Angels & Demons: Read all about it right here
Thursday May 14, 2009
So here's the good news: It is safe to go see "Angels & Demons." I didn't think the novel of the same name was especially anti-Catholic, but director Ron Howard was apparently stung by reactions to "The Da Vinci Code"...
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This blog is no longer updated and is closed for comments. We welcome your comments about Catholicism in our Catholic forums.
David Gibson is an award-winning religion writer who specializes in writing about the Catholic Church, which he joined as a convert at the age of 30. He is the author The Rule of Benedict: Pope Benedict XVI and His Battle with the Modern World. He also wrote The Coming Catholic Church: How the Faithful are Shaping a New American Catholicism. He has written about Catholicism for leading newspapers and magazines, including the New York Times, Newsweek, The Wall Street Journal, New York magazine, Boston magazine, Fortune, Commonweal, and America. Gibson worked in Rome for Vatican Radio for several years and traveled frequently with Pope John Paul II. He later covered religion for The Star-Ledger of New Jersey. He has co-written several recent documentaries on Christianity for CNN. For further information check out his website at dgibson.com.Search This Blog
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Two thumbs up for the review!
I might actually go see it!
http://www.cliburne.com/Clyburn_family_news__Vol_18.htm
Well if I get a chance, I may watch the movie. After all it's simply an action movie. I didn't see the DaVinca Code, but read the book and thought it poor writing but by the end it started getting better, and I enjoyed it. See, my faith is not shaky, and it allows for entertainment. I am Catholic altho I was over 50 years old when I joined the church. God is...... He's not just a set of rules created by man.
I felt a slight disconnect from the book, and was surprised at what appeared to be the intrusion of fear of what the Church or critics might say if there appeared anything anti-Catholic in the movie. I enjoyed the movie, but it was no where near as intense as the book. A quick search on the internet for information about the "Illuminati" might raise some eyebrows and strike fear into the hearts of die-hard Catholics who see the Church as without conflict or error or as being perfect. As for the review, it is indeed in tradition with Catholic faith and reason. I do believe there are many hidden truths the Church would not like to be exposed.....a movie about the Inquisitions would certainly spark controversy.
saw Ron Howard and Tom Hanks promoting their movie "Angels and Demons." It was 30 minutes of softball from Mr. King to Howard and Hanks, as the following link will attest to.
http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0905/15/lkl.01.html
Here is a quote from transcript.
"Well, first of all, if you look at Dan Brown, I think it even says it's a novel. You know, it's fiction from start to finish, from the moment you open the book cover.
And so, second -- first I'd say that, and it certainly applies to the movie.
Second, I would say that what Dan does and the movie, therefore, does, is it exploits fringe theories that he's researched, ancient conspiracy theories, or -- and some modern. You know, if you go on the Internet, you can find a site that tells you that Barack Obama is a member of the Illuminati today.
And he weaves all these possibilities into a very exciting and very thought-provoking stew. And it's -- you know, I think the reason it's been so popular and so successful is that it works on a lot of different levels and pushes a lot of buttons."
By following that logic, you would expect them to bring Salman Rushdie's "The Satanic Verses" to the screen, right? Of course not! Bashing Catholics is much safer pursuit, especially in Hollywood; don't you think? Here is another quote from the link.
"KING: You think the church, Tom, should be involved in, say, state issues like gay marriage? I know you were opposed to Proposition 8, were you not?
HANKS: I was. I was. I still am.
I think we have a president in the United States of America that our founding fathers were very smart to, first of all, dream up and then to codify -- they write down on a piece of paper that says very distinctly a separation of church and state. I think there are things that one must render under Caesar, and there are things that you must render under God. And I think that's one of the things that makes America as strong and good as it is."
In Hollywood the message to Christians is we can openly trash your belief systems, so long as we say it is fiction. However, if you as a person of faith who brings their ideas to the public square, this is verboden! Yet they wonder why people complain about Anti-Christian bias in Hollywood. What do you think?
Hmmm, don't know what to think of it. I thought the 'Da Vinci Code' movie was really anti-catholic (not to mention anti-christian in general) but I always knew that 'Angels and Demons' was tamer than it's predecessor. I still will probably not see the movie though, why in any way contribute money to dan brown? It still kills me that Tom Hanks does these kind of films, I always liked him. Then again he is kind of a far-left guy, so what do you expect? Also, to answers some of these user comments...
If they actually made a HISTORICALLY accurate film about the inqusition (by that I am refering the the famed spanish inqusition, there were several after all) then there would be no fear or remorse over it. The inqusitions (in particular the spanish) are incredibly over hyped and made into some massive murderous campaign against non-catholics. Not true though, historical evidence suggests that maybe 2,000 people were killed in the spanish inquistion over the 3 or 4 hundred years they took place (a far cry from the hundreds of thousands, or even millions that anti-catholics and hysterists have proported over time, heck, there was not even a million people to spare at the time!). The inqusitions were demonized and taken out of context by fearful protestants (especially the english kind, who had feared the spanish would bring the inqusition to their shores) and anti-catholic bigots. So if hollywood overcame it's own nature and made a historically accurate movie about them, then there would be no problem.
Secondly, 'seperation of church and state' does not appear in the constitution at all, but a letter Thomas Jefferson wrote to a group of baptists around the time of his presidential election. Even 'seperation' of CHURCH and state, does not mean seperation of RELIGION and state. When will those people realize that?! No official 'church of america' does not mean that religion is meant to be banned from the public or governmental square, while the govenment does not legislate on faith, people are expected to bring there religious beliefs with them, and yes that means even those who hold office. The founders respected and believed in the place of religion in society too much to try some kind of quasi-secular non-sense the left in this country is always proporting they founded this country with.
But other than those things, I long for the day hollywood stops making the usual anti-religious crap it to often makes. I know, I know, but I can dream can't I?
You people amaze me....you are all roped up in religion so much that you cant stand a book that doesnt agree with what you say...who cares if there are anti catholic parts in the movies or books...Dan Brown wrote books that sell and if you didnt notice the world is all about money these days and i bet Dan Brown has way more then you...he is an amazing writer and the movie adaptation was an utter failure compared to the book. You people should quit your b*tching and grow up. No book or movie should ever affect your religious beliefs
David, I too was curious whether the Great Castration actually happened or not. Apparently it didn't (what a relief!). Here's the answer by religious sects scholar Massimo Introvigne:
The legend [of the GC] dates back to English-language anti-clerical pamphlets of the late 19th century. What is true is that certain statues had their prominent genitalia covered by fig leaves. This happened at various stages during the 17th, 18th, and 19th century (not only in Rome) and was certainly not a new idea of Pius IX. The claim in the movie that pagan statues in the center of Rome were destroyed by Pius IX “at the end of the 19th century” is preposterous. At “the end of the 19th century” Pius IX was dead, and the center of Rome was administered by the (quite anti-clerical) Kingdom of Italy. If anything, Pius IX had a keen interest in archeology and in restoring the ancient historical and artistic monuments of Rome. He was even criticized for this by Catholics who believed that supporting Roman archeology was not part of the Church’s mission, or a waste of its resources.
Full text at http://www.cesnur.org/2005/mi_illuminati_en.htm
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