Hurray for Jennifer Braceras for comparing the media sourness over “The Passion of the Christ” with their loving embrace of “The Da Vinci Code.” ABC is the starkest example of this trend. Their Prime Time special with Mel Gibson asked tough questions of the director, and then brought on a cavalcade of expert opinions to quibble with the historical reliability of the film and question whether it will offend people.
But in November, ABC’s one-hour special on “The Da Vinci Code” was clearly promotional and only interviewed experts who would lend credibility to its bizarre fictional thesis that Jesus and Mary Magdalene moved to France. See more on that spectacle here.