From: owner-aml-list-digest@lists.xmission.com (aml-list-digest) To: aml-list-digest@lists.xmission.com Subject: aml-list-digest V1 #870 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, October 23 2002 Volume 01 : Number 870 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Sat, 19 Oct 2002 10:47:25 -0700 From: "Kim Madsen" Subject: RE: [AML] Single Bishops | She said she saw Brigham City and could not take it seriously | from the very beginning because a sheriff would never be | called to be a bishop. ___ >Hmm. I don't see why. My last bishop and his councilor were high up in the Springville police department. Admittedly we were a "BYU" singles ward. So perhaps we don't count. But still... My husband was cop for 12 years, time split between two different forces in Utah--Centerville and Vernal. To me that the character was in law enforcement and a bishop said VOLUMES about the man and the town. Most LDS cops I've know have had a difficult time not becoming jaded and inactive because of the stress/schedule of the work. It is possible for a man like "Wes" to exist, but he would be a real anomaly in law enforcement, and therefore an even stronger character. A White Knight. A Do Good/Be Good person that really lived up to his credo. Which is probably why I like "Wes" so much in _Brigham City_. My husband struggled with activity in the church during his cop years. Yet it was the church who gave him the biggest chance to be a hero and the emotional strokes that were needed. After not coming for a long while, one day we sat in sacrament meeting, a missionary homecoming, and an old woman in the front of the chapel keeled over. My hubby, EMT trained as a cop, was able to take charge of the situation, administer CPR, help the family remain calm and send for help. Two trained ER nurses were there as well, but they weren't used to dealing with crises like that without all their medical paraphernalia around them and were quite flustered. It took about 10 minutes for the ambulance to arrive, during which time my husband quietly had the bishop end the meeting and clear the chapel. It's very odd to hear a hasty prayer as you can hear a low male voice directing "one and two and three and four and five now blow, blow" as he performed two person CPR with one of the nurses. The woman, in her 80's, survived, albeit with two broken ribs from my husband's strong arms keeping her heart pumping. The family sent him the biggest fruit basket you've ever seen. He never missed church again. He was a hero, because he was a cop, and well loved in his community. There is an unspoken history to the sheriff in _Brigham City_. Only a small portion is disclosed to the audience. It is this rich sense of unspoken layers communicated non-verbally that makes the film artistically excellent. A person who can't take the film seriously "because a sheriff would never be called to be bishop" is a person with a limited amount of knowledge about law enforcement and the multi-faceted lives of the people involved. This is one small thing Dutcher brought alive in his film. Those who are ignorant about law enforcement could have been exposed to a deeper level if they had allowed themselves. Kim Madsen - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 19 Oct 2002 10:37:19 -0700 From: "Kim Madsen" Subject: RE: [AML] Lee Benson on _Charly_ >Thom Duncan writes: "Popularity should mean nothing. A poor film that speaks to people says more about the sorry state of the people who are moved by it. (Again, I have not seen Charly and offer no opinion as to its artistic integrity -- I speak generally)." In general, I find that statement to be harsh. If the people watching a movie are a)less educated about the arts b)emotionally sensitive, which many times has to do with a maturity level, it doesn't necessarily follow they are in a "sorry state". In my view, it would be more accurate to say that "the people this film appeals to are in general less mature and less educated about artistic excellence". And even those people can usally sense the flaws, even if they can't articulate them. _Charly_ had flaws, but had redeeming qualities too. I'd be interested to hear what Thom says about the film after he has seen it. Now let's talk about _Handcart_ which is so flawed, wooden and manipulative that MOST of the audience is repelled, even the less educated and emotionally immature. I've heard many people say they felt like they were watching a poorly made seminary film from the 70's--they even noted the inadequate quality of the media used to make the movie. (I'm not sure if I'm talking the right lingo here...but I've heard people note it seemed to be made on bad video tape or something. Anyone know what was used?) I spoke briefly with Richard Dutcher about this via e-mail and he pointed out that those problems were the director's fault, not the actors or anyone else. I found that fascinating, as I know little about how a director hurts or helps a movie. It's personally painful to me that such a Shakespearean level drama as the _Handcart_ story is reduced to ashes in this movie. The "sorry state" that seems to be developing is the quality of Mormon films, which is what Thom seems to be worried about in his original post; yet he lays accountability for it in a "sorry" audience--I'm assuming for paying money to view the work in the first place. I