The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown

The Da Vinci Code is a suspense thriller novel by Dan Brown. 
What difference do you see in the portrayal of 'Ophelia' (Kate Winslet) in Kenneth Branagh's Hamlet, 'Elizabeth' ( Helena Bonham Carter) in Kenneth Branagh's Mary Shelley's Frankenstein or ' Hester Prynne' (Demi Moore) in Roland Joffé's The Scarlet Letter' or David Yates's 'Harmione Granger' (Emma Watson) in last four Harry Potter films - and 'Sophie Neuve' (Audrey Tautau) in Ron Howard's The Da Vinci Code? How would justify your answer?

If we compare Ophelia with Hermione or Sophie Neuve, then there is a vast difference. 21^st century  female characters are getting more space. Female characters has  grown a lot.  They are equal or more smarter than male characters. Sophie and Hermione both accompanies to male members in the journey. But its in novel,  the picture is different in the movie.

Here it is necessary to clarify that there is a wide difference between portrayal female characters in literature and movies. 

When representation of female is observed deeply one will find problem that female body is largely objectified. This objectification is problamatic. This can be proved by above mentioned references that How Ophelia's ( Kate Winslet)in Kenneth Branagh's Hamlet is shown. This kind of presentation is not there in original Hamlet by Shakespeare. The kind of sexual scenes and nudity is shown that is objectifying female's body as a commodity. The same kind of observation can be derieve from the character of Elizabeth of Frankenstein also. Hester Prynne (Demi Moore) is also showned nude in the movie. The point is that female’s body is used as commodity. Hermione is also used as a object for the rivalry between Harry and  Ron.

But Ron Howard  didn’t do that, that is very good thing. Throughout the movie director is able to catch the spirit of the FEMININE SACREDNESS.  During entire movie, no one will find camera rolling over female’s body for sensual pleasure. There is not a single kissing scene in entire movie, even if it is a blockbuster hit movie. Western media generally criticized for showing lowliness of female’s body as a object. But the spirit of the novel is that in pagan religion both gender were equal. The binaries are created later on. So it tries to look female as  a sacred one. Sophie’s character is ideally portrayed to show feminine sacredness.

·      (If)You have studied ‘Genesis’ (The Bible), ‘The Paradise Lost’ (John Milton) and ‘The Da Vinci Code’ (Dan Brown). Which of the narrative/s seem/s to be truthful? Whose narrative is convincing to the contemporary young mind?

It is an age old debate that literature/ movie misrepresents reality but the point is that it never claims that it says truth. It is SEMI- HISTORICAL. It uses historical evidences to construct a new story. But, if one asks forcefully to chooses one of three, then I would choose The Da Vinci Code as a more convincing narrative. Because Bible says that Eve is created from the rib of Adam, which is not possible to believe scientifically. Bible also says that God has created entire universe, but empirical evidences to prove it right are not available. Even it seems difficult to believe for the rational mind people.

·        What harm has been done to humanity by the biblical narration or that of Milton’s in The Paradise Lose? What sort of damage does narrative like ‘The Vinci Code’ do to humanity?

The damage done by Biblical narration and Paradise lost is that they have created binaries. And put man into privileging position and female into under privileged position. All women started believing that they are the responsible for the fall of man from heaven  & suffering of entire mankind. This realization as inferior is damage done by it. in one or another way it tries to say that if you trap in argument of  female (as Eve) then you will suffer like Adam- this is problematic. 
Milton has divided the role of male and female in society-that female should do house hold work and male should engage in intellectual work. When Raphel comes to inform about the possible danger of Satan, Eve is absent. Thus, putting Eve (female) away from intellectual discussion and deciding their role is problematic. 

The Da Vinci Code has a very progressive beginning with Prof. Langdon. but what he does at the end of the novel is regressive. He kneels down at the Sarcophagus of Mary Magdalene. He suppose to reveal the secret about the Jesus's blood line and his relation with Mary Magdalene. But rather than making it public, he becomes the secret keeper.
Sir Leigh Teabing wanted to liberate entire humanity by revealing the secret. But Langdon dont do that. This is the biggest damage done by them to Humanity. Because if we look at the history then religion killed more people than any other thing. People like Silas and Aringoras are killing people on the name of God or religion. this would have been stop if secret had been revealed.   

