on the BC website. Thank you for your understanding. Administration0@blogcritics.org Sun, 26 Aug 2007 12:00:00 EDT http://blogcritics.org/archives/2006/05/29/120528.php Shane S-TI saw The Da Vinci Code in theatres the second week of its release. I arrived 20 minutes before the show started and had to join a line (specifically for this movie) already over 100 people deep to get in. A week and a half before the movie (of which a complete analysis will later be written) was released, I was at a Barnes & Noble. An entire table was covered with the book, different sizes and colors of the book, books written about the book, and Dan Brown's other books (made famous after The Da Vinci Code was published). The games section featured titles such as Da Vinci's Mystery and Crack Da Vinci's Code -- these games were entirely unaffiliated with Dan Brown and the original book.Looking back on the initial release of the book (which has now sold over 40 million copies and been printed in 44 languages), Dan Brown wrote the fictional story as a tool to get the masses to read his theories (rooted in research) on religion. The immediate and immense popularity of the book rendered Brown successful in that sense. While the Catholic Church has not been overthrown from within, The Da Vinci Code has gotten people questioning the Church and Christianity in its entirety. Few people believe that Mary Magdalene is buried underneath the Pyramide Inversée at the Louvre, but the thought that it could be helps keep the topic in people's minds.After my visit to Barnes & Noble, I was certainly worried that Brown and his publisher were losing sight of The Da Vinci Code's purpose and just trying to cash in on its success. While that is certainly a factor in Da Vinci Mania, the movie actually made me believe that Brown was still on a mission. Every time I expected Sophie and Robert to exchange intimacy, there was none. The movie did not get sidetracked from the central plot with made-for-Hollywood romance, but instead followed the same zany path as the book in delivering Brown's religious theories.I do fear that the popularity of The Da Vinci Code has caused readers and viewers to forget its purpose. Many people said the movie was "fascinating," and "made me think," but most of those thoughts were lost by the time they pulled into the driveway. My friends, generally pretty intelligent, were lost when I tried to have a deep discussion about the religious meaning and implications of the movie. To most, The Da Vinci Code will simply be an exciting thriller. In that lies the paradox of The Da Vinci Code: Brown wrote a thriller plot to get people to read his non-fiction studies but the people often choose to look no further than the plot. Congratulations? Culture48458@blogcritics.org Mon, 29 May 2006 12:05:28 EDT