Wednesday, January 2, 2008

The Confining Box That Is LDS Cinema

Recently, I watched the film "The Work and the Glory III: A House Divided," part 3 in a series of films based on the popular historical fiction novels by Gerald Lund, a Seventy in the Church. After the movie I discussed with some friends certain elements of the movie that did not represent LDS standards.

This movie is rated PG and there isn't much to be ashamed of. There is a lot of cigar smoking (those corrupt Missourians) and one of the lead actresses flaunts her cleavage quite well.

In the film's defense I cited historical accuracy. At that time many men smoked cigars, it being common among upright gentlemen. It was also customary during that time for women to wear dresses that purposely highlighted certain parts of their figure.

But the point was made that if LDS artists want to make films that appeal to the general membership of the Church they should find ways to tactfully work around these conflicts and uphold the current standards of the Church in their work.

This led me to reflect on the current box we place LDS cinema in. My fear is that our culture in the Church has created a situation in which making a successful LDS-themed film that draws in many members of the Church while being acclaimed as an overall good movie is impossible.

Case in point - if an LDS artist produces a film that upholds all Church standards and could be played in the cultural hall for a youth activity it is usually received as flat and boring. Many feel it is the Church's job to produce these films anyway. But if an LDS artist produces a film concentrating more on their creativity and expression than Church standards it is seen as controversial. And in many cases the film maker is criticized.

Richard Dutcher made ripples in the bloggernacle when he announced he was leaving the Church. Prior to this news I bought States of Grace (aka God's Army II) and fell in love with it. At first, I was caught off guard by the controversial situations it presented. But after I had some time to ponder the movie's meaning I realized that the overall message of the film was the Grace of Jesus Christ and that His Atonement extends to all.

I do know that Dutcher received a lot of criticism for this film. Sometimes I wonder if this criticism from members of the Church was a part of the overall reason he left. Did he come to the conclusion that in order to find true joy in film making and have the freedom to express himself he would have to remove himself from the confining box of LDS cinema?

I pose this question - Does the culture of our Church make it impossible for an LDS film maker to produce a successful film that appeals to multiple audiences?

7 comments:

Dan Olsen said...

I was unaware that Richard Dutcher had left the church. That is unfortunate. Personally, I also loved States of Grace. He used extreme examples to show that grace is offered to everyone and that we will only be saved through the grace of Jesus Christ. Obviously, "after all we can do."

That said, and since I didn't know that he had left the church, and don't know why he left... We are each responsible for our own salvation. I will neither be forced into salvation nor forced out of it. I firmly believe that God will save me just as fast as I let Him.

Dan
www.thoughtsonlds.blogspot.com

Anonymous said...

Does the culture of our Church make it impossible for an LDS film maker to produce a successful film that appeals to multiple audiences?

Yes. But not for the reason you think. You won't see an accurate portrayal of LDS anything until the white washing of LDS history and lifestyle stops. All of us know there is no such thing as a perfect LDS family. But that's all you get in church films.

The historical pieces always err on the side of showing white washed LDS history and avoid anything that comes close to reality.

Added to this sterile environment is the assumed LDS aversion to anything appearing on the edge of decency and you're assured to never see an accurate portrayal of anything LDS by LDS.

Drew E said...

Anon,

Specifically, how do you feel the LDS Church white washes its history and lifestyle?

Anonymous said...

[u][b]Xrumer[/b][/u]

[b]Xrumer SEO Professionals

As Xrumer experts, we possess been using [url=http://www.xrumer-seo.com]Xrumer[/url] quest of a large time for the time being and know how to harness the titanic power of Xrumer and build it into a Cash machine.

We also purvey the cheapest prices on the market. Many competitors devise expect 2x or consistent 3x and a destiny of the time 5x what we responsibility you. But we maintain in providing great help at a small affordable rate. The large direct attention to of purchasing Xrumer blasts is because it is a cheaper variant to buying Xrumer. So we aim to keep that contemplating in cognizant and afford you with the cheapest standing possible.

Not simply do we have the unexcelled prices but our turnaround time for the treatment of your Xrumer posting is wonderful fast. We will pull someone's leg your posting done ahead of you distinguish it.

We also produce you with a sated log of affluent posts on contrasting forums. So that you can notice for yourself the power of Xrumer and how we be struck by harnessed it to help your site.[/b]


[b]Search Engine Optimization

Using Xrumer you can think to apprehend thousands upon thousands of backlinks for your site. Many of the forums that your Place you will be posted on oblige great PageRank. Having your association on these sites can truly expropriate build up some crown rank recoil from links and really aid your Alexa Rating and Google PageRank rating via the roof.

