Mormonism and the Movies: A Book Review
BCC Press's new collection of essays explores the often underappreciated intersection between Mormonism and the movies.
Movies have long been an integral part of Mormon culture. From The Hobbit references in General Conference to Napoleon Dynamite watch parties at BYU to decades-long strict cultural taboos on mature cinematic content, Mormonism’s unique relationship to the movies is criminally unexplored. BCC Press’s new collection of essays titled Mormonism and the Movies tackles the various facets of Latter-day Saint members’ and doctrine’s relationship to film spectatorship in the 21st century.
In the afterword, the book’s editor Chris Wei states that his hope in compiling this selection of essays is to encourage his audience “to engage in more robust energetic ways with the various filmmaking, religious, and post-religious communities around [them].” Written by various filmmakers, actors, and scholars all along the spectrum of Latter-day Saint belief and practice, this collection of essays accomplishes Wei’s lofty goal, adeptly providing various access points for its audience to engage with the material regardless of their level of previous experience with studying Mormonism or film.
Essays on authors’ personal experiences navigating their own religion and film invite reflection on the audience’s own relationship with faith and cinema. Essays applying common Latter-day Saint theological concepts to popular classics reframe how audiences can interact with and interpret some of the most well-known cinematic tales. Deep analyses of a single film open well-known Mormon theological concepts to new possibilities and interpretations.
Alongside encouraging its audience to further engage with a wide array of cinematic works and Mormon texts, the diverse collection of essays also outlines Latter-day Saint culture’s current relationship to mainstream media. For instance, Brooke Parker examines Latter-day Saints’ obsession with the edited movie industry. Contrasting Utah based services like VidAngel that edit mainstream movies with American Christian services like PureFlix that create and curate their own films separate from Hollywood, Parker concludes that Mormonism’s desire to concurrently live by higher standards than contemporary society and be accepted in mainstream American culture drives Latter-day Saint viewers to seek edited versions of movies rather than create their own. This contradictory desire to be a part of popular media discussions while accommodating unique religious codes fundamentally informs how Latter-day Saint audiences interact with and interpret popular films.
Building off Parker’s and others’ essays that examine various approaches for Latter-day Saints engaging with R-rated and mature content, filmmaker Barrett Burgin calls for a new wave of Mormon cinema with more nuanced Mormon representations and stories. Citing numerous examples from Wagon Master to Battlestar Galactic, Burgin argues that Mormonism has a broad mass appeal if handed authentically.
The same desire for mainstream acceptance that drives Latter-day Saint spectators to seek out heavily edited Hollywood films all too often limits Mormon filmmakers to didactic, moralistic films afraid to tackle current issues that might not show the positive side of Mormonism. Burgin argues that by embracing complex, nuanced, and even negative depictions of Mormon faith and culture, Latter-day Saint filmmakers could create financially and critically successful films that speak to both Mormon and non-Mormon communities.
Essays identifying the driving forces in Latter-day Saint spectatorship and future paths for Latter-day Saint filmmaking are scattered through the first half of the book. The last half builds upon these concepts to create a framework to use film analysis as a mirror to reflect on, question, and critique current problems in Latter-day Saint culture and doctrine.
For example, in an essay on Latter-day Saint’s relationship to cinematic violence, Chris Wei argues that Latter-day Saints can gain more knowledge by analyzing scriptural events and stories through the same lens as they would a narrative film. Just as audiences can and should question violent choices made by such protagonists as Indiana Jones and John Wick, Latter-day Saints should be more open to critiquing violent actions carried out by such central Book of Mormon figures as Nephi and Captain Moroni.
The most important contribution of this book is to center tense discussions between orthodox, former, and nuanced Latter-day Saints in various media interpretations, providing a safe space that encourages empathy and honesty in lieu of dogmatism and animosity. For instance, Derrick Clements recounts his years-long decision to engage with R-rated cinema in the face of long-held cultural Latter-day Saint beliefs that run contrary to this choice. Clements then compares this experience with R-rated movies to his struggle to navigate his opposition to the church’s November policy and his own newfound personal nuanced approach to faith.
Chris Wei ties these essays together in the book’s closing essay, dissecting three approaches to navigate a faith crisis or transition using examples from popular films. Using Life of Pi, Signs and Contact to represent a faithful approach, The Matrix, The Truman Show, and Captain America: Civil War to discuss a “red pill” approach, and Zootopia, The Lego Movie, and Inside Out to exemplify a nuanced reconciliation approach, Wei lays out the merits and shortcomings of each framework.
Wei, a self-described former Latter-day Saint himself, is not interested in leading his audience to land on a specific conclusion or pursue one of the three approaches. The key to his closing essay, and many others throughout the book, is accurately representing and validating the various approaches available to anyone willing to be a part of the cinephile or Mormon communities.
In short, Mormonism and the Movies is all about empathy. In discussing controversial issues in traditional Mormon spaces, including R-rated movies, feminism, and faith crises, the authors never fall into preaching or demonizing. Much like watching a thoughtful film, Mormonism and the Movies provides multiple perspectives that are sure to invite its readers to reflect on their understanding of the world and watch a few more movies.
Copies of Mormonism and the Movies are currently available to order through BCC Press.