find it worrisome too, but not as a statement of audience reaction. My worry is for the one LDS filmmaker who has proven his ability in the arena of quality--Richard Dutcher--and he is struggling with raising funds to further his work--specifically, _The Prophet_. Is that a direct and negative outcome of the lower quality LDS films now on the market? >We Mormon artists should not settle for films or plays or books that are only popular. I agree with this statement. However, I do think we ought to see/read as many offerings as we can, so we can share informed opinions with others as to why we found the work to be artisically inadequate. Many people see these things and feel hollow or bugged, but can't express why. They just say "I hated it" or "I liked it". Those who say "I liked it" when speaking of something inferior may be educated as to how the work could improve. In the book arena, the track record is long established, and the audience has sorted itself more or less into "popular/less educated, less mature" and "literary/requiring more artistically of a work". LDS film is so new to the scene that audience sorting hasn't happened yet. Maybe if enough educated LDS artists see the work and talk to LOTS of people about why it's inferior, how it can be improved, we can make an impact that could translate into money flow on the box office/production end of things. And maybe I'm just up in the night. Kim Madsen - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 19 Oct 2002 14:09:57 -0700 From: "Jeff Needle" Subject: [AML] Dean HUGHES, _Troubled Water_ (Review) Review ====== Title: Troubled Waters Author: Dean Hughes Publisher: Bookcraft Year Published: 2002 Number of Pages: 419 Binding: Hardback ISBN: 1-57008-861-6 Price: 22.95 Reviewed by Jeffrey Needle "Troubled Waters" is the second volume of the second series dealing with the Thomas family and its many offshoots. The story began with the five volume "Children of the Promise" series, wherein we meet the family and follow their development through many decades and across several continents. The current series, "Hearts of the Children," is projected to likewise contain five volumes. An author's note at the back of the book speaks something of my mind about this second series: Since I published "The Writing on the Wall" -- the first book in this series -- a number of people have mentioned to me that it "feels" different from my "Children of the Promise" books. That's true, of course, and the difference is in the eras the books portray. World War II, however difficult, tended to bring people in America together. But the sixties were divisive. Generations discovered a "gap" that had never seemed quite so important before. People divided along the lines of race, gender, political opinion, and "lifestyle" choices -- and no one spoke softly. (p. 415) Well, yes, he does have a point. But I think he stops short in describing the substantive difference between the two series, one that I pointed to in previous reviews of several of the volumes. The key word, I think, would be "realistic." And this is not to say that Hughes told untruths in the previous volumes. I don't mean that at all. I do mean that, in my view, the volumes in the first series were a bit too rosy in outlook for me. The people didn't seem quite real; their struggles, and their solutions, weren't as convincing as I would like. But the second series changes all this. The players become multi-dimensional, multi-faceted individuals enduring real trials and suffering real losses. "Troubled Waters" is an excellent title for this volume. It describes, not just America (and, for that matter, the rest of the world) in the 1960's, but the challenges faced by the members of the Thomas family. Each of the main characters in this volume is in the process of growing up, in an era when *I* grew up. It was a bad time -- political assassination (Robert Kennedy, John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King, Jr.), a vexing war (Vietnam), a presidency in trouble (Johnson), civil rights demands boiling over into riots and killing. It's an era I don't want to re-live. Now, a few of the main characters: Elder Gene Thomas is serving a mission in Germany. Plagued by a desire to be more successful, incipient ambition boiling just below the surface, Gene struggles through the mission experience, learning more about himself than he ever bargained for. The portrayal of mission life is marked by what some might call the "underside" of being a missionary -- fudging on your time sheet to present more hours, infighting in order to advance in the hierarchy, jealousy and fear of defeat. All of this combines to form a fascinating picture of the life of a missionary. Hans Stoltz lives on the other side of the Berlin Wall, in East Germany. His challenges are quite different. Having been caught previously trying to escape the Communist regime, the German secret police have been watching him. He lives in constant fear of being discovered. And then, in an attempt to aid a friend, his life is turned upside down. Does he have sufficient spiritual resources to carry him through? Kathy Thomas, the most fully developed character in the previous volume, is a young Mormon woman, headed off for college, ready to make her mark in the world. In Volume 1, Kathy and her aunt LaRue travelled to the deep south to