Associated Press: 'Da Vinci Code' Boycott Sidestepped in U.S.

Nota de prensa difundida por la agencia Associated Press.

A senior Vatican official has called for a boycott of "The Da Vinci 

Code," while the Council of Churches in Jordan and Roman Catholic 

activists in India want their governments to ban the film altogether.

But what's notable in the U.S. where the film's release next week has 

believers of many denominations nervous and angry is that boycotts 

are taking a back seat to anti-"Da Vinci" books and teaching sessions 

about the Gospels.

Some religious commentators figure that movie boycotts make 

Christians look bad and don't accomplish much. Even Opus Dei, the 

Catholic organization that's villainously portrayed in Dan Brown's 

story, is going for educational outreach.

"It seems that boycotts are becoming less and less effective," said 

Bob Waliszewski of the conservative Focus on the Family, whose 

pluggedinonline.com media guide draws 1 million visits a month.

The practical problem with boycotts, and even harsh criticism of a 

film, is that it winds up drawing more attention to the movie in 

question, they figure.

An Opus Dei leader cited attacks on Mel Gibson's "The Passion of the 

Christ" as one reason his community was bypassing a boycott. And 

while the gay-themed "Brokeback Mountain" irked some conservative 

groups, commentator Dick Rolfe of the Dove Foundation, which 

encourages production of family-friendly films, cautioned last year 

that: "If Christians protest too loudly, they can end up making the 

mistake of calling attention to a movie that otherwise may not do 

very well at the box office."

Another problem, said Christian media consultant Phil Cooke, is that 

so many entertainment offerings denigrate faith that believers would 

need to "set up a permanent boycott office underneath the Hollywood 

sign."

Movie boycotts basically don't work, says Bob Waliszewski of Focus on 

the Family, though protests can sometimes kill TV shows because 

advertisers don't want to offend consumers.

What has believers across the theological spectrum upset about "Da 

Vinci" is the idea that the film will echo Brown's novel by having 

scholarly characters dismiss the Bible and church teachings about 

Jesus as fraudulent. The plot also revolves around Jesus marrying 

Mary Magdalene, and a conspiracy to cover their union. "Da Vinci" 

director Ron Howard has rejected pleas for an on-screen disclaimer 

labeling the tale as fiction.

Advocates of a box-office boycott include Archbishop Angelo Amato, 

No. 2 in the Vatican's doctrine office, and India's Catholic Secular 

Forum. Jordan's Council of Churches said "Da Vinci" contradicts both 

the Bible and Islam's Quran.

In America, one person suggesting an alternative is Barbara Nicolosi, 

whose Act One trains Christians in entertainment careers. She's 

promoting an "othercott" through her "churchofthemasses" blog: 

Believers are to purposely attend Disney's "Over the Hedge" to bump 

"Da Vinci" from first place in opening weekend box office.

Otherwise, church groups are sponsoring an unprecedented avalanche of 

pre-emptive Web sites, broadcasts, sermons, books, pamphlets, panel 

discussions, news conferences and ads.

Retired University of Missouri-Kansas City professor Gregory Black 

says boycotting was once a more potent threat. His book "The Catholic 

Crusade Against the Movies" recounts the story of the Catholic 

bishops' Legion of Decency, founded in 1934.

The group controlled sexual and other offensive content for more than 

two decades by monitoring forthcoming films and threatening to direct 

millions of parishioners to shun unacceptable fare.

These days, cultural changes and new channels of movie distribution 

make boycotts much more difficult, he said. Besides, "boycotts 

generally have driven people to the box office."

RICHARD N. OSTLING // AP