I don’t watch Big Love; I only know that it is an HBO series that depicts a FLDS polygamous family in Utah. HBO recently aired a show depicting a Mormon ceremony the is supposedly secret as well as sacred. My own personal belief is that the Mormons should seek greater transparency if they wish to be accepted by the larger society; let’s lay that aside for now.
My point is that if some primitive society, say a Lokota, Yaqui or Nepalese Holy ritual was considered sacred and secret was depicted by HBO, wouldn't the producers of the show be falling over themselves to respect the sacred/secret aspects of *that* ceremony?
Why the double standard for a mainstream religion/cult (take your pick) than the rarer religion/cult that is even less accepted by society?
The ceremonies are sacred, but none of them are secret. Mormons don’t talk about them, but ex-mormons do. The Mormon church doesn’t want their rituals profaned or mocked (nor does any religion for that matter), and worry about being seen as cultish (which they are). HBO did none of the above, IMO. Hey, Christian baptism is a sacred ceremony, but nobody gets their knickers in a twist over the portrayal in movies.
If HBO had an successful ongoing series about the Lakota, Yaqui, or Nepalese and had a chance to air one of their secret rituals, do you really think they would hesitate?
I knew about the scandal before this week’s episode aired and, frankly, I was expecting something a whole lot more weird than what I witnessed. Seriously, it wasn’t that much more strange than any number of random, Christian religious ceremonies I’ve seen in my life.
I hadn’t heard about it before I saw the episode, and I was surprised to hear there was controversy about it afterwards.
It was a really powerful scene, showing the intensity and emotion that can accompany religious ceremony, and how Barb was about to lose a significant part of her religious life. I didn’t think it was mocking at all; if it was it would have significantly detracted from the power of the scene.
I’ve never seen the show as making fun of Mormonism (except maybe for the opening credits).
Why would the Mormon church (by which I assume you mean the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints) be offended by anything HBO shows about the Fundamentalist Latter-Day Saints, a separate sect?
Chronos, the ceremony in question is a ritual of the mainstream LDS, not the FLDS. That’s part of the reason their panties are all wadded. The rest of the reason, I’m not sure about, but judging from some of the articles I’ve read, they seem to have a massive persecution complex going on.
My understanding was that the church itself was neutral on it, it was individuals within the church that were raising concerns about it. I believe the LDS leaders made a statement to the effect of “stop giving them (Big Love) free advertising”.
Eh. I found it no more or less weird than a Bar Mitzvah, or a Confirmation, or a Hindu wedding.
At least the Mormons have the good sense to do their rituals in English.
The show is actually not about the FLDS at all; its protagonists are an unaffiliated Mormon fundamentalist polygamous family. There are a group of secondary characters from a sect which resembles the FLDS, though.
I’ve wondered what about this episode did it though: the show’s opening credits are frought with Mormon imagery (the veils, the planets, etc.).
Another reason that some Mormons are upset about it is because the show was created by two gay guys (not romantic partners to my knowledge) who were, of course very anti Prop-8, and is executive produced by Tom Hanks, who called Prop 8 and its supporters unAmerican. It’s been suggested in some of the blogs and YouTube protests that the airing of a sacred ritual that most would see as somewhere between decidedly bizarre and a lame Masonic rip-off is payback for Prop 8. Which, it could well be.
It was on YouTube but is now removed. For those who haven’t seen it, it involves the wearing of white robes and headgear by the woman receiving endowments and the men and women who are conducting the ritual. There are secret hand gestures of the Melchizedech priesthood, some responsive recitation, the appeal of Eve (the woman) to come through the veil into the presence of God, etc… I think there’s a part where she reads something through the Ummim and Thummim (“It says to me to drink my Ovaltine”) and does the Timewarp again, etc., then goes back to her family.
Personally I say the Mormons owe way too much in royalties to the Masons to be too upset with Big Love, and several of the more reasonable are saying “chill” (including even nutty Orson Scott Card in several recent articles). And if the real Endowment ceremony is anything like that then they really need to become more gay friendly, cause girlfriend we could make that thing pop— I’m talking lighting effects, stentorian voices, fog, you will totally believe it’s both Elvis and the Elochim talking through that curtain.
As for a Native American ritual- I don’t think HBO or anyone else would hesitate for a second if it would help a high rated show. It’s not like this is going to cost them many Mormon viewers since they already weren’t too popular in SLC. And Utah can’t do too much to p.o. Hollywood considering the millions Hollywood pours into the state through TV/movies filmed there and Sundance & other film festivals.
In the episode an ex-LDS member who is now living in a polygamous relationship attends and participates in a ceremony in the mainstream LDS temple with her mother and sister (who are still mainstream LDS).
I enjoy the show and don’t personally have strong feelings about this. But just out of curiousity, would anyone’s feelings be different if this were, say, a show depicting Mohammed on screen (which, as I understand, is considered offensive by many Muslims).
Dude, you know NOTHING about our LDS brothers. Ovaltine contains caffeine, which is non-kosher with many of them. (No, you have never truly dieted until your wife puts you on a 1200cal diet and your jogging path takes you past the Ovaltine factory. Yeah, you remember from childhood that the stuff tastes like the vitamins they add, but the chocolate smell is SO DELICIOUS!)
You gotta admit that including women is more than the (sidelong glance) MASONS would do.
Nor a LOW-rated one. But our Native Brethren aren’t shy about their ceremonies, which only, truly, exist when first performed, so replays don’t count, though they can’t hurt.
South Park has portrayed Mohammed on screen. It’s also portrayed Joseph Smith and a bunch of other religious figures. But it’s South Park. I guess there’s no point to getting mad.
My feelings wouldn’t be any different as a viewer, though if I were a member of the cast or crew of the show I’d fight it just strictly out of fear for personal safety. (Mormon beliefs can be odd and like every other religions they produce the occasional lunatic, but on the whole they’re way more droid than Wookie when it comes to getting pissed off, while radical Muslims are the reverse.)
What amazed me on BIG LOVE was that they were allowed to film either in the jail cell where Joseph and Hyrum Smith were murdered (Carthage IL) or else went to great lengths to exactly reproduce it. (I may be mistaken but I believe the site is Mormon owned rather than a state historic site.) And it’s odd that there isn’t more LDS letter writing and outrage over the Wilford Woodruff letter plotline in the show when it’s a clear tweaking of the salamander/Hoffmann letters (like which I expect it to turn out to be a forgery).
I posted these links in the mainstream BIG LOVE thread but I’ll post them here for the schismatics- Orson Scott Card’s writings about the endowment episode.
PS- As far as secrecy aspects, the ritual’s been well documented in Gentile accounts since before the Mormons ever went to Utah, so I don’t think the Saints really had any worries there.
PPS- One thing I must agree with the official church stance on is that the Mountain Meadows movie it refers to sucked and was grossly inaccurate both in Mormon and pretty much every other history. Inaccuracies ranged from the minor (Brigham Young having his trademark bushy beard in 1857- he didn’t grow it until a couple of years later) to far more major (in flashbacks the main character recalls the murder of his mother when she refused to be given to another man in marriage; generally only Joseph Smith really ordered other men to give him their wives and even then there’s no inference anyone was murdered for it [Orson Pratt was excommunicated until he complied and repented and some left the fold because of it, but none were murdered], plus the time frame was all wrong as in the movie this would have occurred before polygamy even became a practice). Then there’s the fact that Dean Cain (whose brother directed/produced) played Joseph Smith- that there’s just weird. The main question it made me ponder was “Does Jon Voight just really need money that badly?”