participate in the Freedom Marches. Kathy became a full- fledged civil rights advocate. And in this volume, her leanings toward radical politics are furthered as she joins the Students for a Democratic Society (SDS). Anyone who lived through that era remembers SDS as a radical left, sometimes violent, organization. Kathy finds her own inner values challenged as she tries to accommodate her beliefs to her very conservative Mormon family in Utah. Some of the best narratives in this book are between Kathy and her various family members. And Dean Hughes is amazingly skilled at presenting the narratives without biasing the reader in either direction. Kathy is sometimes pictured as radically left-minded; her family, in particular her grandfather, is sometimes portrayed as unthinkingly right-minded. The reader is left to decide which side is correct. Her cousin, Diane Hammond, is quite different. A strikingly beautiful young woman, she has never had a problem attracting the boys. Like Kathy, she also is beginning college, not entirely clear what she wants to do with her life. She seems unaffected by the war, by poverty, by the things that seem to motivate Kathy. Instead, she wants only to marry, raise a family, be part of a typical Mormon family. But Diane must face her own superficiality, her own inability to judge righteous judgment, as she makes some life-changing decisions. "Troubled Waters" raises questions that I've rarely encountered in Mormon fiction from the standard publishers. Take, for example, Gene Thomas. While on his mission, he and his companion baptized an older couple. Soon the couple wanted out of the Church. Why? First, they complained that the image they had of the Church as a place where everyone was friendly and loving just wasn't true. Second, they were told that, if they tithed their income, they would be blessed. They paid their tithing, and they were now flat broke. How could that happen? And more to the point, how do missionaries confront this kind of issue in real life? Likewise, the attitude of members of the Church toward the nation's leadership in times of what some considered an unjust war is explored. Must one honor the President when one is convinced that the President has lied and sent thousands of young men to their deaths? This is complex, difficult stuff, and Hughes handles it well. And all of this reflects back on the reality of tension within LDS families, and the acknowledgement that, while "families are forever," that "forever" sometimes takes a break as these families try to heal wounds created by diverging paths and differing ideologies. I can barely wait for the next volume. So many threads were left unresolved, and I found myself genuinely caring about the characters. I know how I want certain situations resolved. I'll have to wait to find out how Hughes brings it all together. "Troubled Waters" is a very good book, a very nice continuation of the series. It raises so many difficult questions, and doesn't offer pat solutions. It demands more of the reader than other novels, and this is good. I recommend this book to adults and older youth alike. - -------------------------------- Jeff Needle jeff.needle@general.com - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 19 Oct 2002 17:34:38 -0600 From: "Alan Rex Mitchell" Subject: [AML] Re: _The Bridge_ (Seriously now) A few years ago as a Ward Mission Leader in Oregon, one of the sister missionaries put the Bridge in the VHS TV in the middle of the Baptism ceremony of some converts. For Jeff, the middle is some spare time after the baptism when the freshly baptized are drying off and the congregation is waiting for them before the confirmations. The sister hadn't previewed it. Anyway, it was a major downer and the missionary apologized and we had to sing a song to get back in the spirit of the baptisms we had just witnesses. So I agree with you. Question to the List: Does art that deals with the Atonement have to be so guilt-inducing? Shouldn't we feel guilty when repenting--but then happy as we accept forgiveness. Alan Mitchell - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 21 Oct 2002 10:05:09 -0600 From: Mike South Subject: [AML] Re: Johnny Lingo Preston Hunter wrote: > "Johnny Lingo" and "Mahanna" and "8-cow wife" have > been emblazoned on kitchy products at LDS bookstores, such as T-shirts, and > have been referred to by pop music songs, films, and literature. Here in Utah there used to be a bluegrass/punk band called Johnny Q. Lingo and his Eight-Cow Banjos of Death. I think that will always be one of my favorite band names. - --Mike South - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 21 Oct 2002 22:10:04 -0400 From: "Tracie Laulusa" Subject: Re: [AML] Satire in BYU Freshman English I think there is another reason people don't like satire--and not just Mormons. They don't get it. I have one daughter who really just doesn't get it. Her really good friends have a way of gently teasing her about her not getting it, but other people are not so nice. They deliberately bate her, and then not very nicely tease her about not "getting" it. It hurts her feelings. It is mean and hateful. I imagine there are many others in her category. When satire gets equated with mean and hateful it's no wonder that many people think it would be better left unsaid. Tracie Laulusa - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 