A Case of Déjà vu

 

 

 

 

 

 

The first thing that came to mind when I heard about The DaVinci Code was how similar the premise was to the 1982 non-fiction book Holy Blood, Holy Grail by Michael Baigent, Richard Leigh and Henry Lincoln. In brief, the book’s premise is that a priest named Bérenger Saunière became inexplicably wealthy after being assigned to Rennes-Le-Chateau in . The source of his wealth? A mysterious secret he discovered and used to blackmail the . The secret, of course, is that Jesus was married to Mary Magdalene and had a child that formed the lineage of the Merovingian dynasty of kings. Enter the Priory of Sion, keepers of this “holy grail” – or, more accurately, “royal blood” from the word sangraal – who were waiting for the right time to reintroduce Jesus‚ descendant and reclaim his/her rightful royal throne.

 

 

 

 

 

 

What is particularly noteworthy about Holy Blood, Holy Grail is how the authors’ account of the Holy Grail presents a picture of Jesus that undermines Christian beliefs. In discussing Herod’s massacre of children, they argue the event may not have happened quite as described but, in any case, revealed Herod to be worried about “a very real, concrete, political threat — the threat of a man who possessed a more legitimate claim to the throne than his own, and could muster substantial popular support.” (p. 363, emphasis added). In regard to Herod’s precarious claim to the throne, they claim that he could not, “realistically speaking, have been seriously threatened by a mystical or spiritual saviour, – of the kind the Holy Land at the time already abounded anyway.” (p. 363). The authors then go on to explain the relationship between Jesus’ claim to the throne, involving his descendance from David and Solomon, and how his marriage to an allegedly politically significant Mary Magdalene (given her family ties) would have cemented that claim. In other words, not Christ the Son of God, but Jesus the political reactionary who would be king.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jesus, DaVinci-Style

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now let’s consider The DaVinci Code, which also involves the Priory of Sion and a secret lineage beginning with Jesus. A key difference with Holy Blood, Holy Grail is that Mary Magdalene — her womb, specifically — is considered to be the Grail more so than the lineage itself. The Priory of Sion, so poorly developed in the film, is relegated to the vague status of protector to the lineage from the evil Opus Dei, and a quasi-pagan motherhood cult indulging in spiritual sexual orgies to boot. And so Mary Magdalene herself is the object of worship. Even the wishy-washy agnostic Robert Langdon ultimately comes to kneel reverently when he figures out the location of her tomb.

 

 

 

 

 

 

So it seems that The DaVinci Code really is trying very hard, as the official movie website claims, to “threaten over 2,000 years of accepted dogma.” (http://www.sonypictures.com/movies/thedavincicode/)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wait, There’s a Twist!

 

 

 

 

 

 

But consider this: Mary Magdalene, the Grail legends, the royal lineage – in sum, the big secret – wouldn’t have any meaning or importance if they weren’t tied into Jesus and Jesus was anything other than a Very Important Person. This leads to the curious conclusion that far from threatening accepted dogma, The DaVinci Code actually reinforces it by being completely dependent on the very thing it purports to critique. Take away Jesus and you have nothing.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Of course, the controversy may be that Holy Blood, Holy Grail and, to a lesser exten, The DaVinci Code, strip Jesus of his divinity or reinvent him a bit. But this is neither new (as even Islam holds Jesus to be an important prophet, but not the Son of God) nor quite accurate. Both ascribe a political importance to Jesus that isn’t incompatible with divine significance. They even go so far as to say as much.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hardly a challenge, is it?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hollywood and Religion

 

 

 

 

 

 

This brings me to a grander conclusion, namely that the charges that Hollywood is anti-religion are more paranoid than substantial. Christian groups are apparently howling that the MPAA gave a rating of PG to an upcoming film, Facing the Giants, that they feel should be a G, and are thus emblematic of an anti-religious Hollywood . But the MPAA is a strange, dysfunctional group of prudish censors notorious for slapping adult ratings for harmless things like swearing and sex but giving violence a lot of leeway. No points awarded for criticizing their typically bizarre decisions.

 

 

 

 

 

 

As films like The DaVinci Code show, Hollywood doesn’t really have the teeth to even risk offending an audience the majority of whose members are religious. Being anti-religion would hurt the bottom line. We have to turn to independent filmmakers like Brian Flemming for real, uncompromising challenges to accepted dogma. His next feature, a fictional story, will be based on the premise of his documentary The God Who Wasn’t There. Jesus Christ as a figment of history’s imagination. Now that’s a challenge.