medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
James Aldrich wrote:
> The problem with Dan Brown is that he continually appears in the media
> asserting the factual basis of the book. When challenged on his facts or
> scholarship he reverts to "it's just a story." He is an advocate of the
> whacky positions of his characters but won't engage in any debate of the
> material.
Re. the Documentary or Fiction dichotomy:
This situation of producing fiction which is craftily hyped to cause many to
accept it as non-fiction (or, for that matter, as "the real facts") came to the
fore again during the recent American elections, with the movie "Fahrenheit
911".
One wonders if the filmmaker of "Fahrenheit 911" observed the "Da Vinci Code"
furor, and appropriated the idea in crafting his movie, which same film caused
some to have their angst raised to the boiling point. One wonders, also, how
many Americans had their decision for whom to vote affected by having seen that
movie.
This is not to say that fiction has not been used to effect social change or to
dish up politics in the past ("Uncle Tom's Cabin" and "Gulliver's Travels").
Cheers,
Terrill
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