21 Oct 2002 23:57:41 -0400 From: "Roberto Gomez" Subject: [AML] Re: Reading in Church If you really want to get away with reading in church, try doing it on your Palm Pilot. There's a good selection of free Palm-format texts at: http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/ebooks/ebooklist.html They've got the Bible, too, so you can always claim you're just looking up the scriptures! Roberto Gomez - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 21 Oct 2002 01:23:44 +0000 From: "Andrew Hall" Subject: [AML] Villa Contest, etc. (SL Tribune) Sunday, October 20, 2002 Salt Lake Tribune Theater Notes Louise Helps of Provo was the winner of the third annual Villa Institute for the Performing Arts playwriting contest for her play "The Day After," a family comedy about mistaken identity. Second place was awarded to BYU student Jessica Woodbury for her untitled comedy about truth serum. Third place went to Jaren Hinckley, Provo, for a one-act play, "Povey Playhouse Presents . . ." Honorable mention was given to Jeff Bierhaus, Loren Lambert, Alan Mitchell and Bonnie Vernon. The contest is for development of family-style dramas, comedies and musicals. Comical Competition The Hale Centre Theatre in West Valley City recently announced the creation of the first annual Ruth and Nathan Hale Comedy Writing Awards, a competition looking for family- friendly three-act comedies. The competition is open to students from any of Utah's universities,=20 colleges and junior colleges. The top prize is $1,000, with $500 for second and $300 for third. Scripts must be turned in by April 30. For more information, call 801-984-9000. LDS Christmas Play The curtain for "Savior of the World," an original musical drama presented by the LDS Church, is expected to go up once again this Christmas season Nov. 22 through Dec. 28 at the Conference Center Theater. Tickets are available at www.lds.org/events, 801-240-0080 and 1-800-LDS-TIKS, or at the Conference Center ticket window (door 4). The cast of nearly 100 performers will be accompanied by members of the Orchestra at Temple Square. All material found on Utah OnLine is copyrighted The Salt Lake _________________________________________________________________ Unlimited Internet access for only $21.95/month.=A0 Try MSN!=20 http://resourcecenter.msn.com/access/plans/2monthsfree.asp - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 21 Oct 2002 14:41:07 -0500 From: "Preston" Subject: [AML] Book of Mormon Movie Casting Call http://www.bookofmormonmovie.com/cast/index.html CASTING SESSION An open casting session will be held on November 2, 2002 at the Salt Lake Hilton Hotel, 255 South West Temple, from 9:a.m. to 5:p.m. All actors must be ATTRACTIVE, in excellent physical condition, with EXCEPTIONAL acting talent and ability. Please bring "head shots" if you have them. This is a non-union production. NO SAG ACTORS WILL BE ACCEPTED! Actors should come prepared with a memorized selection of their choice (not to exceed two minutes), showing good emotional range. The following parts are available: Nephi Male. Age 21-26. Must be large in stature. Minimum of 6 feet or, preferably taller. Must be muscular and very attractive with a "leading man" face. Lehi Male. Age 55-65. Must have a kindly face. Sariah Female. Age 40-47 Laman Male. Age 22-30 Lemuel Male. Age 22-30 Sam Male. Age 22-27 Zoram Male. Age 25-35 Moroni Male. Age 40-50 Ishmael Male. Age 60-75 Wife Female. Age 55-70 Several Males Ages 20-30 Several Females Ages 18-30 For further information call (801) 557-3515. - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 21 Oct 2002 08:15:02 +0000 From: "Andrew Hall" Subject: [AML] SAMUELSEN, _Peculiarities_ (SL Tribune) Salt Lake Tribune 'Peculiarities' Tantalizingly Explores the Edge Monday, October 21, 2002 BY CLAUDIA HARRIS THE SALT LAKE TRIBUNE "Peculiarities" is an apt title for Eric Samuelsen's new play at the Villa Playhouse in Springville. A twist on the Mormon nickname peculiar people, peculiarities refers to the dance many sexually charged college students do to test the boundaries. Brigham Young University is never mentioned by name, but this is clearly a Mormon setting with all the talk about how much to tell their bishops. Four couples occupy separate parts of the large Villa stage and come alive briefly when the roving light focuses on them. The distinct but interrelated stories unfold as each vignette reveals yet another piece of the puzzle. Ted and Kendra (Ben Sansom and Sarah Ratliff) are returning from a Nevada weekend. At first they seem like any couple worrying about whether they should have left the hotel key in the room or returned it to the front desk. But as their scenes progress, Kendra's emotions fluctuate from despair to anger to disgust; she refuses to even stop for food. They agree on an acceptable cover story to tell roommates about where they were for the weekend. And at the end, the audience is left wondering if they will see each other again. At the other side of the stage are Alexis and Jason (Diane Rane, Jeremy Selim), also sitting in side-by-side chairs driving in a car. Alexis has accepted a ride home from a fellow temporary employee. First they talk about work and a supervisor from hell, then the talk gets personal. Alexis shares how hard it is to keep her daughter quiet to please her perpetually