The Da Vinci Code is a controversial movie released in 2006 as it practically questions the beliefs and foundations of Christianity. The story discusses on the possibility of Jesus Christ having descendant as there are facts pointing that Mary Magdalene was carrying Jesus Christ's bloodline during his crucifixion. Meanwhile, Angels and Demons was released in 2009 and this mystery/thriller movie touches on the rise of an ancient secret society of scientists, known as The Illuminati. In the movie, it is said that The Illuminati is plotting a scheme to bring the Catholic Church down. Despite the different roots that trigger the mystery,the backdrop to both stories are similar which is the Catholic Church.
There are boundless similarities between The Da Vinci Code and Angels and Demons. For instance, both are directed by Ron Howard, both are adapted from novels written by Dan Brown and both main character is the same known as Robert Langdon, a Harvard symbologist played by Tom Hanks. Apart from that, in both stories, Langdon and a female companion race across Europe in a mission to resolve the mystery. However, what I intend to discuss is how both movies mislead us in finding the real masterminds. Clearly, how the masterminds are revealed in both movies are very well thought by the writer. In both movies, the writer intelligently imposes the mastermind as allies, misleads the audience to the wrong mastermind and exposes masterminds after making the audience believe that the mystery is resolved.
An obvious similarity in both movies is the writer imposes the mastermind as allies. Thus, Joseph Campbell's The Hero's Journey can be associated to both movies. In The Hero's Journey, one typical archetype that we usually see is the Allies, the characters who help the hero through the change. In The Da Vinci Code, Leigh Teabing is introduced as an enthusiastic researcher of the Holy Grail. He aligns himself with Langdon and Neveu by sharing his knowledge in the Holy Grail. In addition, he helps Langdon and Neveu to escape from the cops by his plane to London. Also, he camouflages by putting on a scene with Remy. In that scene, Remy pretends to take Teabing as a hostage, hence, making us think that Teabing is also the victim. Likewise, in Angel and Demons, Camerlengor Patrick McKenna is introduced as a papal court official, who has temporary control over the Vatican as the The Roman Catholic Church mourns for Pope Pius XVI's death. He is seen as the hero's ally as he grants Langdon's request to access Vatican Secret Archive in order for him to examine Galileo's book. Also, he plots a scheme by pretending to be the final victim of the murder in order to frame Commander Richter. Lastly, to earn a place as a candidate of the new Pope, Camerlengor plots to save the Vatican City by flying the helicopter and parachutes out from the helicopter as the antimatter bomb explodes. Thus, leaving the audience to think he is the good person.
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| Remy |
| Commander Richter |
Apart from that, both movies mislead the audience to the wrong mastermind. In The Da Vinci Code, we assume that Remy is the Teacher which is known as the mastermind of the entire havoc and murder. This is because he releases Silas, the albino monk who murdered Jacques Sauniere. We are make believe that Remy is the Teacher because he points the gun at Langdon as he demands for the cryptex. Furthermore, we thought Remy is the Teacher because he admits that he is the Teacher when Silas questions him. This scene takes place at Temple Church. In the church, the lightings are in low key lighting where dimmer lighting is used in order to create a mysterious and dangerous mood. Likewise, in Angels and Demons, we thought that the Illuminati is the commander of the riot at the Vatican City. What leads us to think that the Illuminati is the commander of the cataclysm is because of the ways and symbols they used to create riot. Hence, I believe it is highly associated to semiotics. For instance, at the beginning of the story, we believe that Illuminati is the mastermind when Langdon deduces that the four cardinals will die at the four altars of the "Path of Illumination. The word "Illumination" have us to make assumption that it has got to do with The Illuminati. This is known as symbolic sign. The movie also successfully deceived us by making us believe that Commander Richter is part of the Illuminati as he is seen holding a gun and Camerlengor on the ground, branded with the Vatican's symbol on his chest. Similarly, this scene takes place at Vatican, a church. The lightings used are also in low key lighting to create a dangerous ambiance.
| Sir Leigh Teabing |
| Camerlengor Patrick McKenna |
Besides that, both movies also expose masterminds after making the audience believe that the mystery is resolved. In The Da Vinci Code, Teabing's identity as the real Teacher is revealed after making us believe that Remy is the Teacher. His identity as the mastermind is revealed when Remy is dying after being poisoned. As the camera slowly tilts, we see Teabing's face then only we realized he is the real Teacher. When Langdon and Neveu are at Newton's Tomb, Neveu discovers tracks made by cane marks and as she says "Teabing was here", Teabing reveals himself and explains the sinister plan that he has plotted. When Neveu discovers the tracks, semiotics can be applied to the sequence. This is because she could instantly tell that Teabing was here just by looking at the cane marks because Teabing uses a cane to assist himself in walking. Therefore, this is known as indexical sign where an effect of relationship between sign and signified. Correspondingly in Angels and Demons, the mastermind which is Camerlengor is exposed after making us believe that Commander Richter is the culprit of the Illuminati. Camerlengor's identity is leaked when Langdon and Vetra use Richter's key to watch a security video. As the camera zooms into the screen, a flashback shows, revealing Camerlengor as the mastermind behind the murders of the original Pope, the cardinals and the antimatter robbery. In fact, the Illuminati has got nothing to do with the anarchy, instead, everything is wholly schemed by Camerlengor. Therefore, in the cases for both movies, both the Allies, Teabing and Camerlengor are then discovered to be the Shadows of the story.
In conclusion, both movies deceive the audience by imposing the mastermind as allies, misleading the audience to the false mastermind and exposing the masterminds after making the audience believe that the mystery is resolved. As an audience, I believe that all these elements are added in order to create a twist at the ending, which leave the audience to ponder about the story, in another word, mindboggler.
Work Cited
"Hero's Journey." The Writers Journey.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 5 Dec. 2012.
"Lighting." Cineaste. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 Dec. 2012.
"Semiotics." Cineaste. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Dec. 2012.
"The Da Vinci Code." IMDb. IMDb.com, n.d. Web. 02 Dec. 2012.
"The Shot." Cineaste. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 Dec. 2012.
1. You’re right. Both films are full of tricky plot devices;
ReplyDelete2. The “red herring” is a device that leads the audience up the wrong alley.
3. You really are on to something when you discuss semiotics. I wish you had pursued this in more detail. Semiology is key to both films, and the signs are very ancient.
You find a very obvious plot device – the “red herring” and base your essay on it. You spend too much time retelling the story instead of analyzing how the device effects the audience and how it is manipulated by the screen writer. It’s too bad you didn’t pay much attention to the semiotics of both moves – they are fascinating.
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