Angels and Demons: Fact and/or Fiction?
An assessment of Angels and Demons is highly dependent on whether Dan
Brown and the filmmakers intend us to evaluate it as a similar kind of work to The
Da Vinci Code, i.e. as a serious challenge to the history of science and
church history that's currently taught. If they do, then reviews will need
to make reference to the very long list of scientific inaccuracies, historical
inaccuracies, and mischaracterization of the complex and changing relationship
between religion and the sciences through history.
However, there is good reason to believe that this is not their intent: With
Angels and Demons, much of the drama takes place in public and in the
present time, so it's clearly not meant to be interpreted as a factual account.
The story's underlying conspiracy theory - that the Catholic Church had felt
threatened by the writings of Galileo and others, and had actively repressed
their dissemination - is known by many to be at least partly true, and so is
uncontroversial. However, for reasons which are complex, the continued
existence of The Illuminati - a secret, brutal, world-wide organization of
scientists, founded by Galileo - is not generally taken seriously by Dan
Brown's critics or his supporters.
In the following sections we'll look at both options:
Notes
- In
this interview with Dan Brown, he claims most of elements in the story -
including the controversial ones - are factual.
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| Contributed by: Adrian Wyard
|
