From: owner-aml-list-digest@lists.xmission.com (aml-list-digest) To: aml-list-digest@lists.xmission.com Subject: aml-list-digest V1 #318 Reply-To: aml-list Sender: owner-aml-list-digest@lists.xmission.com Errors-To: owner-aml-list-digest@lists.xmission.com Precedence: bulk aml-list-digest Thursday, May 10 2001 Volume 01 : Number 318 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Tue, 8 May 2001 21:13:05 -0500 From: Larry Jackson Subject: [AML] MN Marie Osmond Starts "Behind the Smile" Book Tour: Excite News (AP) From: Kent Larsen To: Mormon News Date: Tue, 8 May 2001 12:00:00 -0500 Subject: MN Marie Osmond Starts "Behind the Smile" Book Tour: Excite News (AP) 6May01 A2 [From Mormon-News] Marie Osmond Starts "Behind the Smile" Book Tour SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH -- With the release of her new book, "Behind the Smile: My Journey Out of Postpartum Depression," Marie Osmond is starting a book tour to promote the book, which she says is meant to help those suffering from similar depression. Osmond's struggle occurred in the past year, during which she separated from her husband, then publicly declared that she suffered from postpartum depression. She has since reconciled with her husband. Osmond was in Salt Lake City signing copies of her book yesterday, and is signing in Provo, Utah today. She says things have improved substantially since her very public struggle, "We're doing awesome, Just totally awesome." The story seems to have hit a chord with women. Her physician, Dr. Judith Moore, a co-author in the book, was innundated with calls after the book was previewed in the May issue of God Housekeeping. Osmond got a huge response when she revealed the problem last year on Oprah, "When I did 'Oprah' I got thousands of e-mails from women thanking me for giving what is bothering them a name." She adds, "We've hit a chord with women. I felt like the message needed to get out." But the book may bring out some questions that Osmond hasn't answered, and apparently doesn't want to talk about. Several news stories have called attention to Osmond's revelation that she was abused as a child, included in the book because many women who suffer from postpartum depression were abused when very young. "Abuse of some sort seems to be a common link," explains Osmond. But she also says that including the abuse was important for her, "I couldn't be honest in my own story if I didn't reveal it. But that was a long time ago," she says. According to Osmond the abuse came from "people with very temporary access to my life, people I didn't know well." Following the tour, Osmond says she plans to spend the next year helping her eldest son, Stephen, prepare for an LDS mission. To do that, she wants to stay home more, and has turned down four Broadway shows and a "bunch of television projects." Sources: Marie Osmond Tours to Promote Book Excite News (AP) 6May01 A2 http://news.excite.com:80/news/ap/010506/15/ent-marie-osmond Associated Press Osmond Is Beating the Blues Salt Lake Tribune 5May01 A2 http://www.sltrib.com/05052001/utah/utah.htm By Hilary Groutage: Salt Lake Tribune Behind the smile of Marie Osmond Deseret News 2May01 A2 http://www.deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,270016357,00.html By Dennis Lythgoe: Deseret News book editor >From Mormon-News: Mormon News and Events Forwarding is permitted as long as this footer is included Mormon News items may not be posted to the World Wide Web sites without permission. Please link to our pages instead. For more information see http://www.MormonsToday.com/ Send join and remove commands to: majordomo@MormonsToday.com Put appropriate commands in body of the message: To join: subscribe mormon-news To leave: unsubscribe mormon-news To join digest: subscribe mormon-news-digest - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 09 May 2001 01:18:04 -0600 From: "D. Michael Martindale" Subject: Re: [AML] Divinity on Stage David Hansen wrote: > I've talked long and hard with friends who felt very uncomfortable with God's > Army because of the healing and baptism scenes. I used to feel as strongly as D. > Michael on this issue, but lately I've mellowed towards these friends because I > realized that they are not afraid of the movie depictions as "truthful" or > "accurate," but are instead afraid of "casting their pearls before swine." Ah, one of those phrases that get overused above and beyond their original intent, like "The body is a temple," or "Avoid even the appearance of evil." I read a number of non-LDS reviews of "God's Army." Whatever their take was on the quality of the film, none of them acted "swinishly" toward the religious rites themselves. I've not noticed one piece of feedback from any source that mocked the religious elements of the film. Some have questioned whether they