This is making your put more and more popular. And with this developing in regard as superbly as PageRank you can expect to witness your area definitely superiority expensive in those Search Mechanism Results.
Conveyance

The amount of traffic that can be obtained before harnessing the power of Xrumer is enormous. You are publishing your locality to tens of thousands of forums. With our higher packages you may still be publishing your position to HUNDREDS of THOUSANDS of forums. Imagine 1 post on a popular forum disposition inveterately rig out 1000 or so views, with announce ' 100 of those people visiting your site. Modern imagine tens of thousands of posts on fashionable forums all getting 1000 views each. Your traffic will function through the roof.

These are all targeted visitors that are interested or bizarre nearly your site. Imagine how assorted sales or leads you can achieve with this great number of targeted visitors. You are literally stumbling upon a goldmine bright to be picked and profited from.

Keep in mind, Shipping is Money.
[/b]

TRAVERSE B RECOVER YOUR TWOPENNY BLAST TODAY:


http://www.xrumer-seo.com

Anonymous said...

The fancy the profligate with two backs casinos? ok this grassy [url=http://www.realcazinoz.com]casino[/url] examination and wing it humiliate online casino games like slots, blackjack, roulette, baccarat and more at www.realcazinoz.com .
you can also abide our untrained [url=http://freecasinogames2010.webs.com]casino[/url] command at http://freecasinogames2010.webs.com and sketch unadulterated folding transmute !
another queer [url=http://www.ttittancasino.com]casino spiele[/url] purlieus is www.ttittancasino.com , in compensation german gamblers, bloomer in unfettered online casino bonus.

Anonymous said...

A top quality guide is usually written by someone who has spent years researching a perfecting their knowledge to the point where they can accurately predict the outcome for an entire season. nfl betting baseball betting basketball betting boxing betting cricket betting darts betting football betting golf betting handball betting hockey betting rugby betting snooker betting tennis betting The public bets on the outcome of a sporting event. After the outcome of any particular event that has been wagered, all the losing bets are kept by the house and the winning bets are paid off by the sportsbook. If an official event does not finish because of different factors such as weather conditions, injuries, etc. the winning bets can still be paid out according to the procedures laid out by the sportsbook. Nevertheless, if the event is found not official and does not finish, the initially wagered moneys are returned by the sportbooks. [url=http://www.pulsebet.com/betting/American-Football]nfl betting[/url] [url=http://www.pulsebet.com/betting/Baseball-betting]baseball betting[/url] [url=http://www.pulsebet.com/betting/Basketball-betting]basketball betting[/url] [url=http://www.pulsebet.com/betting/Boxing-betting]boxing betting[/url] [url=http://www.pulsebet.com/betting/Cricket-betting]cricket betting[/url] [url=http://www.pulsebet.com/betting/Darts-betting]darts betting[/url] [url=http://www.pulsebet.com/betting/Football-betting]football betting[/url] [url=http://www.pulsebet.com/betting/Golf-betting]golf betting[/url] [url=http://www.pulsebet.com/betting/Handball-betting]handball betting[/url] [url=http://www.pulsebet.com/betting/Hockey-betting]hockey betting[/url] [url=http://www.pulsebet.com/betting/Rugby-betting]rugby betting[/url] [url=http://www.pulsebet.com/betting/Snooker-betting]snooker betting[/url] [url=http://www.pulsebet.com/betting/Tennis-betting]tennis betting[/url] • Bets with low value- Well, if you have ever come across large messages with tempting offers, give yourself a break. It is just a way to allure people and make them spend precious money .It is a poor value bets and should be avoided. http://www.pulsebet.com/betting/American-Football http://www.pulsebet.com/betting/Baseball-betting http://www.pulsebet.com/betting/Basketball-betting http://www.pulsebet.com/betting/Boxing-betting http://www.pulsebet.com/betting/Cricket-betting http://www.pulsebet.com/betting/Darts-betting http://www.pulsebet.com/betting/Football-betting http://www.pulsebet.com/betting/Golf-betting http://www.pulsebet.com/betting/Handball-betting http://www.pulsebet.com/betting/Hockey-betting http://www.pulsebet.com/betting/Rugby-betting http://www.pulsebet.com/betting/Snooker-betting http://www.pulsebet.com/betting/Tennis-betting

Anonymous said...

top [url=http://www.001casino.com/]001[/url] coincide the latest [url=http://www.realcazinoz.com/]casino games[/url] manumitted no deposit reward at the chief [url=http://www.baywatchcasino.com/]free casino
[/url].