Still no word on whether or not the Vatican will issue a boycott of Angels and Demons, the follow-up to The Da Vinci Code. But apparently, Dan Brown’s jabs have hit a significant nerve for there’s lots of speculation about a papal smackdown of the film. Which, once again, leaves me all atingle.
Is this the only response religious groups have to products they find offensive — boycotts?
Director Ron Howard, in a recent essay entitled It’s a Thriller, Not a Crusade, responded to William Donohue of the Catholic League’s vocal denunciations of A&D. Howard wrote, “Let me be clear: neither I nor ‘Angels & Demons’ are anti-Catholic.” In fact, he said he believed Catholics would enjoy the movie as an “exciting mystery” set in the “awe-inspiring beauty” of Rome and that the accusations of an Illuminati massacre would be a blatant lie “if we had ever suggested our movie is anything other than the work of fiction.” Memo to Opie: If I want to experience the “awe-inspiring beauty” of Rome, I’ll go there.
Thankfully, the Vatican newspaper reviewed the film, describing it as “harmless” entertainment that would not endanger the church. Whew! That’s a relief. But apparently, this hasn’t eased the “call to arms.”
Take for instance, BoycottLiberalism.com. The site offers boycotts by the bundle. Looking for a book to ban or a product to avoid? Then look no further. For your convenience, there’s even “Boycotts of the Week.” This week’s boycotts? Donald Trump’s new book, the management group for Jennifer Aniston and Woody Harrelson, and of course, Angels and Demons. Hey, what would my existence be without something to boycott?
Is it just me, or is this knee-jerk reaction by religious groups problematic? Truth is: Boycotts rarely work, in fact, they often backfire — in two ways. Not only do they draw more attention to the target (the film, book, entertainer, etc.), they caricature the protester. It should be enough that the current Rotten Tomatoes’ rating for Angels and Demons is 41% (that’s a big fat smushy rotten tomato). But no. We’ve got to start yipping about revisionist history and religious intolerance, which also garners the church about a 41% percent approval rating.
It reminds me of that old adage: Rather than curse the darkness, we should light a candle. Boycotts are the equivalent of cursing the darkness. They also , I think, illustrate much of Christendom’s creative bankruptcy (or to put it another way, our lack of Light). Instead of posturing ourselves as incessant critics and condemners of culture, the Church should be creating something praiseworthy out of it. If we made better art (films, books, music, etc.), we’d probably spend less time protesting “contradictory” art. The alternative to boycotts is making a better product. But until the Church cultivates artistic ingenuity, we are destined to “boycotts of the week.”