were used effectively by the filmmaker, but no one has treated them with anything but respect. If this is what your friends are truly concerned about, they are wasting good cognitive energy. So far no swine have trampled the pearls. (By the way, I wonder what non-members think of us continually calling them swine?) > The best example I can think of is if you went to a movie theater and watched a > "truthful" or "accurate" depiction of the endowment. This seems like the worst possible example to me. There is a quantum difference between the ordinances we perform within the temple and those without. The ordinances without are viewable by anyone at any time who merely chooses to be present. The ordinances within the temple are not even viewable by all members of the church--only those who maintain a certain standard of worthiness. A very big difference. > My friends equate the > ordinances and power of the priesthood with sacredness, and by depicting the > ordinances, even accurately, you cheapen them. Well, they're entitled to their opinion, but I'm still scratching my head trying to figure out where the notion came from that sacred always has to mean hush-hush or hide-hide. If they're so sacred that they shouldn't be cheapened by any form of depiction, why aren't all of them performed in the temple where no one but a select few can witness them? God doesn't seem concerned about nonmembers witnessing non-temple ordinances, as long as the environment is respectful; why should we be? I consider Dutcher's depictions to be respectful. > I didn't have any problem with God's Army > (or the Brigham sacrament scene for that matter) and believe that Dutcher was > just fine in his use of ordinances and blessings, but that's not to say that > there isn't a line which can't be crossed in this regard. To me, showing > baptisms and healings are far different than depicting the temple ceremony. Exactly. There is a line, and God drew it: in or out of the temple. His line is good enough for me. > But the fact that other people draw the line different than I do, does not make me > feel like they don't want to be seen, don't want to be "truthful", or that they > are "hiding their light under a bushel" so to speak. Others are welcome to draw the line where they think best--for themselves. They are welcome to take Scott Parkin's approach to things he feels uncomfortable with: "I couldn't do it, but if you're fine with it, knock yourself out." But that's not what's happening. These people are saying, "_I_ don't feel comfortable doing it, so _you_ better not do it." They are trying to draw the line for others, not for themselves. I respect their right to draw their own line--why do they not respect my right to draw mine? This is only another variation of my favorite saying that I've coined: "If you don't think like me, you're evil." (There, Margaret, a little taste of what I really think.) - -- D. Michael Martindale dmichael@wwno.com ================================== Check out Worldsmiths, the new online LDS writers group, at http://www.wwno.com/worldsmiths Sponsored by Worlds Without Number http://www.wwno.com ================================== - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 09 May 2001 08:47:21 -0600 From: Thom Duncan Subject: Re: [AML] Divinity on Stage David Hansen wrote: > > "D. Michael Martindale" wrote: > > > How does a church > > which claims to represent the God of Truth and fight against the Father > > of Lies have so many people in it who think depicting truth in art is an > > evil thing? When did "truthful," "accurate," or "factual" stop being > > sufficient justifications in and of themselves? > > I've talked long and hard with friends who felt very uncomfortable with God's > Army because of the healing and baptism scenes. I used to feel as strongly as D. > Michael on this issue, but lately I've mellowed towards these friends because I > realized that they are not afraid of the movie depictions as "truthful" or > "accurate," but are instead afraid of "casting their pearls before swine." The > best example I can think of is if you went to a movie theater and watched a > "truthful" or "accurate" depiction of the endowment. The problem with that comparison is that any *swine* walking into an LDS Church can see a live sacrament. With regard to sacredness, spirituality, there is absolutely no comparison between a Sacrament meeting, with screaming children, people coming in and out, etc. and the quiet solemnity of the endowment. > I doubt many members of the > church would feel comfortable in that situation. My friends equate the > ordinances and power of the priesthood with sacredness, and by depicting the > ordinances, even accurately, you cheapen them. What your friends are doing, in my opinion, is making a very public ceremony (the sacrament) more sacred than it actually is. Baptisms fit into the same category. Non-members can be invited, sit and watch. As long as those two ordinances are shown respectfully, within the proper context, I personally see nothing wrong with it. > To me it's a matter of line drawing. It is. And your friends, imo, are arbitrarily drawing a line that isn't really there. - --- Thom Duncan Playwrights Circle an organization of professionals - -------------------------- Shameless Plug - ------------------------------- Don't miss the Playwrights Circle Summer Festival at UVSC! *J. Golden* - a one-man play by James Arrington, starring Marvin Payne *SFX5* - 5 original short science fiction plays *Peculiarities* - a new full-length play by Eric Samuelsen For more information about the Playwrights Circle and our summer festival: http://www.playwrightscircle.com - -------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 08 May 2001 20:58:04 -0600 From: LuAnnStaheli Subject: [AML] League of Utah Writers If any of you are interested: May 7, 2001 Dear League Member: I have been told by numerous members of the League that they have lost their contest rules and entry form. I had planned to send another mailing of the contest information with the May Lariat, but it will be too cost prohibitive. So, if you have lost yours and need another copy, please do one of the following: 1) email me and I will send them as an attachment over email; or, 2) mail me a SASE and I will get them back to you in the mail. My address is 4621 W. Harman Dr., WVC, UT 84120. Please watch for the Roundup Registration material in the May Lariat which will be arriving to you within the week. Please keep track of it. Fill it out early and send in your registration before it gets lost. You save a lost of $$ if you register before the earlybird deadline. We need your help in spreading the word about the 2001 Roundup. For those of you who have a flair for Mystery and especially Historical Mystery, we are bringing Anne Perry all the way from Scotland to be one of our Guest Speakers this year. Please tell everyone you know about her being here. We want to fill the house for her General Session on September 8th. There is also a limited number of opportunities for writers to meet one-on-one with either a Literary Agent or an Editor from New York City (only 10 slots for each of them). You will need to register for one of those slots ASAP after getting the Roundup Registration Form, otherwise the 20 slots will be filled. It will be $25 for the one-on-one consultation. The money will need to be mailed to me before we can reserve a time slot. If you have any comments or questions about the League, or about the annual contest, or about Roundup, or about the upcoming Spring Workshop on May 26 at the Salt Lake City Library, please feel free to contact me. We are glad you are a member of the League and look forward to having you get involved in the events going on this summer (Spring Workshop, annual contest, and Roundup), and I hope you are preparing something to enter in the contest. Don't forget the June 15th deadline. Good Luck in all your writing, Dorothy Crofts - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 09 May 2001 09:42:50 -0600 (MDT) From: Ivan Angus Wolfe Subject: Re: [AML] YOUNG and GRAY, _One More River to Cross_ (Review) >Which brings me to the Notes at the end of each chapter. Each chapter >ends with notes offering the authors' sources for history, for >philosophies, for quotations, and for anything else they used. It's >kind of _Pop-Up Video_-ish, offering the authors' secret information >in real time. I found, as I read, that I'd look forward to getting to > the Notes to see what had really been said and what the authors made up. > But the Notes are a two-edged sword; while enjoyable and educating, >they suggest the book's biggest weakness: it can't decide if it's >history or fiction. Several times the Notes repeat exactly what happened in the chapter, only from Jane's history and in her words. And at times they suggest that the authors don't trust the reader, such as at the end of Chapter 7: > My biggest problems with the book (which I loved) were also the notes - but not in content - in placement. Having the historical notes immeditely after each chapter interrupted the story and helped create that odd feeling of "is this history of fiction?" rather than helping with the notion of considering it as historical fiction. It would have been easier to consider it as historical fiction if perhaps the notes for each chapter had bee put in an appendix at the end of the book, so that the rest of it could have flowed like a more typical formatted historicla ficiton book - I can't say I read a lot of historical fiction, but most of what I have read does put the notes in the back of the book, rather then interrupting the narrative by putting them in between each chapter. - --Ivan Wolfe - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 09 May 2001 23:42:29 +0900 From: "Andrew Hall" Subject: [AML] DAVIS, _The Other Side of Heaven_ (Movie) There is a very interesting article by Kieth Merrill at Meridian Magazine about Mitch Davis' upcoming movie, including detailed descriptions of the backgrounds of Davis and producer Jerry Molen. http://www.meridianmagazine.com/arts/010509heaven.html Andrew Hall _________________________________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com. - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 9 May 2001 10:05:03 -0600 From: "Brown" Subject: Re: [AML] Church Problems in Lit What a wonderful fable, Larry. Thanks for posting it! Marilyn Brown - ----- Original Message ----- From: Larry Jackson > This weekend, I took five of my sons to our stake > father and son campout. During the hour-long > drive to camp, we passed by two freight trains. > As we went by each train, three of my younger > sons began to count the number of cars on the track. [snip] - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 9 May 2001 10:19:35 -0600 From: "Brown" Subject: Re: [AML] Diary of Anne Frank (Review) Thanks so much, Harlow! This is a WONDERFUL review, and I'm only sad we didn't get it out before the play ended. (Monday night.) I am now doing the laundry (About ten batches, plus a huge bunch of dry cleaning.) It was a fabulous production, and one we can certainly be proud of. And we are so grateful for your attendance! And if anyone else is interested in the fact that the Villa refuses to be ignored or will just lie down and die because there are 18 other more recent theatres in production than there were when we started, they are welcome to come to any of our shows! "Sleeping Beauty" was SO GOOD for young people! (And after all, that's where it starts--with the children--which is why we are probably going to be the largest and most persevering children's group in the area.) Thank you again! Marilyn Brown - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 9 May 2001 11:23:35 -0600 From: Terry L Jeffress Subject: Re: [AML] Divinity on Stage On Fri, May 04, 2001 at 09:19:59PM -0600, Scott and Marny Parkin wrote: > I applaud Dutcher for being willing to share part of what it is to be > Mormon to a general audience, and to do so in a way that makes those > special moments seem completely ordinary in context. He helps to show > that Mormon religious life is not really any stranger than Catholic > or Jewish or Unitarian religious life. In other words, while the > details may be different the general framework religious framework is > familiar. I think we have to also look at the literary precedents for such depictions. I have probably seen more Catholic communions and Jewish weddings on screen than I have ever attended Mormon baptisms in person. Does watching sacred Catholic rituals disturb our sense of propriety? Not usually. Why do we seem to think that we have some corner on the market for religious ceremony? In fact, our ceremonies lean toward the bland side when compared to other religions' rituals. For example, compare a Catholic Easter mass with an Easter general conference. > The Church ends up overpowering far too many stories because Mormon > writers seem to believe that if anything Mormon is depicted, it has > to take center stage. I disagree. By depicting the ordinary rituals > of Mormon life as exactly that--ordinary--we create more > opportunities for people outside our community to know and understand > us at a deeper level than they have before. I think the discomfort for depicting our rituals comes from two sources. First, we blur the line between the temple covenants and our "everyday" rituals. Although we have no obligation to keep baptism and sacrament a secret, we start to associate the promises made in the temple with these other public ordinances. Second, we get a sense of pride from owning the true ordinances of the gospel. We don't mind watching the false ordinances of those other fake religions, but we don't really want to share our true ones. I agree with Scott and others that we should not balk at depicting the everyday rituals and practices of Mormon people, but only if that depiction has a bearing on the story. Dutcher didn't include the baptism in _Brigham City_ to show the everyday nature of that ritual. He included that scene to obscure your suspicions about various characters. If a character performs a baptism or receives baptism, we tend to move our suspicions away from that righteous character and on to other characters who don't seem to have such a religious commitment. Dutcher includes the first sacrament scene (although he spends far to long in it) to establish the regular case, so he can demonstrate the exceptional case in the second scene. I like Dutcher's everyday, flawed characters. I gag when other artists (in any medium) depict Mormon characters as some sort of paragon of virtue. Hardly anyone has the carriage and bearing of President Hinckley. Yet book after book display entire communities of people who have the spiritual insights of the prophets. Only the main character has any flaws that so starkly contrast with the community, that the character has no choice but to repent and join the community or resign the community for a life of ostracism. We have probably all had spiritual experiences, and many of us try to live our lives so that if we were to randomly sample our level of spirituality, that the values of the samples would increase when sorted in chronological order. I have received revelation, but I don't receive it everyday. I'm hardly worthy of revelation, even when I do receive it. I want to read about everyday people that live their lives from a background of Mormon theology, but I don't want read a book that tries to convert its audience. E. B. White wrote, "Don't write about Man, write about a man." In the case of Mormon literature, I would extend that to, "Don't write about a Man's religion, write about a man with religion." I have not seen a publication that I though properly handled Mormonism as an incidental character trait. Scott Card's _Lost Boys_ probably comes closest, but as I have said in other posts, I found the Mormon aspect gratuitous. Now I must admit that most of my observations about Mormon literature come from my stint at Covenant. I left Covenant in December 1993, and have only read a few of the novels published since then. So with that disclaimer in mind, I want to cite an example of a book that properly integrates the characters' background and belief system into the plot: Neil Stephenson's _Cryptonomicon._ In _Cryptonomicon,_ one of the characters, Lawrence, has an amazing ability with mathematics, and all his observations about life come from mathematical analysis. If he has a personal problem, he approaches the problem mathematically. He gathers statistics, examines cases, postulates theorems, and draws graphs (included in the book). Stephenson doesn't try to prove anything about mathematics. He just demonstrates that his character views life from a mathematical perspective. To me a satisfying depiction of Mormon characters demonstrates how the character's observations about life come from the character's Mormonness. The author doesn't have to justify Mormonism as a religion, but instead, just demonstrate how that Mormonness has shaped the character's worldview. In essence, I want a story about a person in a Mormon context, not a story about the Mormon context. - -- Terry Jeffress | However great a man's natural talent may | be, the art of writing cannot be learned AML Webmaster and | all at once. -- Jean Jacques Rousseau AML-List Review Archivist | - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 09 May 2001 09:23:39 -0700 From: Jeff Needle Subject: Re: [AML] Jeff Needle Hello, Roy. In fact, I know him quite well. A real pain in the neck, but we love him anyway . When my roommate passed away Saturday before last, I knew I had to move fairly quickly, so I've been working round the clock getting things together. I'll be staying in the same apartment complex, just moving to a smaller apartment. It's the best thing. I'm boxing up my Mormon books right now. It looks like I'll have about 75 boxes of books, many of them duplicates and triplicates that I've been purchasing at DI. I'll have to find a local who is willing to spend a day with me sorting through them, with payment given in books. Anyone in San Diego interested? I appreciate the nice note. Thanks. At 05:13 PM 5/8/01 -0600, you wrote: >Has anyone heard from Jeff. How is he doing? > >Roy Schmidt > > > > >- >AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature >http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 09 May 2001 12:00:35 -0600 From: "ROY SCHMIDT" Subject: Re: [AML] Jeff Needle Glad to hear from you, Jeff. Once you get them boxed up, just ship them to me. I'll even pick up the freight, nice guy that I am. Roy >>> Jeff Needle 05/09/01 10:23AM >>> Hello, Roy. In fact, I know him quite well. A real pain in the neck, but we love him anyway . When my roommate passed away Saturday before last, I knew I had to move fairly quickly, so I've been working round the clock getting things together. I'll be staying in the same apartment complex, just moving to a smaller apartment. It's the best thing. I'm boxing up my Mormon books right now. It looks like I'll have about 75 boxes of books, many of them duplicates and triplicates that I've been purchasing at DI. I'll have to find a local who is willing to spend a day with me sorting through them, with payment given in books. Anyone in San Diego interested? I appreciate the nice note. Thanks. At 05:13 PM 5/8/01 -0600, you wrote: >Has anyone heard from Jeff. How is he doing? > >Roy Schmidt > > > > >- >AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature >http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 09 May 2001 18:18:03 -0000 From: "Dallas Robbins" Subject: Re: [AML] DUTCHER, _Brigham City_ Travis Manning wrote: "My wife asked me why an LDS moviemaker would attempt to even make _Brigham City_, a *fictional* piece. Why fiction? My response: Christ used fiction." Travis, I have heard these same sentiments from so many people, especially LDS people who I respect. Unfortunately, you are right (via Wayne Booth) that the LDS culture will not have great art, until it has a great audience, and I feel we have a long way to go. I think the question, "Why fiction?" is an important question to answer, and needs more discussion and development. Christ used fiction in his mortal ministy, but why? Was there a particular cultural enviroment in first century Judea that fictional stories worked better, or were better recieved, than they are today? I think that Christ's parables were not didactic moralizing that were used to beat an obvious lesson into someone's head. Instead, the parable's meanings were hidden withing a fictional story that could be seen as a neutral story with no obvious moral lessons. But of course, those who had ears to hear, or eyes to see, understood what the story meant. The parables were not what they seemed at face value. I believe that Christ used a type of irony, and used it to teach the gospel through fiction. Of course he didn't use irony in the way so many post modern novelist's do; but his approach was subtle; he wanted to tell a story, without telling so much that the meaning was obvious. The incongruity between the face value of the parable, and the hidden meaning gained for listeners and readers, is where the irony is seen. I think great fiction should use irony, in the real sense of the word, to explore and develop their fictional worlds, charater development and the moral choices they make. (BTW, I think the word "irony" and "ironic" is mis-abused. I hear and read the word "irony" and "ironic" used in such way in that it is intended to mean "coincendence," "something wierd," "a strange happening," "synchornicity," etc... which of course it doesn't literally mean any of those things. I suggest anyone who uses the word "irony" or "ironic" should look it up in their Dictionary.) I think members are easily put off by films and novels, because they are uncomfortable with irony. Unless the story has an obvious lesson being blatantly taught by the author, people are afraid. Christ never used his fictional stories to teach blantant, obvious, didactic lessons. I think that is one idea we should ponder. Dallas Robbins cloudhill@hotmail.com _________________________________________________________________ Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 09 May 2001 12:22:33 -0600 From: "Tyler Moulton" Subject: Re: [AML] Writing about Mormon Characters LauraMaery Gold wrote: <<>> I don't remember which book, but one of Tom Clancy's has this very scene. = Jack Ryan drives past the D.C. Temple and experiences almost a moral = conversion as he considers the dedication of the early Latter-day Saints. That's how a non-member handled the scene. Just thought I'd throw it = in.=20 Tyler Moulton - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 09 May 2001 18:41:31 +0000 From: maryjanejones@att.net Subject: Re: [AML] Divinity on Stage >I read a number of non-LDS reviews of "God's Army." > Whatever their take was on the quality of the film, >none of them acted "swinishly" toward the religious >rites themselves. I've not noticed one piece of feedback >from any source that mocked the religious elements of >the film. Some have questioned whether they were used >effectively by the filmmaker, but no one has treated >them with anything but respect. I thought that the list might be interested in what non-LDS reviewers are saying currently about Brigham City, specifically about the religious ordinances in the film: "And after two hours of this skillful, unusually despairing murder-mystery, it's obvious that Dutcher has delivered on that ambition, crafting not only a more artful, philosophically daring work than his last film, but also what may represent the happiest marriage yet of the disparate propagandistic and narrative influences inherent in the subgenre of "religious" cinema....One of the key factors that sets "Brigham City" (and "God's Army") apart from other recent religious-themed movies is that Dutcher, while a practicing Mormon, is not directly affiliated with any evangelical organization, nor does his financing derive from such sources. Rather, he is a typical independent filmmaker, driven by the atypical impetus to make films for a predominantly Mormon audience. What makes "Brigham City" compelling to a non-Mormon audience is the finely detailed manner in which Dutcher elucidates the goings-on of small town Mormon life. Despite a more commercial premise than "God's Army," "Brigham City" is actually the more revealing about the subtleties of the insular Mormon culture.... "Brigham City" may indeed be the best film of this ilk (i.e., one that rekindles a long-dormant forum for the discussion of serious faith-related issues in the American cinema) since Michael Tolkein's "The Rapture" over a decade ago.... He builds the dilemma of Wes' affronted faith into a supremely powerful climax that surely qualifies as one of the tensest communion services ever put on film." DAILY VARIETY "Very much in the "Witness" mold, this involving, nicely crafted whodunit achieves the neat trick of remaining culturally and theologically true to its environment without being heavy-handed or preachy." HOLLYWOOD REPORTER "Mr. Dutcher keeps the suspense building to a climax that should surprise even the most seasoned of police-thriller veterans. He then wraps things up with a simple, moving scene in church, illustrative of the power of love and forgiveness. But even there he's smart enough to give the end of the film an interesting little twist that'll have people thinking as the credits roll. In an age when more often than not religious films fall into the Left Behind paranoid-future-fantasy genre, it's refreshing to find someone more concerned with how to live here and now." DALLAS MORNING NEWS "([Dutcher]also has the dexterity to handle a well- modulated redemptive subtext that sows strong seeds of hope in an astonishing, dialogue-free denouement.) To be sure, the movie's tightly-wound scenario has been struck from a familiar mold. (Though, in that same vein, it's refreshing to encounter a thriller with a story rich enough that it cannot be concluded merely by the dispatching of its villain.)" MR. SHOWBIZ And that's just a sampling... Mary Jane Jones - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 9 May 2001 11:59:07 -0700 From: harlowclark@juno.com Subject: [AML] Jessica WOAHN and Erica GLENN Profile Opened my PG Reveiw this morning and saw a picture of Jessica Woahn and Erica Glenn on the front page. There's a shorter, somewhat different profile, which if the Herald doesn't run soon I'll post sometime next week. I enjoyed interviewing them. I was particularly touched, when Erica invited her younger brother Dylan to come and sing one of her songs, at her evident affection for him. Jessica Woahn and Erica Glenn Profile Pleasant Grove Review, May 9, 2001, p. 1, 12. Harlow Clark Jessica Woahn and Erica Glenn met about 5 years ago at age 9 in a production of Pollyanna and have been friends since. Last year they played opposite each other in two productions of Erica's musical "Dancing Shoes," and recently shared the role of Anne Frank in Springville in the Little Brown Theatre's production of The Diary of Anne Frank. They approached the role rather differently. Jessica plays Anne Frank austerely, almost caged, reflecting what Anne's father says at the end of the play, "It seems strange that someone could be happy in a concentration camp--but Anne was away from these rooms and in the sunshine she loved so much." Erica's Anne was more optimistic, more the girl who says, "In spite of everything I believe people are basically good." She is also a bit more mischievous. To avoid raising suspicion by carrying suitcases, the Franks wore several layers of clothes going into hiding. As Erica's Anne comes onstage she starts taking off extra underpants. "Anne," her mother says. "Don't worry, mother. I have three more pairs on." Both found the role interesting and challenging. Anne "goes from sulky to angry to mischievous," Erica says. "Broad range," Jessica adds. Jessica has been trained in classical ballet, but is also studying other dance forms such as jazz and tap and is part of a new "dancing, singing group" called Young Attitude, which, she says will perform all over the state, first performance May 10. Erica is working on a new play. She has some songs done and a basic outline. The play is about a girl named Sharlee, "I named her after my mom," who has been paralyzed in an accident and is mostly in shock Sharlee meets an Irish boy named Dylan who plays the flute for her and starts to bring her out of her shock. "Dylan," Jessica says, laughing. "I named them after people I know," Erica says and calls her younger brother Dylan into the room a few minutes later to sing one of the songs from the play. She describes another song that deals with all the cultures Sharlee meets in New York. "They