Dan Brown

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In a 2009 interview, Dan Brown described himself as a skeptic and that he 'gravitated away from religion'<ref>http://www.parade.com/news/2009/09/13-dan-brown-life-after-da-vinci-code.html</ref>.
 
In a 2009 interview, Dan Brown described himself as a skeptic and that he 'gravitated away from religion'<ref>http://www.parade.com/news/2009/09/13-dan-brown-life-after-da-vinci-code.html</ref>.
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==''The Da Vinci Code''==
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''The Da Vinci Code'' is Brown's first novel that tells the story of a [[conspiracy]] to hide the fact that [[Jesus]] was married to [[Mary Magdalene]] and had children. The novel also depicts the [[Knights Templar]] as [[Gnostic]]s who were in on the secret. The book uses footnotes to backup its outlandish claims even though they are [[bullshit]]. Brown also wrote another book full of [[pseudoscience|pseudo-scientific]] claims about [[CERN]] and the [[Vatican]] called ''Angels and Demons''.
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This book was also made into a bad movie with Tom Hanks.
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===A mercifully short summary===
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Jesus and Mary Magdalene had children, went to France, founded the Merovingian bloodline, the bloodline being considered the true [[Holy Grail]]. This conflicts with accepted Christian doctrine, and the similarly realistic ''Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade''. Many centuries of secrecy followed. Along came the Priory of Sion and the [[Knights Templar]], tasked with preserving the secret of the Grail. The [[Catholic Church]], specifically Opus Dei, were eager to preserve [[Christ]]'s lifestyle as a [[confirmed bachelor]], and thus the fun begins.
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Some of those who should have been keeping the secret decided to leave odd little clues around, Leonardo Da Vinci's ''The Last Supper'' being an example of this. A curator at the Louvre was murdered by a sinister albino monk, but not before he managed to leave clues written in his own blood. From this follows lots of running around the world, the sinister albino monk in hot pursuit, and finally a reading of Leonardo's secret message indicating that the Grail (Magdalene's remains) is buried beneath the pyramid in the Louvre. You'll thank me for saving you from having to watch the movie. If you want crazy pseudo-history then watch ''National Treasure''. At least in that case the author hasn't tried to sell it as being in any way factual.
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===Impact===
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The book was generally derided by critics<ref>[http://www.nytimes.com/2004/02/22/books/the-last-word-the-da-vinci-con.html The New York Times review of ''The Da Vinci Code''.]</ref> and the literate<ref>[http://itre.cis.upenn.edu/~myl/languagelog/archives/000844.html Language Log]</ref>, but this didn't prevent it from becoming the second-best selling book of 2004. Conspiracy theories sell - as do books with lots of implausible plot twists, plenty of action and exotic locations all wrapped up in short and easy sentences. ''The Da Vinci Code'' became the book that simply could not be avoided, and in the same way that [[Born again|born again Christians]] feel the need to share their profound discovery with everyone, innocent dinner party participants could scarcely escape having Brown's "revelations" shared with them.
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Sony Pictures produced a movie based on the book. The movie became the fifth highest grossing film of 2006.<ref>[http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?page=main&id=davincicode.htm Box Office Mojo's details on the movie adaptation]</ref>
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The Catholic Church and Opus Dei were not overly impressed by Brown's book or the movie adaptation. The church urged a boycott, while Opus Dei asked that a disclaimer be added to the movie. As is often the case with religiously motivated outrage, this probably just encouraged people to see what all the fuss was about.
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===Sued for copyright infringement===
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The background of ''The Da Vinci Code'' is borrowed from a book named ''[[Holy Blood, Holy Grail]]''. This book was sold as a non-fictional historical account of Christ's babymaking with Magdalene and the subsequent cover-ups instituted by the Catholic Church. The authors sued Brown for copyright infringement, but the case was decided against them. The Judge ruled that history and theories are not protected by copyright law, regardless of their accuracy. The moral of the story here is to avoid presenting confabulation as fact if you want to sue people who write a novels based on your junk.<ref>[http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12202180/ Judge rules on it's okay to borrow ideas from faux historical works]</ref> Another moral is: if a novelist has a hit using your work as a plot device, reissue your book with a sticker saying "the truth behind the novel" instead of getting on your high horse.
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==''The Lost Symbol''==
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While it contains the usual level of [[pseudohistory]] which readers have come to expect,  in this novel Mr. Brown goes somewhat off the deep end with the [[pseudoscience]] - especially with its enthusiastic promotion of [[Noetic science]] and the [[Washington, D.C. street design conspiracy theory]].
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===Plot summary===
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Dan Brown's hero has to race around a capital city solving strange enigmas while showing how clever he is to a pretty girl - so it's really the same as the last two.  The only change in this one is that the [[Masons]] are really really Good Guys, and the [[CIA]] is responsible for security in Washington.
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=== Anthropological usefulness ===
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If a [[conspiracy theory]] is even alluded to in this book, then it has conclusively jumped the shark.
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==External links==
 
==External links==
 
*[http://itre.cis.upenn.edu/~myl/languagelog/archives/000844.html The Dan Brown Code]
 