 “Although it is obvious that much of what Brown presented in his novel as absolutely true and accurate is neither of those, some of that material is of course essential to the intrigue, and screenwriter Akiva Goldsman has retained the novel's core, the Grail-related material: the sacred feminine, Mary Magdalene's marriage, the Priory of Sion, certain aspects of Leonardo's art, and so on.” How far do you agree with this observation of Norris J. Lacy?

Novel is discussed and debated a lot since its time of publication. many documentaries are research are made on this. all these has falsified the narrative of the Dan Brown. Few evidences he uses may be correct, but everything is not so. so Norris's observation is true. one is that Da vinci's cryptex, mirror image writing etc are falsified. cryptex was originally machine. so on several ground it fails as a truth.

The Reluctant Fundamentalist movie revirew

 The Reluctant Fundamentalist

 The Reluctant Fundamentalist is a 2012

political thriller drama film based on the

2007 novel, The Reluctant Fundamentalist by

Mohsin Hamid , directed by Mira Nair,

starring Riz Ahmed and Kate Hudson in lead.

The movie can be read from the post- Colonial angel that it tries to defend the Pakistani or say Muslim identity. It tries to subvert the stereotypical image of them after 9/11. All are not equal. It challenges the American way of treating people that what kind of problems people have to face in America. It also breaks the myth of America that America as a land of Dreams.

The movie has very beautiful PLOT with mixture of past and present. Changez – a  young boy from Pakistan is the protagonist and movie presents his experiences in America after 9/11. Reporter from America  - Hidden agent of C.I.A. takes interview of Changez and then story unfolds. In the beginning Changez is shown with beard- stereotypical image so people may think that he may be associated with the group of terrorists. But when movie goes into flashback we realise how talented he is. He got job in multinational company which is not possible for everybody. The place of interview is dull, dirty and crowded which also shows how West looks towards East. Even in Pakistan he does not associate with the terrorist group and continues to work in Lahore university. The movie beautifully presents the problems of them in America- that how roughly they were treated-   ( even few years ago the news was that Bollywood Actor Shahrukh Khan has to suffer a lot at American airport for security concern only because of his surname)  even they have done nothing -they were looked with doubt, not respected, people called them by bad words, spit on them, hate them- this ill treatment in America breaks the myth of equality.   

PLOT:-

In the beginning of the movie, there is kidnapping of American professor, and kidnaper demands money and their release of terrorist on behalf of professor. Suspect goes on Changez, so hidden CIA agent takes his interview to get knowledge about terrorist group. And then Changez tells his story……

In his professional life, he impresses his peers

and gets earmarked by his superiors for his

work, especially Jim, the person who recruited

him, develops a good rapport with him, and

holds him in high esteem.

# he comes to see himself as a servant of the American

empire that has constantly interfered with

and manipulated his homeland . He returns

from Chile to New York without completing the

assignment and ends up losing his job.

# In the global scenario, after the September 

11th attacks, there is an air of suspicion 

towards Pakistanis. Changez, due to his 

privileged position in society, is not among 

those detained or otherwise abused, but he 

notices a change in his treatment in public. 

To express solidarity with his countrymen 

after his trip to Chile, he starts to grow a 

beard.

Emotional break down - people call him Osama.

Even his girl friend Erica starts calling him ( Gair Insan) the Other.

# Noticing the American response

to this situation, he has an epiphany that his

country is being used as a pawn. With no job,

an expiring visa and no reason to stay in

America, he moves back to Lahore.: The World Trade Center attacks took place

when Changez was in Manila on business. 

