No Such Thing As Bad Publicity

Several weeks ago, Barbara Nicolosi recommended an "othercott" of the Da Vinci Code. Instead of the usual tiresome protests and threats to never, never see any movies again, she suggested --which only serve to promote the film you're trying to protest--how about go to the movies the day DVC opens (May 19)--but see something else? I like how the lady thinks about these things, but decided against linking because --well, if there's a big media thing against DVC, then it becomes a boycott boycott instead of an anti-boycott boycott and that's just what the studios want. But now I've received an email urging me to othercott every day since she first suggested it (do read her post, it's more interesting than the email going around), so I figure it can't do any harm any longer to mention the thing. Plus, maybe if they see it on my blog, readers will stop sending me that dang email.

I haven't read DVC. My friends who have mostly don't seem to find it well-written enough for me to want to try. I find myself bemused by the people I know who claim to be Catholic & like the book, but there are so many popular items that appeal to me not at all that I've given up trying to understand. My own lack of interest is three-fold.

1. I think it's funny when people spill ink trying to prove that Catholics are secretly trying to take over the world. We're explicitly trying to take over the world, although "win over" describes our desire and tactic more appropriately. Christ's final words to the disciples: "Go make of all nations my disciples." It is the entire point of the religion. That you think this is some kind of secret only shows how bad we are at it.
2. If you're gonna have a secret revelation about Christianity that most Christians don't know, hasn't the Mary Magdalene thing just been done to death by now? Jesus Christ: Superstar, Last Temptation of Christ, the year 2000's Jesus bio-pics, heretical homilies we used to hear routinely before the JP the G generation of priests? Blah-de-blah. What else ya got?
3. The studios did not invent the "all publicity is good publicity thing." I think the Church did. You think Andrew Lloyd Webber was trying to help the Catholic Church with Superstar? That's about the most anti-Catholic thing going, but nobody takes it that way, as a priest friend of mine reminded us during a recent presentation. And Opus Dei, which apparently doesn't come off too well in DVC, reports increased interest (mostly positive) in it. Calling attention to Jesus seems to create positive interest in him, no matter in what context. My closest crony pointed out to me yesterday that 5 of the top 10 bestsellers in the WaPo book list yesterday are Christian-related. Not orthodox. But still, when was the last time we could say the popular culture was so interested in Christian themes?

But if you feel you must defend against DVC, here's some stuff. Screwtape on DVC. The US bishops' page on the question. You can get free DVC discussion materials for your group or parish here. And of course, see ya at the movies May 19th.

Update: In the immortal words of Sean Connery, "Do I sense a rebuke?" Ninme likes DVC. She hasn't persuaded me to read it, but I also think she mistook my point a little. I wasn't trying to stir up anti-DVC fervor, but rather tone it down a notch. My attitude is: the book seems like a big snooze; and the enormous energy being expended to debunk it seems to me to be a bit misplaced, since there's no such thing as bad publicity. So if you must protest, don't do it in a big, angry pointless boycott, but in the Nicolosi way. Or: just ignore it.