OT Re: Brother Scrooge

[Mark A. Semich]

Lengthy off topic ramblings, delete now if not interested:

At 11:40 PM +0100 12/13/04, P. Breijer wrote:
>Since you are a mason what would you say is the general opinion among masons
>about the use of your organization in such movies as National Treasure and
>Don Rosa stories, Don Rosa stories don't actually mention Masons but it
>mentions the Knights Templar which is related to Masonry, And the movie
>Really doesn't say anything negative about Masons

Well, firstly, I haven't seen "National Treasure" yet.  I figure I'll 
wait until it's on DVD.  As far as "general opinion" goes, there are 
probably as many opinions as there are masons.  I can not speak for 
all of them.  Here in the U.S., masonry is really more of a 
combination 
gentleman's-social-club/dinner-club/fraternal-organization/charity-fund 
more than anything else.  Sort of like boy scouts for grownups.  It's 
not "my organization" as much as it is an organization of which I am 
a member.

So the question is sort of like, "what do real archaeologists think 
of Indiana Jones?"  Some might think it's really neat bececause the 
movies are fun and exciting and popularize archaeology - others might 
hate the movies because they present archaeology in a completely 
innacurate light and show countless artifacts being destroyed through 
negligence and wanton stupidity.  Real archaeology is much more 
boring.  And some might have no opinion at all, because the movies 
aren't relevent to real archaeology, and they need to get back to 
brushing sand off those stones.

I can only offer my own opinion, not that of "all masons."  I don't 
think there's any sort of consensus.  Personally, I think that 
National Treasure will be great fun, I like Don Rosa's stories 
(naturally) and although I enjoy the sort of speculation found in 
books like "Holy Blood, Holy Grail" and I also like the whole myth 
about the tie-in with the Templars, I take it for what it is - fun. 
As far as I've been able to discover, Freemasonry really started in 
the 1700s as a fraternal organization, constructed whole cloth with 
an eye towards mirroring the mystery schools of the ancient greeks 
and romans.  But I know other masons who love and buy into all those 
popular urban legends, right down to the "seal on the back of the 
dollar bill" tale.  (Which, for the record, is also historically 
false.)  You'll be better off finding a more accurate portrayal of 
Freemasonry in an old episode of the Honeymooners or the Flintstones.

I would venture to speculate, however, that most masons would 
probably be frustrated and just shake their heads at something like 
the "From Hell" movie, which presents masonry in a completely false 
and negative light, assigning all sorts of dark magic symbols and 
conspiracies, and presenting it as a secret, underground society.

Like most things, the fiction is more exciting for some than the 
reality.  But if some of these people or writers (are writers 
people?) bothered to actually go to a library and open a book, they 
would discover some of the true incredible history and symbolism in 
masonry and wouldn't have to make up their own.

(BTW, Don, if you ever decide to incorporate Freemasonry into a 
story, feel free to contact me and I can put you in touch with one of 
the most knowledgable sources on Masonic and general Fraternal 
history in the U.S.  He knows about *all* of them, even the most 
obscure and forgotten ones.  How many people know that there was once 
a Fraternal organization based on the "Ben-Hur" novel?  Some 
insurance company bought the "fraternal organization" rights to the 
book and started it.  One of the degrees was a full-blown 
re-enactment of the chariot race.)

- M

bonvulu respondi pri anasoj