Didn't That Movie Used To Have A War?

So, if you want to come off as a ninny, I suggest following the lead of the Thailand's film censorship board. They have agreed to allow The Da Vinci Code to be in Thai theaters, minus the last 10 minutes. Which is a great move on their part because everyone who sees it will feel so upset that they don't know what the Code is that they will go out and buy the book, no matter how heretical.

This smacks of the Simpsons episode where an "Edited for Seniors" version of Gone With The Wind is screened in the retirement home. Clark Gable's line is, "Frankly, Scarlet, I love you, let's get married!" And then the movie ends. And the old fella asks, "Didn't that movie used to have a war?" Didn't the Da Vinci Code used to have a secret?

On the plus side, IMDB.com reports that:

an official of a Christian coalition in Malaysia said that no attempt will be made to interfere with the release of the film in that country "purely because we believe that if the Bible is the truth of God, we are not afraid of any attempt to discredit it."

Can I get an Amen? It would seem that the motivation behind the cartoonist controversy last year and the Da Vinci Code controversy this year is very simply fear. The fundamentalist is afraid.

I appreciate the sentiment of the Malaysian coalition that a movie, even with Tom Hanks and directed by Ron Howard, is not a threat to God. It's either conflating the film or deflating God, I'm not sure which.

Either way, if a movie or a book or a cartoon can rock your world so much than you need to get it banished or burned then you need to figure out why faith isn't enough for you. Because if you believe in the One True Religion and other people's criticism, skepticism, or baptism in another religion shouldn't matter. Let them criticize, attack, or disbelieve, guys. It doesn't hurt you. Your own faith is still intact and you can pull out the Koran or the Bible to counter, if you'd like. But stopping the distribution of a film because it casts doubts upon your faith says a lot more about you than the film.