Banning the Da Vinci Code
Published by Yazad Jal September 18th, 2004 in Culture and SocietyBanning a book just because someone might be offended by what’s written is a bad idea. Dan Brown’s Da Vinci Code is currently in a bit of hot water. It’s been banned in Lebanon and there are protests suggesting a ban in India.
It’s commendable to note that one of the main organisations mentioned (and pilloried) in the book, Opus Dei does not talk about a ban. Instead they have a detailed rebuttal on their website.
Disclaimer: In no way should this be construed as my support to Opus Dei. As an atheist, I disagree with most of what they hold dear. I’m just pleasantly surprised that they didn’t ask for a ban and instead gave a rebuttal.
19 Responses to “Banning the Da Vinci Code”
- 1 Trackback on Jan 24th, 2005 at 11:46 pm
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Too late. I am the only person in this country who hasn’t yet read the book.
Ohh no… now there will be more people who will say tht DVC is this n tht withour readin Foucaults Pendulum. The ban is just gonna give it more publicity
Oh well…I think they haven’t deduced anything right from the forbidden fruit tale of Adam and Eve! If they would have, they wouldn’t have asked for a ban knowing fully that a ban will only popularise the book and increase curiosity!
Interesting. But as far as India is concerned we have a long history of banning “Objectionable” books/movies - e.g. The Satanic Verses, Final Temptations, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.
Seeking ban on books seems to be a fashion in India.
Strangely followers of every religion seem to be intolerent towards any hint of contrvercy against their religion. There has been almost no reaction in the western (mostly christian ) countries. Infact the book is a best seller. Quite a different reception.
The Parsis too wanted some film about Alexander to be banned right? Why don’t you write about them? Your double standards are boggling the mind.
Why just the Da Vinci Code? They must also ban Darwin’s theory of evolution. Only then the puritan soul of Christian rest.
People have nothing better to do, eh?
The ban only goes to show that novelists shouldn’t distort history… Stupid people seriously believe such inaccurate novels presented as fact, particularly those with no cultural or religious history. Indeed, a great many Americans have believed every word of this book.
So Thomas, what you are saying is that fictional works should be banned because they might be stupid people who take the fiction for fact?
In that case even Shakespeare should be banned as it’s not difficult to make out the case that he too might have distorted history.
If they banned every controversal book in history there would be no books…
There are some Secret Passages in The Da Vinci Code.
an eye-opener for all those idiotic blind-folded catholics out there. when they disfigure other religions with crappy literature they don’t feel sorry . now let us make them taste their own shit !
Why banned DVC when it only portraits the possibilities of many things? It does not claim all as facts, though…It might shake your faith a little bit but the discretion to believe on this lies deeply within yourself.