Posted by:
torturednevermo
(
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Date: July 07, 2015 03:52PM
That was a really good read mormonthinker, kudos for linking that (and to Mormon Think for producing and publishing it.) It raised s few thoughts for me.
Right off the top, I am curious if what allowed the producers of ‘going clear’ to take such an exposing look at scientology had something to do with the general public having an impression that scientology is a cult already? That makes it much less risky to expose the harsh aspects of the organization, because people already have a more or less negative opinion of it to begin with. I don’t know if they were changing people’s minds regarding scientology, so much as they were just giving the (true) but juicy details the public was already prepared to hear. Also, if scientology is worth 1 billion, and the Mormon church is worth nearly 100 billion, that together with the publics unawareness of how much of a cult Mormonism is could be a barrier to making a documentary about it, without fearing some sort of backlash against the people who made such a documentary. Anyway, these are the thoughts that arose when I considered making an expose about the Mormon church.
Further to these thoughts, notice how the PBS documentary felt they had to balance a bit of mild poking at Mormon historical teachings with later shedding almost a positive and lighthearted view of Mormons in the last half of the documentary. Obviously, somebody felt they had to tiptoe around the subject without really digging into the truth behind Mormonism much at all. It almost sounds like somebody was afraid to ruffle feathers by exposing too much information, and then chose to end on a positive note. After all, even a few weeks of investigating a site such as exmormon.org would uncover much more shocking information to the general public than just a few odd views regarding history. It’s the personally harmful cult aspects that will pop people’s eyes open and drop their jaws, not some silly points regarding inaccurate historical beliefs. Most people can see that all religions have some discrepancies regarding history, and so this wouldn’t raise people’s eyebrows much at all, really. That makes me wonder what was really up with that PBS documentary, because it more or less seems to be inconsequential fluff. It makes me again wonder if there is some fear regarding exposing the darker side of Mormonism that would preclude someone from wanting to make a hard hitting expose about them.
Finally, and a slight shift in topic, was my last thought. As a never Mormon, and with that PBS documentary in mind, I would like to comment on the question of what is a better zinger against Mormonism; the inaccurate Mormon version of history, or the way people’s lives suffer and are torn apart by a life in Mormonism. I have noticed that to an exmormon, finding out you have been lied to about the doctrine and history is a big revelation; one that affects them deeply, because everybody hates finding out they’ve been lied to. I notice that exmormons often gravitate to the history and doctrine as if that is something that will resonate with the rest of society and shed light on the cultish nature of Mormonism.
However, I would like to pitch in and add that as an outsider, the false history is in fact not the thing that really resonates with outsiders much at all beyond just curiosity. After all, like I said above, many religions have myth like stories about their history, and to an outsider, they are not likely to find much fault with that beyond saying, ‘ok, so it’s another religion, good for them, as long as they’re happy and getting something good from being a member.’ Instead, I would assert that to an outsider it’s the horror stories of families and marriages torn apart, the shunning, the coercion to tithe, the complete obedience to authority, the fear placed into children (and the list could go on.) It is these stupefying and controlling aspects over peoples personal lives that is going to be what resonates with people on the outside and help them to appreciate how Mormonism is a cult just like scientology. It’s the personal stories of hurt that will resonate far more than a focus on beliefs about history or doctrine. That’s what should be exposed if people are to overcome the false public impressions they have about Mormonism. That is where the PBS documentary failed entirely, and that’s what a documentary exposing Mormonism as a cult would need to focus on. Let’s hope that sort of documentary gets made someday.
Again, thanks for your great essay in your link, and good luck, I hope a version of going clear does get made exposing the hurt the Mormon church has brought into so many lives. I, as a nevermormon, am convinced it is as dangerous a cult as scientology; maybe even more so, because Mormonism has hidden itself so well from the scrutiny of the outside world, a world who sees them as happy and fulfilled churchgoers rather than broken and hurting cult members. Again, thanks for your efforts, and thanks for letting me share my perspective.
To summarize my two main points:
1. Could they get away with making such a documentary without repercussions?
2. If they do make one, they should focus more on the hurt, not on the history or doctrine. That’s what the general public will respond to with shock and dismay. People believe stupid things all over everwhere; but nobody likes to see innocent people mistreated and abused. That's what exposes it as a 'cult' in the modern sense of the word.