*[http://itre.cis.upenn.edu/~myl/languagelog/archives/000844.html The Dan Brown Code]
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*[http://www.debunkingdavinci.com/ Debunking Da Vinci.]
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*[http://www.sonypictures.com/homevideo/thedavincicode/ The official website of the movie for The Da Vinci Code]
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==Footnotes==
 
==Footnotes==
 
<references/>
 
<references/>
  
 
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Brown, Dan}}
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Revision as of 01:01, 11 September 2011

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This article may have a content or subject overlap with The Da Vinci Code and the pages could be merged. You can discuss this here.
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This article may have a content or subject overlap with The Lost Symbol and the pages could be merged. You can discuss this here.
This man has more money than you will ever see.
"Dan Brown writes sentences like "The famous man looked at the red cup." " —Stewart Lee[1]

Dan Brown is a very successful writer of action/suspense novels, including The Da Vinci Code, Angels and Demons, and most recently, The Lost Symbol

His plot-lines usually involve fact, pseudoscience and pseudohistory mixed in such a way as to leave less aware readers totally confused[2].

How far Mr Brown himself believes these ideas is a matter for conjecture.

In a 2009 interview, Dan Brown described himself as a skeptic and that he 'gravitated away from religion'[3].

Contents

The Da Vinci Code

The Da Vinci Code is Brown's first novel that tells the story of a conspiracy to hide the fact that Jesus was married to Mary Magdalene and had children. The novel also depicts the Knights Templar as Gnostics who were in on the secret. The book uses footnotes to backup its outlandish claims even though they are bullshit. Brown also wrote another book full of pseudo-scientific claims about CERN and the Vatican called Angels and Demons.

This book was also made into a bad movie with Tom Hanks.

A mercifully short summary

Jesus and Mary Magdalene had children, went to France, founded the Merovingian bloodline, the bloodline being considered the true Holy Grail. This conflicts with accepted Christian doctrine, and the similarly realistic Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade. Many centuries of secrecy followed. Along came the Priory of Sion and the Knights Templar, tasked with preserving the secret of the Grail. The Catholic Church, specifically Opus Dei, were eager to preserve Christ's lifestyle as a confirmed bachelor, and thus the fun begins.

Some of those who should have been keeping the secret decided to leave odd little clues around, Leonardo Da Vinci's The Last Supper being an example of this. A curator at the Louvre was murdered by a sinister albino monk, but not before he managed to leave clues written in his own blood. From this follows lots of running around the world, the sinister albino monk in hot pursuit, and finally a reading of Leonardo's secret message indicating that the Grail (Magdalene's remains) is buried beneath the pyramid in the Louvre. You'll thank me for saving you from having to watch the movie. If you want crazy pseudo-history then watch National Treasure. At least in that case the author hasn't tried to sell it as being in any way factual.

Impact

The book was generally derided by critics[4] and the literate[5], but this didn't prevent it from becoming the second-best selling book of 2004. Conspiracy theories sell - as do books with lots of implausible plot twists, plenty of action and exotic locations all wrapped up in short and easy sentences. The Da Vinci Code became the book that simply could not be avoided, and in the same way that born again Christians feel the need to share their profound discovery with everyone, innocent dinner party participants could scarcely escape having Brown's "revelations" shared with them.

Sony Pictures produced a movie based on the book. The movie became the fifth highest grossing film of 2006.[6]

The Catholic Church and Opus Dei were not overly impressed by Brown's book or the movie adaptation. The church urged a boycott, while Opus Dei asked that a disclaimer be added to the movie. As is often the case with religiously motivated outrage, this probably just encouraged people to see what all the fuss was about.

Sued for copyright infringement

The background of The Da Vinci Code is borrowed from a book named Holy Blood, Holy Grail. This book was sold as a non-fictional historical account of Christ's babymaking with Magdalene and the subsequent cover-ups instituted by the Catholic Church. The authors sued Brown for copyright infringement, but the case was decided against them. The Judge ruled that history and theories are not protected by copyright law, regardless of their accuracy. The moral of the story here is to avoid presenting confabulation as fact if you want to sue people who write a novels based on your junk.[7] Another moral is: if a novelist has a hit using your work as a plot device, reissue your book with a sticker saying "the truth behind the novel" instead of getting on your high horse.

The Lost Symbol

While it contains the usual level of pseudohistory which readers have come to expect, in this novel Mr. Brown goes somewhat off the deep end with the pseudoscience - especially with its enthusiastic promotion of Noetic science and the Washington, D.C. street design conspiracy theory.

Plot summary

Dan Brown's hero has to race around a capital city solving strange enigmas while showing how clever he is to a pretty girl - so it's really the same as the last two. The only change in this one is that the Masons are really really Good Guys, and the CIA is responsible for security in Washington.

Anthropological usefulness

If a conspiracy theory is even alluded to in this book, then it has conclusively jumped the shark.

External links

Footnotes

  1. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-yUDh_IErT4
  2. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/booknews/6232148/The-Lost-Symbol-and-The-Da-Vinci-Code-author-Dan-Brown-50-factual-errors.html
  3. http://www.parade.com/news/2009/09/13-dan-brown-life-after-da-vinci-code.html
  4. The New York Times review of The Da Vinci Code.
  5. Language Log
  6. Box Office Mojo's details on the movie adaptation
  7. Judge rules on it's okay to borrow ideas from faux historical works
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