studying husband Steve. She asks Jason to park out of sight of her Relief Society president's home, and they continue talking, forming a dangerous liaison. Then back to center stage left are Charlene and Courtney (Shelly Burton, Sarah Nielsen), roommates sharing a couch, a pizza and a titillating movie. Charlene is embarrassed by Courtney's questions about male anatomy and her desire to "do it" just once to know how it feels before she settles into her celibate, career-driven life. Charlene and Courtney represent the multitude of Mormon women who do not date much and find themselves living a single life. Charlene focuses her yearning for closeness on the oblivious Courtney. On the couch center stage right, Kim and Trent (Suzanna Florence, Jesse Harward) are playing the most dangerous game -- how far can you go and remain a virgin. As they make out and Trent breaks away, trying repeatedly to leave, Kim tells him she "trusts him to stop" and pushes him to also play "truth or dare." The truth reveals that both of them have significant others whom they have not pushed into sexual play. While Trent expresses=20 guilt, Kim argues that this is her way of staying moral. At the end, Trent asks Kim not to call him anymore, but the audience knows that she will call and Trent will come to continue their year-long dance. In the cavernous Villa theater, the clever dialogue was hard to hear at times. Nonetheless, Samuelsen says what ought to be said. And after-play discussions led by director Tony Gunn give audiences an opportunity to confront directly these usually unspoken issues. "Peculiarities" is a brave exploration of what often bubbles just underneath a seemingly virtuous society. Through Oct. 26 "Peculiarities" is playing at the Villa Playhouse Theatre, 254 S. Main, Springville, 7:30 p.m., Thursdays through Saturdays until Oct. 26. Tickets are $8 ($7 seniors and students). Call 801- 489-3088 for information. Copyright 2002, The Salt Lake Tribune _________________________________________________________________ Unlimited Internet access -- and 2 months free!=A0 Try MSN.=20 http://resourcecenter.msn.com/access/plans/2monthsfree.asp - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 21 Oct 2002 16:54:19 -0700 (PDT) From: "R.W. Rasband" Subject: [AML] SAMUELSEN, _Peculiarities_ (Review) PECULIARITIES, a new play by Eric Samuelsen; presented at Villa Playhouse Theater, Springville, UT October 19, 2002 People are never stranger than when they are involved with sex. Even Mormons, and much comedy (and tragedy) can follow. "Peculiarities" is a new play by Brigham Young University professor of theater Eric Samuelsen. It's playing at the Villa Theater in Springville Oct. 24-26. If it were a movie it probably would get a PG-13 rating; there's no cursing or gratuitous language. But it will get you thinking with its provocative dialogue and take on that seemingly most dangerous subject for Mormon audiences and artists. When you enter the theater you hear a blasting selection of modern rock songs that all seem to deal with heartbreak.The play itself is made up of four separate but interlocking tales. The locale is obviously Utah valley. The characters in the play are students probably from BYU. "Tahoe", the first segment we see, is for me the weakest. Ted (Ben Samson) and Kendra (Sarah Ratliff) are driving across the bleak Nevada desert, returning from a weekend spent at the resort of the title. They think they have discovered a loophole, a way they can have sex and deny they have done anything wrong. If we weren't church members, it wouldn't be a big deal, they tell themselves; we would just be two people going out. But things aren't that easy and the holiday atmosphere degenerates into arguing and acrimony (about everything *except what actually happened.)This is well-acted, and the bickering is funny and nauseatingly familiar. But these two are just too stupid and unaware of themselves and each other that it's very hard to care about them. If you met them in real life you would run as fast as you could in the opposite direction (I suppose Samuelsen would say "That's the point.") The next segment, "Pizza and a Movie", has Charlene (Shelley Burton) and Courtney (Sarah Nielsen) in their apartment watching television while their roommates are off on a group date (that famous Mormon courting innovation.) They eat pizza and veg out on old movies ("'Road House!' Two hours of Patrick Swayze without his shirt on!") and MTV's "DisMissed", a show largely about sex and rejection. Charlene is sanguine about her lack of marriage prospects ("I'm going to work and get a house and lots of cats.") Courtney is wistfully romantic and as we learn, terribly lonely. They wonder what "it" looks like live ("I've seen statues and changed my little brother's diaper but as for actually seeing one...I've heard it gets bigger just before, you know..") Charlene says she intends to stay "pure and all that stuff" but would love to "feel what it's like, just once." Courtney struggles to come to terms with her impending spinsterhood (as she sees it.) Samuelsen is greatly gifted with dialogue. His words sound entirely natural and spontaneous. It's only when you examine them that you can see how carefully wrought they are. He explores with great tenderness the painful situation in which these "good girls" find themselves. It's an extraordinarily compassionate piece. "Temps" takes us along in a carpool with Alexis (Diane Rane) and Jason (Jeremy Selim.) She is a young wife and mother; he is a single, slightly older working stiff. The both have clerical jobs under the petty tyrant Rita. They talk about popular music--he loves Nirvana, she has a guilty fondness for mellow '70's rock. Gradually we learn her life has become constricted beyond all measure. Her husband is totally wrapped up in his dissertation and ignores her entirely. Her toddler demands ever moment of her attention once she gets home. Her "crappy job" is actually the one thing to which she looks forward. Jason's wry advice: This too shall pass--it's like home teaching. If you thought you had to do it for the rest of your life you would go crazy, but if you think of it as only temporary, well... He thinks she's great. It becomes clear that he wants her but would never push the situation. She can see how he feels and responds in a joking, bantering way. The whole thing is a skillfully-written exercise in sexual tension, a portrait of two unhappy people fumblingly trying to comfort each other without it going too far. (This story kind of hit home for me--years ago when I was a student and worked at BYU I became good friends with very sweet but very married girl. In fact, she was pregnant the last months I knew her. There was never the shadow of adultery as there is in Samuelsen's tale. But it was interesting and a little painful for both of us, I think, to negotiate a friendship where we liked each other but were unavailable to each other in the most important ways.) Anyway, "Temps" is peculiarly sad; a study in love, frustration, and loss. The most dangerous segment of the play is "NCMO" (somebody should ask Samuelsen what this title means; it's probably an abbreviation the hip people already know.) One would have to say this is about a sadomasochistic relationship in a discreetly LDS way. A suggested theme song would be Nine Inch Nails' "Closer." Kim (Suzanna Florence) and Trent (Jesse Harward) both have serious significant others, but meet regularly in her apartment and have everything except actual intercourse. Kim says, "I'm going to be married in the temple and be a virgin on my wedding night", but until then she is willing to push thing with Trent right up to the edge. They know nothing about each other except their names. She controls what they do and how far they go. She likes to play mind games--she demands of Trent, "Have you ever lied to your Bishop? Do you look up porn on your computer? You were a bad missionary, weren't you?" (All the men in this play are at the mercy of their women; an interesting twist for a depiction of such a "patriarchal" society. It's especially striking because actress Florence is so tiny, Harward towers over her, but she dominates him with ease.) Trent is guilt-stricken and tries several times to break things off, but just can't. And maybe in the end Kim isn't as tough as she lets on. "Why do we do this," she cries out in anguish, "why do we have to do this?" That question is at the heart of this play. The cast of young BYU-affiliated actors is first rate; really professional. The night I went to the Villa there was an enthusiastic but small crowd. This should really be playing at the Harris Fine Arts center on the BYU campus where I'm sure it would draw packed houses. It's a fearlessly honest, bullseye picture of 18-30 years old Mormon life. Watching it, I was sucked back into all those old feeling and memories and remembered the sheer *hardness* of the way things were for everybody back then. And though this play gets very serious, it's very entertaining. It's frequently laugh-out-loud hilarious. Eric Samuelsen has a cold eye, a warm heart, and a sharp mind (and tongue.) This play is a searching inventory of our attitudes towards sexuality. One can imagine the apartment bull-sessions that would follow a viewing of this play. And I think this kind of candid discussion would be very healthy. Who knows when you will get the chance to see 'Peculiarities" again, so you should definitely get to Springville before it closes Oct. 26. ===== R.W. Rasband Heber City, UT rrasband@yahoo.com __________________________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Y! Web Hosting - Let the expert host your web site http://webhosting.yahoo.com/ - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 22 Oct 2002 02:26:00 +0000 From: "Andrew Hall" Subject: [AML] Spring 2002 Dialogue Dialogue is spitting out issues at a good clip this year, working at=20 catching up with its publication dates. Last year they were about a year=20 and a half behind, but now they are almost caught up. In September they=20 published vol 35.1, dated Spring 2002. Part of the way they could do this= =20 was two double issues recently. Vol. 34.1-2 which came out early in the=20 year, was a 35th anniversary issue, which included significant articles and= =20 essays from the past--kind of a Mormon clip show. It is nice to have some= =20 of these classic essays, like Poll's essay on Iron Roders and Liahonas,=20 without having to go back to my parents' house and raid their collection. = =20 Soon afterward came Vol 34.3-4, which stretched the meaning of the term=20 double issue, it only had about 20 more pages than a regular issue. Still,= =20 it had lots of good