Humor will not be tolerated!! -Portia

So, it's streaming on NPR right now. Certain tracks are so gloriously goofy and singable and good-hearted, like "Hello!," "Two by Two," and "You and Me (But Mostly Me)." I could even say that they spiritually moved me in ways few things have lately: "I Believe" may be in jest, but boy, it really does . . . somehow just sum up the "faith" pathos, so to speak.

On the other hand, most of the tracks concerning their mission in Uganda itself were (and I do not say this lightly!) shockingly vulgar, and probably racist, or at least chauvinist.

I say this as someone who has watched Dogtooth and Game of Thrones, both of which would be at least an NC-17. Those lyrics outdo them. If anyone would like to listen but is more interested in the more fun tracks, you can ask, and I'll give you my honest recommendations.

The Ugandans are portrayed a bit too much as the "noble savages," the ills of the country are exaggerated (it's more like 6% of them have AIDS . . . bad, deplorable, but not 80%), and of course Mormon missionary work is sort of (benevolently) imperialist at heart. I'd be interested to hear what a black person thought of this, or if they just loved it all around.

So yes, go listen to the four songs I mentioned by name. If you are about to get a mission call, you will laugh very very hard at lines like "land of pastries ... and turtlenecks!"

npr.org

Hi, Token Black Person here. LOVED THIS SHOW!!! Everyone is aware that it's satire, so I expect most of the "statistics" and portrayals they give to be WAY exaggerated, just like on South Park. The great thing about satire in theatre is that people who want to check out can laugh and enjoy themselves and mentally check out, and others can laugh, enjoy themselves, and then think critically about the issues presented. I think this show does that BEAUTIFULLY, and if it doesn't win the Tony for Best New Musical, I will have a fit.

Imogen wrote:Hi, Token Black Person here.

You are?? For some reason, I feel like I should already be aware of this fact...

They did a great job getting into the mind of a 19-year-old missionary. I definitely had delusions of grandeur myself. The mission call scene was spot on (except for, you know, the specifics of how mission calls are actually done, but the mentality of 'where am I going?' 'where's that?' 'oh, of course I'm going there' was spot on).

And I rather enjoyed the coarse Ugandan song, since it is so over the top. I loved the Lion King references. Perfect fit for Mormonism.

What I found rather insightful was the way "Sal Tlay Ka Siti" was built up as a paradise on Earth in the minds of the Ugandans. On my mission, members often spoke with awe about how fabulous life is in Salt Lake City, where everyone is Mormon and everyone is happy. It pained me to have to spoil that reality for them.

thebigcheese wrote:

Imogen wrote:Hi, Token Black Person here.

You are?? For some reason, I feel like I should already be aware of this fact...

Cue Brendan Fraser from Bast From the Past.....

Tao wrote:

thebigcheese wrote:

Imogen wrote:Hi, Token Black Person here.

You are?? For some reason, I feel like I should already be aware of this fact...

Cue Brendan Fraser from Bast From the Past.....

Bast the Egyptian goddess of cats?

Yes I am. Well, I'm Blersian if we're getting technical.

Oh man, I wish I had good enough internet right now to listen to this. I've lived in Uganda for most of the past two years, and even though I haven't run across a lot of Mormon missionaries, it sounds like a great commentary on all the young, naive American/European do-gooders wandering around this country. (And I am including myself in that category, incidentally.)

Yes, as we all know, Canadians are not naive.

Nope. Canadians are as worldly-wise as they come, as are Australians.

On topic, everything I've heard about this musical suggests that it isn't anywhere remotely close to doing justice to the brand of Mormonism that I know and love.

And Imogen, I don't think someone should have carte blanche under the ruse of calling it satire. Sometimes grossly offensive things are just grossly offensive.

Imogen wrote: if it doesn't win the Tony for Best New Musical, I will have a fit.

Let it be known that Imogen now has no basis for having a fit.

Marduk wrote:On topic, everything I've heard about this musical suggests that it isn't anywhere remotely close to doing justice to the brand of Mormonism that I know and love.

And Imogen, I don't think someone should have carte blanche under the ruse of calling it satire. Sometimes grossly offensive things are just grossly offensive.

i guess i don't find it grossly offensive since it's not "my" religion (though i'm not generally offended by people making fun of catholics either, so there's that). but emiliana hit the nail on the head. elder price, one of the main protagonists, is very self-involved and thinks he's better than everyone (especially his mission companion). and when he realizes he's just another shmuck, he runs away, has an epiphany, and comes back. now, the ending to that situation is appropriately ridiculous and nonsensical, but awesome. more than the "mormon" issue, i think it does tackle the issue of "benevolent white person coming to save to poor backwards dark people of x country." and let me tell you, their salvation is kind of funny, and weird.

i had a whole thought about the prime directive, but i can't articulate it properly.

also, yay they won!! if they hadn't i was going to have to fly to new york and shake some sense into the tony voters.

Allow me to clarify; my statement there was unintentionally misleading.

I don't find the musical (or South Park, or anything else that partnership has produced) to be offensive as a Mormon. I find those things offensive as an author and an intellectual. I think there has been a general disambiguation of the term 'satire' as it was, and ought to be known. For some reason we have come to understand it as simply something that makes fun of something else. This is not the case. What it actually is, is something that incisively and sagaciously cuts past appearances in order to expose human vice and folly. Probably the best example we have of this is Jon Stewart.

There is a difference between that, and simply making fun of things to make fun of them. Satire is a difficult art, and it has to accurately speak to true hypocrisy in individuals or organizations in order to be effective. If an artistic work fails to speak truth to the root of an issue in this way, it fails at satire, and let me tell you, these guys consistently fail to understand religion in general.

That being said, I think they are often funny in what they do, and I'm sure this production is hilarious. And it certainly should be appreciated for its entertainment value, and perhaps it succeeds in a trenchant satirical commentary on other social issues or groups. But Mormons, they got us entirely wrong, and it bothers me that many people think otherwise.

Someone on facebook just posted this:
http://www.religiondispatches.org/archi ... omely_lame__/

NerdGirl wrote:Someone on facebook just posted this:
http://www.religiondispatches.org/archi ... omely_lame__/

Wow, is every post about Mormons on this site so categorically antagonistic? Seems like every writer they have about any LDS topic is someone who has left the faith.

I felt like that review was only mildly antagonistic, plus the writer ultimately agrees with your statement, Marduk, that the musical is a poor attempt at satire.

Personally, I have no inkling to see this musical. I just don't care.

oh, i'm gonna go see it. and i will laugh.

i see her whole argument about "the po' black people playing stereotypes" as really paternalistic and annoying. the reason i love this show is that it attacks that very sentiment. don't feel bad for the black people in the show! they're doing great!

Imogen, that article was written by a man. Just sayin'.

Also, that article was less antagonistic than a lot of the other stuff on that site, its true. But I still think it gets Mormons wrong. I mean, most missionaries have never read the Book of Mormon? Come on.

Marduk wrote:Imogen, that article was written by a man. Just sayin'.

Also, that article was less antagonistic than a lot of the other stuff on that site, its true. But I still think it gets Mormons wrong. I mean, most missionaries have never read the Book of Mormon? Come on.

i told you i got lost after the sarah palin reference. apparently i was more lost than i previously thought.

Marduk wrote:Imogen, that article was written by a man. Just sayin'.

Also, that article was less antagonistic than a lot of the other stuff on that site, its true. But I still think it gets Mormons wrong. I mean, most missionaries have never read the Book of Mormon? Come on.

He never says that, though. He says "A surprising number of these Christian soldiers haven’t in fact read the Book of Mormon."