Dan Brown - Da Vinci Code (1 Viewer)

[randomstudent]

ive read his books, (and sure that you have as well) and im wondering if i should do the assessment based on either the cult; Priory of Sion, The Illuminati, the Masons or somewhere along the lines of conspiracy theories, this will be interesting to me and was wondering what you guys thought of it, the question will be something like:


Was Dan Brown's interpretation of " The Illuminati " in "Angels and Demons" accurate? What were some things that really happened that he didnt put in his book to avoid critism from Catholics? Should readers and historians belive what he is wrting and use it as a source?


Im open to suggestions of other questions, other ideas and any useful links and sites Also will this essay be about 2500 words?



p.s. 1st post !!111shiftone ! !!1

 

[Trinket]

I did a Modern History IRP on the Da Vinci Code and how accurate it was in portraying Opus Dei. It was interesting, and I was considering doing something similar in Ext. History, but my teacher warned me away from the conspiracy topics - apparently good, solid sources are hard to find.

Since it's such a recent topic I don't know if it'll have histiographical debates... debates, yes, but more political/socially-based debate than histiography. What have your teachers said? It's internally marked, after all.

Edit: Forgot to add: if you're looking for the sources Dan Brown used when writing Angels and Demons, you'll find a partial bibliography on his official website. I can't remember the URL but if you Google 'Dan Brown' it should be the first to pop up.

 

[randomstudent]

thanks for the help, i havent asked the teacher yet, although i am planing soon..

but i need a question, can you help?

 

[Plebeian]

You may run into trouble in that Dan Brown acknowledges he is writing fiction, no matter how historically based it is. He doesn't really distinguish between what he thinks is actually true, and what's just in there to make the story more exciting or controversial. I also think that analysing his books in themselves might be difficult, because as Trinket said, most of the debate surrounding him is more social than historical. I suspect that most of the 'analysis' of his books by other people was really just intended to cash in on his success, rather than provide an extremely rigorous discussion.

If you want to have a topic in this area, you might be better to analyse something like 'Holy Blood, Holy Grail', the non-fiction work that The Da Vinci Code was based on (Dan Brown actually refers to it in the novel) and the other related works by actual historians in the field. Having done a project on Pearl Harbor, where there are plenty of conspiracy-theorist nuts writing books and websites, I can tell you that I found solid, evidence-based historiography from actual historians a lot easier to use and believe than books filled with unsubstantiated recounts of supposed secret dealings. But at the end of the day, it's your choice, so if you would prefer to go with examination of a conspiracy theory (they are usually interesting, after all), it's up to you.

 

[rhapsody11]

and im wondering if i should do the assessment based on either the cult

No, don't.

What are your other ideas?

 

[nwatts]

Techie: I think you'll find he made a public statement claiming accuracy. Hence, controversy.

I say find something else. You'll find yourself bored of this topic easily because it's so popular at the moment. And yes, mine was 2500 words.

 

[stargaze]

Hi,

I didn't do history extension, but I did my major work with some reference to conspiracy theories and so there was a bit on Dan Brown's 'The Da Vinci Code'.

I think you are kind of taking 'Angels and Demons' a bit too seriously. I'm no history buff, but I think groups such as the Illuminati are based on speculation rather than solid evidence. Even if they did exist, perhaps the role Dan Brown and others have given them has been a tad overrated.

Like i said, I don't know the history extension syllabus, but if its okay to go with conspiracy theories then, as Techie said, those are always interesting.

Just on 'The Holy Blood, The Holy Grail', yes, it is a non-fiction work and its good because it tends to provide a more investigative piece, and the conclusion is more open ended. I saw an interview with Michael Baigent (of the authors), and he said something along the lines of - 'this is our interpretation of history based on what we have discovered'.

Anyway, I'm not sure if that was relevance! But I saw major work + conspiracy theories and got excited.

Good luck~

 

[randomstudent]

ok, so doign a topic about The holy Grail or the holy blood is better? i guess the holy grail has many speculations of what it is, but many think its a treasure of some sort..
ok im thinking of doign it on the holy grail, any other suggestions about conspiracy topics? (i think it is allowed in the syllabus)

also, whjat question may iimplement if i do the holy grail

 

[rhapsody11]

Yeah you can do theories and myths of the holy grail.. the book "Holy Blood, Holy Grail" will help you heaps, its an interesting read!.
I don't know what question you could do, but you could just do theories/ideologies of the Holy Grail-like some people believe its a chalice, some believe its jesus' royal bloodline.. maybe you could do something like evidence of the holy grail.. and put focus on groups like the Knights Templars. You could just talk about the iconography of the Holy Grail on historical artifacts.

Again, I would stay away from this.

There is nothing substantial that you could write about, other than how the grail popular myth has developed.

I don't think I've ever read a book in the last 8 years that has presented new and interesting evidence since I first started reading Templar myth, The Sign and The Seal, Holy Blood, Holy Grail etc.

Do not write anything about secret societies. For one, Stonemasons are a real group of people. All the Masons that I've met have been nice people and just brush off all the Dan Brown bullshit. Most people that have had anything to do with Masons know that Brown's books are just thriller trash; don't treat them as anything serious. Personally, if I were in charge of the world, I'd just tell people to stop making a fuss over such a piece of crap.

It's basically one of those questionst that make markers groan; eg The Pyramids. I get a headache just thinking about it...

Ancient_nut started a great thread here, to which I added a few ideas. Hers seem really great, and I think mine are original, too. I've generally thought about them in terms of possible honours theses