articles, guest edited by Douglas Davis, a British=20 scholar, and including several scholarly works by European authors given at= =20 recent Mormon studies conferences in England. The new issue is largely a tribute to Eugene England, one of Dialogue's=20 founders. It reprints remarks from his funeral by Bert Wilson, Levi=20 Peterson and Douglas Thayer, along with tributes our own AML-list member=20 Stephen Carter (who was his assistant during England's last year at UVSC),= =20 Allison Pingree, and Robert Rees. There is a reprint of Clifton Jolley's=20 "Selling the Chevrolet", and a long poem by him about England. I found them= =20 all fascinating reading. Then there is a section of essays by England, Blessing the Chevrolet from=20 1975, a intruiging one on marriage and polygamy from 1987, and a previously= =20 unpublished one called "The Weeping God of Mormonism." The last two in=20 particular are theological essays, something we don't see too often. In the= =20 last, he restates his ideas about a finite and eternally progressing God,=20 for which Bruce R. McConkie publically criticized him back in the 1970s. He= =20 talks about how these concepts, which he bases on Joseph Smith's King Follet= =20 discourse, Enoch in the Book of Moses, and quotes by Brigham Young, are to= =20 him central parts of Mormonism. However even Joseph did not fully=20 understand them at first, alllowing the Lectures on Faith, chiefly written= =20 by Sidney Rigdon in Kirtland, to put forward a more traditional protestant= =20 view of God. Brigham Young sided with Joseph's later understanding, and=20 demoted the Lectures on Faith to a sub-scriptural level. Others,=20 particuarly Orson Pratt Joseph F. Smith and his family, (including his son= =20 Joseph Fielding Smith and grandson-in-law McConkie) have shied away from the= =20 concepts, fearing that they could lead people to discount Christ's power to= =20 save. The more Protestant-style notion of God has been recently strengthed= =20 in popular Mormon thought by Stephen Robionson's recent works, his 1997=20 collaboration "How Wide the Divide" and his "Believing Christ" series. =20 Although England highly praises Robinson's contribution in general, he=20 voices his concern that he is helping to move Mormon thought too close to=20 Protestant ideas, including limitations on free will, deemphasizing personal= =20 responsability in salvation, and abandoning the neat Mormon solution to the= =20 problem of why evil exists. Dialogue also includes an England poem, "Two=20 Trains and a Dream", which expresses these same ideas in literary form. =20 Anyway, I found it to be fascinating stuff, I recommend it highly. Then there is a section reprinting talks from the 2000 Mormon Historical=20 Association conference in Denmark, including three essays about Virginia=20 Sorensen's novels, in particular Kingdom Come, which was based her Danish=20 ancestors, who converted in Denmark and then immigrated, eventually settling= =20 in Sanpete County. I am excited to read that novel. There is one fiction short story, "Out of the Woods" by Karen Rosenbaum (who= =20 also had a story in the last Irreantum). It is about an inactive Mormon=20 woman going with her husband to see her daughter in her high school=20 play--thinking about her family history and her crippling arthrities, which= =20 helped to destroy her faith. It is a touching story. There is several more things I haven't read yet, like an essay by Harlow's= =20 mom Bessie S. Clark. Then there is a book review of Brady Udall's The Miracle Life of Edgar Mint,= =20 which I want to talk about, but I'll save for a separate post. Andrew Hall Fukuoka, Japan _________________________________________________________________ Surf the Web without missing calls!=A0Get MSN Broadband. =20 http://resourcecenter.msn.com/access/plans/freeactivation.asp - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 22 Oct 2002 04:12:25 +0000 From: "Andrew Hall" Subject: [AML] Authenticity in UDALL, _Edgar Mint_ In the Spring 2002 Dialogue there is a book review of Brady Udall's The Miracle Life of Edgar Mint, written by P. Jane Hafen, a professor of English at UNLV. Like much current literature scholarship it is not interested in the literary quality of the book, but rather discusses questions of race and authenticity. Hafen basically feels that Udall, a white guy, does not portray Indian culture authentically, and is disturbed that his Edgar is not particularly interested in his own ethnicity. She also criticizes previous newspaper and AML-list reviewers for not expressing similar annoyance. (I must thank Hafen for mentioning my name, along with fellow AML-list reviewers David Hanson and Terry L. Jeffress, in a footnote. It is the first time my name has appeared in Dialogue, pretty cool!). She places Udall's work next to Ian Frazier's On the Rez and Tony Hillerman's novels as examples of white-guy inauthenticity. The only example she gives of a white person who did a good job writing about Indians was Udall's great-grandmother Louise Udall's 1969 "Me and Mine: the Life Story of Helen Sekaquaptewa", a non-fiction work, in which the elder Udall let the Hopi woman basically speak for herself. Apparently, Hafen sees little hope for non-Indians writing novels about Indians, or I guess anyone writing about people other than themselves. She never comes out and says so, but