When he returned to the USA, he was strip- 

searched at the airport in New York. Later 

on, he was thoroughly interrogated by federal 

agents, after being mistakenly arrested in 

the street as he just left the Underwood 

Samson building. His attitude toward the USA 

seemed to change During his interview with Lincoln, Changez says that at one point he was approached by a terrorist cell and asked to become a 

mujahid , and he was tempted to accept, 

feeling deeply angered and disillusioned by 

"the arrogance, the blindness, the hypocrisy" 

of the USA, but he finally refused when he 

was told about the "fundamental truths" of 

the Q'uran, echoing a phrase Jim Cross had 

used during their first encounter, "focusing 

on the fundamentals". Elaborating on the 

similarities, he explains that both groups, 

Islamic fundamentalists and blind capitalist 

economy represented by Underwood Samson, 

share the same reductionist outlook, view 

people in binary terms, thus feeling entitled to get rid of those deemed unworthy

# Lincoln becomes suspicious seeing Changez 

texting, the latter saying he was just 

communicating with his sister, Bina  suspicions turn to fury after Lincoln 

receives a picture of Rainer dead, mistakenly 

linking the two events. Lincoln believes the 

only way to safety is to use Changez as a 

shield venturing into the hostile crowded 

street. Attempts are made to keep the crowd 

stable but things get worse and Lincoln falls 

to the ground, his gun goes off and hits 

Sameer one of Changez's 

student interns, who dies from the wound. 

Another student fires at Lincoln from a 

balcony, after which Lincoln is quickly 

removed by CIA agents. Lincoln then finds

out that Rainer was in fact found dead 

earlier that day, and that Changez had indeed rejected working with the suspected mastermind behind the kidnapping, Mustafa Fazil; he also told the truth about the text message. Changez delivers a eulogy at Sameer's funeral, as Lincoln recuperates in a hospital, recalling Changez's words as he listens to there cording of the interview - "Looks can be deceiving. I am a lover of America...although I was raised to feel very Pakistani.

At the end of the movie reporter realise that Changez was correct, he is truly not associated with any groups.

Post colonial is an approach in which colony writes back. We have to relook, rethink whatever spoken or written by white people. Europeans have developed pre conceived notion about the East. Even without knowing people personally or say without meeting (without first hand experience)Western people think that all(THE OTHER) are criminals , terrorist and as a result all have to suffer humiliation. So colony writes back from their point of view that it is not so. Judge a person by his work not by religion. The same was the case with Professor Edward Said, that even he was working  in American University since many years, whenever there is terrorist attack or bomb blast people asked him about it. The main problem is that even if you are American by heart they will consider you and doubt you as Asian. Individual has to suffer a lot to get settled in American society. Asians are mere pawn in their economic capitalist game. Profit is everything for Americans. Relation don’t matters to them. Where as Changez- representative of Pakistani or say Asian identity speaks beautiful line in the movie that there are many things which cannot be measured by money only. This quality makes him even greater than Americans. Changez leaves very good job only because he thought that because of me many person will loose their jobs. Many people will be jobless, so what about them and their family? This was his fundamentals.

# we have to doubt whatever comes from West. Every step taken by them is under question: It is their conspiracy theory to defame East through Media Monster. media continuously go on showing and attaching terrorism with religion. So that people internalize it. And then whenever people heard about attack or bomb blast people will associate it without thinking or questioning with particular religion or groups of people.

# the fact is that America is the country who fought more battle than any other country in the history of last 60 years. But then even they are able to justify their acts.

My point is that post colonial approach challenges this West centered mentality.: Picturisation of movie is fantastic. It holds the audience. Unfolding of the story through the frame narrative is brilliant. Acting of Riz Ahmed, Kate Hudson, Liev Schreiber and 

Kiefer Sutherland is praise worthy.

# first meeting of Changez and Erica in the park is lifelike, and the way their relationship develops and ends is realistic.

# the conflict between American mind and Pakistani mind is clearly visible in the movie.

Movie is also attack on American Capitalism: That how workers have to loose their jobs because of Capitalization. 
The line spoken by Changez is very significant that ' All matters cannot be solved only by money'

 TRUTH HAS BEEN LESS GLORIOUS THAN DREAMS: