From: owner-aml-list-digest@lists.xmission.com (aml-list-digest) To: aml-list-digest@lists.xmission.com Subject: aml-list-digest V2 #250 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 Wednesday, January 28 2004 Volume 02 : Number 250 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri, 23 Jan 2004 22:49:47 -0700 From: Eric D. Snider Subject: [AML] Mormons at Sundance I just returned from nine days in Park City for the Sundance Film Festival, and I thought readers of this list might be interested in what LDS references I noted in the films there. I only saw about 40 of the 120 films available, so this report is by no means comprehensive. "Napoleon Dynamite" might be consider "Mormon cinema," depending on how one defines that genre. It's director (Jared Hess) and writers (Jared and Jerusha Hess) are LDS, as are its stars (Jon Heder and Aaron Ruell). There may be other Mormons in the cast, but someone more knowledgeable than I about such things would have to report on that; there were no names I recognized, anyway. The film itself is not LDS per se, though the indications are there: It is set in Preston, Idaho, which I understand is largely Mormon; the main character uses faux-profanity (fauxfanity?) like "fetch" and "heck" a lot; and at one point he visits a thrift store that is obviously (to someone like me, anyway) a Deseret Industries. The only other Mormon reference I noted in the festival was in the film "Mean Creek," about a group of teens seeking revenge against a bully. Near the end, we see the front door on the house in which two of the teens live. There are two stickers on it, one that says "LDS" with a silhouette of Moroni playing the trumpet, and another that just says "CTR." I doubt it was the director's intention to make the family LDS, for surely he would have found a more direct way of getting that across if he did. (As it is, probably only Mormons will even know what those stickers mean.) More likely, the house they used for that scene happened to belong to Mormons, and the director didn't think the stickers were noticeable enough to either remove them or explain them. If anyone's interested, I wrote more about the festival, including reviews of some films, at my Web site, www.EricDSnider.com. Eric D. Snider ******** Buy Eric's CD, "Will Make Jokes for Food"! Info at http://www.ericdsnider.com/shop.php - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 23 Jan 2004 22:21:51 -0600 From: Jonathan Langford Subject: [AML] Mormonism and _Angels in America_ A while back, I had ambitions to write a sort-of review of Angels in America for AML-List and/or Irreantum, from the perspective of a non-theater person who had merely read the plays as a matter of curiosity. (I actually read them on the prompting of a non-LDS friend of mine who teaches German literature and specializes in queer theory. I understand he'll be using Angels in America as one of the texts in a class on literature and sexuality that he's teaching this coming semester.) That review went the way of all too many such dreams: too many things to do, too little time. But I had several thoughts about the Mormon elements in _Angels in America_ that I want to put out there anyway, in a less polished format than a review... _Angels in America_, as I see it, is not about Mormonism. That is to say, even though it uses symbols from Mormon history/theology, and features Mormon characters, it's not about what it means to be Mormon--even Mormon and gay--and it's not really about Mormon beliefs, or how those beliefs intersect with other ideas and belief systems within the play (such as Marxist approaches to class). There are some clever things done with the Mormon elements. I think they're used partly as a distillation of a particular type of idea of what it means to be American. The Visitor's Center diorama scene is hilarious at points. But the supposedly Mormon characters, by and large, don't act like Mormons, they don't describe their beliefs in terms that would be terribly familiar to most Mormons, and their religion doesn't seem to impact their day-to-day lives in the ways that it does for most active Mormons. Please note that I'm not trying to criticize Kushner for a lack of realism. I don't think that examining or depicting the Mormon experience is any part of his goal (as, for example, examining the American experience, and the gay experience, and even the New York Jewish experience, are, to some degree at least). He's a poet/playwright; he can and should and does feel free to use whatever elements inspire his fancy, and he doesn't terribly abuse Mormons in the process. But I think it's important not to mistake his play for a play about Mormonism. What seems to interest Kushner about Mormonism is the way he can revise symbols of Mormonism to convey his own meaning. Thus, for example, his plays have angels coming to earth with a modern message--but they're not Mormon angels at all, and their message (that humans should stop moving around and changing things so much, so that maybe God will find his way back to heaven), while it may reflect Kushner's take on religion in general (at least conservative religions like--as most people see it--Mormonism), has nothing to do, really, with the message of the Restoration--even as a critique of that message. Get past the "angel appears, surprisingly, to a man of modern America," and there's nothing left of any connection to Mormonism in this elements (as I see it). My friend made the comment (in an email to me) that he thought Kushner had some important things to say about religion and sexuality in _Angels in America_. Well, maybe. But the Mormon take on sexuality is actually radically different from that of most religions, at least most contemporary Christian religions. I think that may be part of what attracted Kushner about using Mormonism: his angels, for example, are intensely sexual beings (at least in the reactions they prompt), and I suspect that (if he knew that much about Mormon theology, which he may well--he did study Mormonism before writing the play) he may have felt it was particularly appropriate/ironic to make the stereotypically repressed religious closet gay (who comes out over the course of the play) be from a religion that theoretically accepts, even embraces sexuality, but that culturally is (as he would see it) just as repressive as any other religion. But none of that irony comes out in the play, so far as I can tell. There's no engagement with the peculiarly Mormon ideas that make homosexuality not merely a sin (as it is in many other religions) but also a dead end. The peculiarly Mormon idea of humans becoming gods doesn't get mentioned. In short, there's no engagement (as I see it) with the *ideas* of Mormonism. The characters (returning to an earlier point) don't seem much affected by Mormonism in their social lives. There are no callings, no home teachers. When Joe's mother arrives in New York, worried about her son and without a place to stay, she doesn't call his bishop, doesn't call on local church members to put her up for the night. It probably fits Kushner's purposes to have his Mormon characters disconnected and isolated--but even though members of the Church may feel isolated internally, if they are active members of the church they will, in fact, be part of a community, whether they feel really at home there or not. That's something that's not reflected in the play. Similarly, Joe's internal anguish--the struggle to repress his homosexual feelings, and their conflict with his religious values--seems well drawn to me, but also generic. They're the sort of feelings that anyone from a sexually restrictive religion might feel. But as I've tried to indicate, I think that for a Mormon, there are actually other factors at work as well, which could well be incorporated into a play that was *about* what it means to be Mormon and gay, as opposed to a play that simply uses Mormons as icons. I do have to say that the garment-stripping scene works well symbolically, though it's one of the scenes that would make me very uncomfortable seeing this play performed. Kushner does seem to "get" what they mean and what it would mean to take them off, and he uses the garment-stripping scene to make the point that no matter what gestures you make, you can't really change who you are inside. Which may be the key to the aspect of the play(s) that I found most puzzling (though not, directly at least, connected to Mormonism): that is, the rather stern judgment that is made of Joe (the closeted gay who comes out etc.). While many of the other people (even including his ambiguously Mormon mother) become part of a community by the end of the second play, he is sent off on his own and we hear no more about him. At first, I was wondering if the message was simply that for someone who has been what Joe has been (writer of repressive court decisions for conservative judges), there is no forgiveness. Eventually, I decided that probably wasn't the case, though I can't remember anymore exactly what I decided it was instead. Maybe that you can't simply choose an identity, but that what makes a difference is how you live instead. (Both Joe and Louis, the lover of the man who contracts AIDS, are held to account for deserting those who depend on them, even though in Joe's case it is leaving his wife to "embrace his gay identity." Which, actually, makes this a pretty moral work, from one perspective at least.) _Angels in America_ is an interesting and well-written piece of work. Possibly even brilliant, although I think that those who don't share Kushner's beliefs and (dare I say) prejudices will find considerably less in it than those who do. It's an important work, from the perspective of Mormon letters. But not, ultimately--in my view--a work of literature that has much specifically to say either to or about Mormons. Jonathan Langford Speaking for myself, not AML-List - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 24 Jan 2004 20:16:52 -0800 From: Jeff Needle Subject: [AML] Care in Use of Historical Sources Not that I'm behind in my reading, but I'm just getting to the Fall 2002 issue of "Dialogue" and I have a question for the writers/researchers here. The first article concerns Martin Harris' Kirtland Years. As I read, my eyebrows shot into my head several times at some of the extreme things Harris had to say. And descriptions of Harris were hardly flattering. Glancing down at the footnotes, I found, among the sources Howe's "Mormonism Unvailed" and the Wayne Sentinel. Hardly Mormon-friendly sources of information. I understand that, when writing from a "faithful" point of view, writers were quote uncritically from "official" sources, and we regularly criticize them for it. Do we sometimes allow cites from "non-faithful" points of view to pass by without comment? Was Howe such a reliable witness that we can quote from him and not wonder if he skewed reality in *his* direction, as much as we accuse faithful writers of skewing reality in *their* direction? What are your thoughts? - ---------------- Jeff Needle jeff.needle@general.com jeffneedle@tns.net - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 26 Jan 2004 12:50:45 -0800 (PST) From: Jennifer Adair Subject: Re: [AML] YOUNG & GRAY, _Standing on the Promises_ "Do you deal at all with white Mormon attitudes toward other groups such as the native Americans?" In my classes, I don't. I talk about the race issue and white privilege, dominance, etc. and then "leak" with mormon code words that I am LDS so that perhaps the other LDS students will not dismiss what is being said in the class. I have found this works and I have found at other times this doesn't work. LDS literature that opens up issues about race in the church in a fair but honest way helps me to help LDS students to get past ensign-like discourses about culture problems and to instead talk about solutions and situations the way the non-white ethnic groups may see and experience them. I know that Jessie Embry has done some work that I have used. I know the DC temple's exibit two years ago has helped me justify to my students the need to embrace others, not excuse them away with "oh, why don't they just get over it" which is what I hear a lot from mainstream mormon conversations about racial issues in the US.I f anyone has other suggestions - fiction or non-fiction that deal with racial issues in a complex or at least non-stereotyping way, I would love to hear about them. Jennifer - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 26 Jan 2004 18:14:32 -0700 From: Marny Parkin Subject: [AML] Fwd: LTUE now Feb. 19-21! I'm forwarding this from the Life, the Universe, & Everything symposium committee. Marny >PLEASE distribute this! > >Due to mis-communication higher up the chain of command (so, basically, NOT >the committee), the dates of the symposium are Feb. 19-21. (that's THREE >WEEKS!) > >We're contacting the guests now. So not sure if this will affect them or not. > >But we STILL plan on having a symposium. PLEASE COME! > >Same workshops, panels, presentations, etc. ;) > >Charlie [CharleneH@aol.com] - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 26 Jan 2004 20:28:32 -0500 From: Sam Brown Subject: [AML] Mormon Near-Death Literature Hello, i seem to recall that there are several Mormon-penned books on this phenomenon of seeing God/death/relatives and then returning. can anyone tell me who the authors are and what the books are? thanks much. - -- Yours, Samuel Brown, MD Massachusetts General Hospital sam@vecna.com - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 25 Jan 2004 20:22:50 -0700 From: "Morgan B. Adair" Subject: RE: [AML] _The Best of Lowell Bennion_ > [mailto:owner-aml-list@lists.xmission.com] On Behalf Of Nan > P. McCulloch > > I just secured a copy of Lowell L. Bennion's selected > writings = 1028-1988--edited by Eugene England--from > Amazon.com. It was pricey, = but worth it as I am a sincere > fan. Does anyone know where this book = can be found at a > reasonable price? Also, is there anyone I can contact = > personally about confirming some historical information re > LLB that is = not appropriate for this list--historian, > friend, family member? <> searches a number of online dealers of new and used books. The cheapest copy of The Best of Lowell L. Bennion listed is $24.95 from Alibris.com. Four other copies are listed, with prices up to $40. MBA - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 26 Jan 2004 18:46:21 -0700 From: Christopher Bigelow Subject: [AML] More on _Latter Days_ Director of film with gay LDS theme still hopeful for screenings in Utah PARK CITY -- C. Jay Cox, director of "Latter Days," hasn't given up hope that his film will someday be shown in Utah. The movie, which is about gay members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, was recently dropped by Madstone Theaters in Salt Lake City without ever being screened. During a panel discussion Thursday at the unaffiliated Queer Lounge set up during the Sundance Film Festival, Cox said he believes the decision was based on pressure from conservatives in Utah who threatened to boycott the art-house movie chain. The theater said the decision was made because of the film's "lack of artistic integrity and quality" -- that is, it just wasn't good enough to screen. "Yeah, movies only get shown if they're 'Citizen Kane,' " he joked to The Salt Lake Tribune after the panel. He hopes the simmering controversy over the movie will ensure that it gets screened somewhere in Utah; perhaps after the fuss, people would want to see it just out of curiosity. Cox heard about threats through an employee at the theater, who "implied that some of these threats were coming from high up in Salt Lake," Cox said. "We were getting criticized for having the audacity to make a film about gay Mormons, because of course there's no such thing," Cox said. But during the film festival circuit ("Latter Days" was not screened at Sundance), "every festival we would go to, people would get up and say, 'I'm a gay Mormon and this is my story.' " Panel members discussed how to get gay-themed films into the mainstream - -- and whether that should be the goal in the first place. Even when bad movies or television shows are made about gay people, some say, " 'Oh, this is good for us.' Well, is it?" said Ryan Shiraki, director of "Home of Phobia," screening as part of Sundance's Park City at Midnight section. "Latter Days" is the first directing foray for Cox, who worked as a screenwriter on "Sweet Home Alabama." "My next movie is so not gay. I'm now doing one on chick car racing," Cox said. "The only thing that would get my family to talk to me again was to make a NASCAR movie." -- Christy Karras - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 27 Jan 2004 11:49:13 -0800 (PST) From: Mark Hansen Subject: Re: [AML] Mormons at Sundance Cool report. Thanks. Was there anyone else also at the LDS Film Festival? Thoughts, impressions? MRKH - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 27 Jan 2004 14:55:57 -0600 (CST) From: Rich Hammett Subject: RE: [AML] YOUNG & GRAY, _Standing on the Promises_ On Fri, 23 Jan 2004, Margaret Young wrote: [snip] > But I'll never write it. I am eager to finish my current > project--another co-authored work where a grand-daughter > of a BYU professor who resigned in 1911 rather than avoid > teaching evolution will write about the controversy > with the great great grand-daughter of the man who > presided over BYU at the time--George Brimhall. I'm the > Brimhall descendant. [snip] I've never heard of this. I'm a little confused by your synopsis, though. Was BYU/Brimhall forcing him to teach evolution, or NOT to teach evolution? With all of the mormons in the life sciences, this one may have a pretty good audience ready. rich - -- \ Rich Hammett http://home.hiwaay.net/~rhammett / rhammett@HiWAAY.net \ 12/13/03--Saddam Hussein found cowering in an / "undisclosed location." - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 27 Jan 2004 15:37:08 -0500 From: "C.S. Bezas" Subject: RE: [AML] Personal Websites: Advice? Here's my new site: http://csbezas.com . I just put it up this week. I have free site hosting for three years and only had to pay $5.95 for my domain name. It was pretty simple to build. Hope that helps! The company is 1and1.com and they threw in a large amount of extras, such as site statistic software, search engine submission stuff, a free forum for my site, etc. Cindy C.S. Bezas Board of Editors, Advisory Chair http://www.latterdayauthors.com - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 27 Jan 2004 16:08:51 -0500 From: "Tony Markham" Subject: RE: [AML] Mormon Near-Death Literature One of the most famous is Betty Eadie's (sp?) _Embraced by the Light_ She never admits to being LDS in the text, but I met her at a book signing and she owned up. Tony Markham - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 27 Jan 2004 15:32:31 -0700 From: "Nan P. McCulloch" Subject: Re: [AML] _The Best of Lowell Bennion_ Thanks for the information. Big difference in price. I'll forward this to my son. The $38. + was the best he has been able to find. He is looking for several copies. Nan McCulloch - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 28 Jan 2004 08:22:35 -0600 From: LDS Film Festival (by way of Jonathan Langford ) Subject: [AML] 2004 LDS Film Festival Post-Event News Release LDS FILM FESTIVAL http://www.ldsbox.com feedback@ldsbox.com - ------------------------------------------------------------ 3RD LDS FILM FESTIVAL BIG SUCCESS - ------------------------------------------------------------ With 40 events and an attendance of 2000, the 3RD LDS FILM FESTIVAL 2004 continues to grow in quality and quantity. The 3-day event offered many filmmaker's presentations, including Russ Holt ("The Work and the Glory"), Jeremy Coon ("Napoleon Dynamite"), Adam Abel and Ryan Little ("Saints & Soldiers"), Kurt Hale and Dave Hunter ("The Home Teachers"), Jason Faller ("Pride & Prejudice") and many more. Over 70 short films were screened, including 29 films made during the 24-HOUR FILMMAKING MARATHON. 26 films in two short film programs competed for the Festival Awards. Additionally, 18 films out of competition were presented. The 3RD LDS FILM FORUM explored the depiction of Mormons in film past, present and future, and continues to be an important part of the festival. The Provo City Library at Academy Square once again served as the perfect location for all these events. For the first time, the festival also showcased feature films made by LDS Filmmakers, including the not yet released "Saints & Soldiers" and "The Best Two Years." The audience response was overwhelming, with 800 people attending screenings at the University Mall Cinemas in Orem. We would like to thank the Provo City Library and Don Oscarson for their generous support of the festival. We'd also like to thank ldsvideostore.com, Mike Bloxham, University Mall Cinemas, Halestorm Entertainment, the BYU Media Arts Department and Excel Entertainment Group for their support. Our thanks goes also to all of our volunteers for their dedicated service! We look forward to an exciting 4TH LDS FILM FESTIVAL 2005! - ------------------------------------------------------------ AND THE WINNERS ARE... - ------------------------------------------------------------ The winners of this year's festival and the 12 finalists of the Screenplay Competition were announced at an informal award ceremony Saturday night at 10 p.m. You can look up the winners at: http://www.ldsbox.com/cgi-bin/04winners.php In the Short Film Competition, dramatic entries were mostly among the winners, while as in the 24-hour filmmaking marathon competition comedy won most of the awards. Congratulations to all filmmakers and screenwriters for their excellent work! We hope that the LDS FILM FESTIVAL will continue to motivate filmmakers and screenwriters alike to write and produce great stories and films. Thank you all for participating in this year's film festival. See you all next year! - ------------------------------------------------------------ "BEST OF 2004" FESTIVAL TOUR - ------------------------------------------------------------ The "Best of 2004" program will go on tour. Organize your own screening in your city, ward, stake, school or library. You can rent the "Best of 2004" program throughout 2004. More information will be online soon. You can email us at feedback@ldsbox.com, if you're interested in bringing the festival to your town. You either signed up for our newsletter or were recommended to us by a friend. If you would like to unsubscribe from future LDSBOX mailings, simply reply to this message with the word REMOVE in the subject line. - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 27 Jan 2004 18:50:05 -0800 From: "Kathy Tyner" Subject: Re: [AML] Care in Use of Historical Sources Absolutely on the mark Jeff. Just as "official" sources tend to gloss over unpleasant things, most "anti" or "non-faithful" material, especially from certain time periods were terribly skewed and biased and almost always inaccurate, often purposefully, sometimes ignorantly. Hardly something a careful researcher/student of history should rely on. An honest researcher can make a mistake, to be sure, but some sources and their reliability should be obvious. Kathy Tyner Orange County, CA - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 28 Jan 2004 09:19:40 -0800 From: "Susan Malmrose" Subject: Re: [AML] Mormon Near-Death Literature There were a series of books called "Beyond the Veil," I believe it was, that detailed several different types of spiritual experiences...I'm sure some of them were near-death, I just don't remember. Susan M - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ End of aml-list-digest V2 #250 ******************************