her overall argument, and the fact she used no other positive examples, leads me to that conclusion. The most amazing part of her essay is this line: "By assuming the first-person voice of Apache boy Edgar Mint, Udall, however sympathetic he may be, is writing from a world view he can only imagine." She goes on to show how this is a bad thing, comparing it to the frequently annoying inaccuracies by non-Mormons writing about Mormons. How many years of being pounded by academic life does it take one to say something like this? Writing from a world view one can only imagine? Good gracious, Hafen is a scholar of literature, at some point she must have loved reading books because of imagination, because the author could take her somewhere else. When did this get pounded out of her? Can authors only write about their own lives? Okay, there are some good semi-autobiographical novels about authors, I like The World According to Garp, for example. But a little of that goes a long way, I am pretty tired of reading about authors. I say, use the imagination, let it go wild! Sure, go for authenticity, I want my author to study his subject. This doesn't seem to be enough for Hafen, however. Maybe Udall could have strived more for authenticity. But he was writing about a boy who was cut off from his culture at a young age. The Indian school/juvenile detention center contained boys from a mixture of tribes, all of whom were cut off from their cultures, and were reduced to a more primitive, barbaric way of life. Hafen seems to think that Udall portrays their barbarism as connected to their ethnicity, but I do not think so, it was due to their current environment. Also, I think Hafen overlooks the possibility that Udall was very aware of the academic interest in ethnic authenticity, and was purposely thumbing his nose at it. Udall genuinely seems to think that ethnic identity is not as important to our inner lives as some make it out to be. Hafen notes that Udall includes a minor character that is a "thinly veiled representation of Sherman Alexie, a 'Native American poet of great stature, author of five books at only thirty years of age, a voice of his generation.'" (The quote is actually about the fictional character, although Hafen seems to say that it describes Alexie equally well). Hafen quotes Alexie's criticism of Ian Frazier's "On the Rez", saying,=20 "Frazier admires the Oglalas because of who he believes them to be, not because of who the Oglalas believe themselves to be . . . Does Frazier ever admit that somebody from 'the rez' has a different life experience than somebody who is just writing about the rez". Hafen does not mention the context in which the Alexie-based character appears. The school officials at Edgar=92s school/detention center invite the poet to give a presentation at an assembly. The juvenile delinquent Indian boys treat the Alexie- based character as a fool, mocking his Indian nationalistic clothing and poetry, because to them it is =93inauthentic=94, not relevant to their own lives. Udall, therefore, appears to be very aware of the academic questions of authenticity, and goes out of his way to express the "inauthenticity" of what some academics would laud as "authentic." I don=92t think Udall is personally saying that he finds one trope more authentic than another, just that there is a wide spectrum of experience and perspective, and that no one has a corner on authenticity. The vagaries of individual experience can trump a supposed ethnic identity. So Edgar, who has lost most of his memory due to a car accident, comes to have a greater sense of community with fellow hospital-patient Art than with most of the Indian boys at the school. Rather than use what appears to be the boiler-plate "inauthenticity" argument, I think it would have been more interesting for Hafen to go to the next level, and ask why Udall is purposely mocking the authenticity position. Like I say, authenticity is nice, I want authors to show they have done their homework, but it is limited. I remember hearing a scholar complaining about George Gershwin's attempt at depicting southern blacks in Porgy and Bess. But can a modern black scholar claim greater authenticity about 1930 Georgia than George Gershwin? Which is greater, the distance between a white New Yorker and black Georgian who are contemporaries, or between a black person from 1930 and one from 2002? Can the modern scholar really claim greater authenticity (perhaps there should be a "19th-century Anti-defamation League")? Unless authors just write about themselves (a proposition I immediately throw out as dull, dull, dull), complete authenticity can not be achieved. It is a factor, but I personally am interested in several other factors as well in my evaluation of a book. I'm don't read much academic literary criticism, but I get the impression=20 that positions like Hafen's are pretty common. What do you say, literary=20 scholars out there? Is this an actively debated question, and if so, where= =20 is the debate headed? Andrew Hall Fukuoka, Japan _________________________________________________________________ Surf the Web without missing calls!=A0Get MSN Broadband. =20 http://resourcecenter.msn.com/access/plans/freeactivation.asp - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ End of aml-list-digest V1 #870 ******************************