A Cultural Critique Of The Popularity Of The Da Vinci Code In The Early 21^st Century

The Da Vinci Code written by Dan Brown in 2003 came as a big hit to the book market and turned out to be a huge success, raising enormous argument and controversy among its readers and critics in various academic fields. Not only did the novel sell itself, it also increased the sales of Dan Brown’s old works like Digital Fortress, Angels and Demons and Deception Point. Moreover, it opened up a large amount of new audience to other categories of books relevant to history, religion, art and art appreciation.Classified as a popular novel, The Da Vinci Code reduced its obscurity in writing skills and focused more on spiritual needs and consumption hotspots of ordinary people, while at the same time trying to be recreational and interesting as well. As participants involved in the consumption process, we should try to analyze the motivation behind the success of such a popular novel and discover how it gained its success.However, previous studies on The Da Vinci Code’s popularity were all narrowed down to a certain field of research. Major explanations included its massive application of puzzles and codes, reestablishment of "sacred feminine" and so on. Therefore, based on previous results, I’d like to try a more comprehensive exploration from the perspective of cultural criticism. This thesis argues that The Da Vinci Code gains tremendous success due to the positive interaction between its three major features and the corresponding cultural experience of its readers. This thesis consists of five parts:introduction, main body and conclusion. The main body includes three chapters, which respectively explores into the attraction of the novel’s religious theme, practice of conspiracy theory and employment of intertexuality. In conclusion, The Da Vinci Code earns its success due to its fine interaction between its major themes and the corresponding cultural background.