all sing their own style and it comes together in one song." That's a theme she explored in Dancing Shoes, art's power to bring people together and heal divisions, but the new play will deepen that, exploring art as a way of healing prejudice. Where do they see their careers heading? "I would like to keep acting and be a director," Jessica says, who has already directed some productions and run some summer workshops for other children. "Get a degree in musical theater and be a Young Ambassador," referring to a BYU performing group. She would also like to perform with Disney, and be a choreographer. Indeed, she finds herself attracted to musical theater because it brings all her talents together. "I'd like to see one of my plays produced on Broadway, at least one," Erica says. She'd also like to be a piano teacher, work she already does, and even open a theater, like Bill and Marilyn Brown, who have given her much encouragement and mounted the first production of Dancing Shoes at the Villa Theater. The second was at Valley Center Playhouse, and she'd like to see a production at BYU. "What I'd really like to do with my life is make a difference. Like Anne says, Anne Frank, ‘I want to go on living even after my death.' That's such a wonderful line. I want to help people." A few minutes later, after playing some songs from Dancing Shoes while Jessica sings them, Erica comments on something in the program notes for The Diary of Anne Frank, that though six million Jews died in the concentration camps, six million copies of Anne's diary have been circulated in the U.S., and there are other translations as well. "I just thought that was so neat--the power of one to do so much good. She wanted to go on living after her death, and she sure did." Harlow S. Clark http://harlowclark0.tripod.com/index.html Renounce war and proclaim peace. - --Joseph Smith, August 6 I have committed sundry mouldy solecisms; yet I was not born to desecrate literature. - --Edward Dahlberg ________________________________________________________________ GET INTERNET ACCESS FROM JUNO! Juno offers FREE or PREMIUM Internet access for less! Join Juno today! For your FREE software, visit: http://dl.www.juno.com/get/tagj. - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 09 May 2001 12:54:40 -0600 From: Thom Duncan Subject: Re: [AML] Divinity on Stage "D. Michael Martindale" wrote: > Well, they're entitled to their opinion, but I'm still scratching my > head trying to figure out where the notion came from that sacred always > has to mean hush-hush or hide-hide. Especially when you consider the fact that there is very little taught in the temple that one cannot find clealy and opening taught in our own scriptures. It's the way the temple presents them that is sacred, not the ideas themselves. > If they're so sacred that they > shouldn't be cheapened by any form of depiction, why aren't all of them > performed in the temple where no one but a select few can witness them? > God doesn't seem concerned about nonmembers witnessing non-temple > ordinances, as long as the environment is respectful; why should we be? > I consider Dutcher's depictions to be respectful. As a playwright, I consider the format of the Endowment to be an implicit endorsement of the dramatic art form. Christ also seemed to think that stories was a good way to get great spiritual truths across. > > I didn't have any problem with God's Army > > (or the Brigham sacrament scene for that matter) and believe that Dutcher was > > just fine in his use of ordinances and blessings, but that's not to say that > > there isn't a line which can't be crossed in this regard. To me, showing > > baptisms and healings are far different than depicting the temple ceremony. > > Exactly. There is a line, and God drew it: in or out of the temple. His > line is good enough for me. His "line" also shows us what kind of subject matter is appropriate for an LDS writer: basically, everything. The Bible has stories that deal with virtually every subject you can conceive of, including incest, rape, adultery, murder, nudity, and lust. The line of acceptability is very broad, if one can refrain from superimposing one's own prejudices over the line. - -- Thom Duncan Playwrights Circle an organization of professionals - -------------------------- Shameless Plug - ------------------------------- Don't miss the Playwrights Circle Summer Festival at UVSC! *J. Golden* - a one-man play by James Arrington, starring Marvin Payne *SFX5* - 5 original short science fiction plays *Peculiarities* - a new full-length play by Eric Samuelsen For more information about the Playwrights Circle and our summer festival: http://www.playwrightscircle.com - -------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ End of aml-list-digest V1 #318 ******************************