Music: Endless Story by Yuna Ito
Da Vinci Code
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After I read this book (August 2004), I had no doubt it will go to the big screen, it was just a matter of when it will happen. Surprisingly fast I'd say.. only 1 week till the premiere now. When I heard about it sometime last year, I was elated. When I heard that Tom Hanks will be playing Robert Langdon, I was esctatic! My top 3 favorite actors.. him, Sean Penn and Johnny Depp. No one else comes close.
With all the lawsuits and protests from various groups regarding the book and the movie, I thought the Malaysian censory board was going to ban this movie. I don't think that will happen now since the trailers are shown.. like everywhere. There has been quite a debate on this matter, which I don't really follow or care about. But I've read some la.. mostly letters to the NST. One person said that this movie should be banned because the whole story misleads the readers about.. err.. Christianity? Jesus Christ? the Templars? Opus Dei? It has been claimed that some facts about the historic places, the legends, the conspiracy theories etc etc are not true, or not exactly true. In all honesty, I don't really care about any of this. So what if they're true, or not true? None of it concerns me, or affects me in any way. I read the book for the sheer enjoyment and excitement I get out of it. It is an awesome fiction. If I were interested, I would've since long ago watched all the documentaries on tv or read the books that investigated/clarified the truth. They're everywhere, like mushrooms. (err.. why mushroooms?)
However, this is me. It's no laughing matter for historians.. cause its like.. their job, their interest, the subject of their studies, the things which they revere, the facts that they have discovered and researched are being twisted so badly, exposed to the whole world in extra-terrestrial proportions... of course they're pissed la. I guess I understand their situation. Same goes to devoted/religious sects or whoever of whatever bla bla i dunnoo lahhhh (Yes I admit I'm an ignorant person). So these group of people are doing their best to educate the masses. I think some good has come out of this in a way. More people will be more knowledgable, interested and not ignorant (unlike me), the historic buildings mentioned in the book become popular tourist destinations (hence dapat fame and money)..etc.
I digressed. Back to what I wanted to say, so this person said the story misleads people. I would think that, the fact that the whole story is fictional, shouldn't that register in everyone's head, ie not to take the facts so seriously? I mean, it's fictional, its MADE UP, why all the commotion? So okay, maybe some people just wanna believe, right? But with all the the documentaries and books I said previously, shouldn't that make them aware now that not all facts written in the book are true? (in using the word 'fact', I am just refering to the facts included in the book which can either be true or made-up, not the true meaning of the word 'fact', which I understand as real occurences. Err... got that?). Anyway, if these people still choose to believe everything in the book as real, then they're really morons la.. Percaya membabi buta. I would think that the masses of people who read any books at all are clever enough not to believe everything they read, and at least do a follow up in search for the truth/satisfy their curiosity/expand their knowledge etc etc.
There was another person who said, since this book is full of (true) facts, why is it classified as fiction? Why sell it under fiction in the bookstores? What a freakin moron. I don't even wanna explain why this person is a moron. If you (yes you) can't figure out why, then you're a moron too. Why did NST even publish this letter, I can't comprehend. I also read another short clip. One person from some prominent linguistic society in Malaysia said, he would support the decision to ban the movie, not because all the issues mentioned above, but because he doesn't want Malaysian teenagers to start using 'Da' instead of 'the' in everyday conversation and SMSes. Oh my goddddddddddddd.. does he think Malaysians, teenagers or not, are THAT stupid? What an insult. First of all, we all know its Leonardo Da Vinci. Secondly, the book is titled The Da Vinci Code.
A Christian said, this should be welcomed as an obstacle and prove your worth as a devoted one. This should be your chance to educate and create awareness. Now this is a good reaction. Another person said, rather than ban the movie, they (who?) should put a disclaimer before the movie or sth like that, to serve as reminder. While I think this is an acceptable idea and I'd probably agree with it as a solution to satisfy everyone whose complaining, I just read today that Ron Howard (the director) doesn't want to do anything of that sort, stating that no other spy-thriller movies has ever had to do such a thing, and he doesn't see why his movie must resort to it. I guess he has a point.
Anyway, we can't satisfy everybody. There's always gonna be protesters for anything and everything, even if its only one person. But I think, there are more people who wants to see this movie than those who don't, and I'm one of 'em. Please have some faith in our intelligence. Some might not agree with my views above, well I'm entitled to say what I want. of course, I welcome a healthy discussion and am open to other views, just make sure it is presented in a nice and civil manner. if u can't do sth as simple as that, then just piss off..
Today's pictures:
One of the museums mentioned in the book.
Musee de Louvre. Paris. Winter 2004.
View from inside
Mona Lisa.. kecik je, aku ingatkan besar gila..
