https://www.sltrib.com/religion/2021/03/04/latest-mormon-land/

"Even as the show celebrates its diamond anniversary, not everyone sees the play as a gem. Plenty of people cringe at its vulgar vocabulary, merciless mocking of members and denigrating portrayal of Africans."


Worst thing about ‘Book of Mormon’ musical is the racism

https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en/news/2019/09/05/worst-thing-about-book-mormon-is-racism.html

"These advertisements made me uncomfortable, for two reasons. First, I am a scholar of religious history at the University of Auckland and historically it has never been a good idea to mock people’s religious beliefs, no matter how peculiar they seem. Imagine bus advertisements shrieking ‘The Muslims are coming!’ and displaying an image of a woman in a burqa leaping into the air with a Koran in her hand?"

"Second, I myself am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (people often refer to us as ‘Mormons’)."

Before seeing The Book of Mormon musical, I thought that an appropriate remedy for theatregoers who wanted to experience an international entertainment phenomenon while avoiding petty religious bigotry was to educate themselves beforehand about the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints by reading the actual Book of Mormon (online and in hard copy in the city library system) and talking with actual Latter-day Saints. I thought: I’m a Latter-day Saint; I can take a joke.

Now that I have seen the musical, however, I am astonished by its racism and ethnocentrism in its depiction of indigenous peoples. I cannot accept it. People who value faith and abhor racism should not pay money to support this show. Its zingy jokes about Latter-day Saint missionary culture often hit the mark, but comedy in exchange for soft religious bigotry and racist caricatures of indigenous peoples is too high a price to pay."

The irony of Mormons complaining about racism in a parody of their racist CULT, while encouraging people to read the most racist book ever to be called 'scripture'.

I've never seen the Book of Mormon musical, although I'd like to and I hear it's a really great show.

But a couple things tell me straight away that this reviewer lacks credibility.


First is the peevish assertion that "people often refer to us as ‘Mormons’." No, people have ALWAYS referred to mormons as mormons. Mormons even referred to THEMSELVES as mormons until the latest one-foot-on-a-banana-peel profit's pet peeve got a little traction (and only because he's now profit).

This whiny effort to distance themselves from "mormon," implying it's always been that way, is irritating. My brother and niece do it all the time. Any attempt to have a discussion essentially turns into "you're calling me names" because I choose not to use the mouthful of official gobbledygook.

Anyway, the reviewer could reasonably say "we have historically been known as mormons," or "we prefer not to be called mormons anymore," etc. Saying "often" implies that it's really always been something else, and is absolutely and deliberately misleading.

The second thing is the implication that to make it "ok" to attend the BoM show, attendees should first invest time reading the actual BoM, and talking to mormons. Why not require meeting with the mishies? That's preposterous. And that was before he decided that he didn't like the show.


And he claims he can take a joke. Apparently not when the joke's on him!

Gordon B. Stinky nailed it hilariously.


You got black people playing black people in a PARODY. Hint hint.

You got a mix of actors people playing geeky naive Mormons--- in a PARODY. Although the portrayals there were awfully realistic to be called parody, haha.

You got the brilliant song, "Hassa Diga Ebowai" to wrap it up in a bow.


I remember Joy Behar interviewing Donny and Marie when the show first debuted. Joy said it was the best, funniest thing she had ever seen or something like that. Donny and Marie were then deer in the headlights but managed to do their Mormon Ambassador schtick. Marie saying, I understand there are many 'untruths' in the show. Geez I hate that word, untruths. What a wimpy way to say anything.


I saw the show twice. First time I laughed and cried at the same time. That is what a spiritual experience is. I could not believe what I was seeing and I felt I had come full circle in my life and had bumped into my young self in an out of body experience while on my mission in Argentina. And this time it didn't hurt.

Listening to the audience roar. I am indebted to Matt and Trey forever for that.



I feel the same about Parody as someone else felt about metaphor:

"The greatest thing by far is to be a master of the metaphor; it is the one thing that cannot be learned from others . . ."---Aristotle

Done & Done Wrote:
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> Gordon B. Stinky nailed it hilariously.
>
>
> You got ... people playing ... in a PARODY. Hint hint.


Thanks, Done & Done.

Sorry to chop up your post, but you hit the nail on the head here, in a variety of ways. The overarching point is that it's a parody.

I haven't seen the show, but what I understand is that it's not making fun of the indigenous peoples. Rather, it's making fun of how the mormons treat them.

The mormons are skewered by the parody, but no one is hurt by it, not even mormons.

The morgbots just take themselves too seriously.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/06/2021 06:49PM by Gordon B. Stinky.

Done & Done Wrote:
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> I remember Joy Behar interviewing Donny and Marie

I remember an old Donny & Marie interview with Barbara Walters. She asks Donny to address the "priesthood" ban, and he confidently responds, "you bet." But then he shrugs off responsibility by telling her to talk to the general authorities while simultaneously claiming it's what God wants and that mormonism has more to offer black men than any other religion. This was in 1976!

Then Walters goads Marie a little about women being second class even though she (Marie) seems to have no problem speaking her mind. Marie responds that she feels you need a patriarch in the home and that the woman is equally important "but as far as speaking HER mind, that should be the man's job."

You can't make this stuff up!


I found the interview on YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QuSde2jGhm8

Thanks for the link. Too good!

I remind them of the temple ceremony with its generic "minister" and even the singing of Christian hymns for the sole purpose of mocking other's beliefs. (Not to mention the church was based supposedly on God's assertion to Joe that "all other churches are wrong").

Those idiots who don't like the word mormon should pay more attention.

“One of the grand fundamental principles of Mormonism is to receive truth, let it come from whence it may.” (Discourses of the Prophet Joseph Smith, p. 199)

https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/-i-m-a-mormon-campaign

As for Racism - that is what L-d$,inc is. A racist religion. It is right there in the scriptures for all to read. Especially the White and Delightsome people.

My wife and I kept missing the show when it was playing locally and finally traveled to Fresno, California just to see the Musical. We quit attending the Mormon Church about 30 years ago but I have always been interested in things Mormon because I was reared a Mormon, went on a mission, and have many Mormon relatives.
I was very disappointed in the show. Most musical theater leaves me with songs and scenes that I replay in my mind for some time. I can still hum nearly every song in "Les Miserable". With "Book of Mormon there was none of that. I didn't like the vulgarity and I thought it was racist.
I did identify with some of the missionaries who behaved much like we did when I was a missionary some 60 years ago.

"it has never been a good idea to mock people’s religious beliefs, no matter how peculiar they seem."

Unless those 'religious beliefs' are white supremacist, racist, homophobic and sexist, like they are in the case of MORmONism.

"Imagine bus advertisements shrieking ‘The Muslims are coming!’ and displaying an image of a woman in a burqa leaping into the air with a Koran in her hand?"

Imagine living in a world where free speech were possible, without getting your theater fire bombed or your head chopped off. If a religion is so barbaric that you can count on that happening, it should be mocked, mercilessly and those who threaten violence for comedy, should be locked up, since they're a threat to all free democracies and need to emerge from their barbarism.

I'm OK with that.

It's not on Netflix. I'll have to see if it's on any of the other streaming services to which my daughters subscribe. I'd really like to see the show.

he does have point, a lot people are petrified of mocking Muslims, but have no problems attacking Mormons. they are both wacky religions, but the muslims get a pass, from a lot of the same groups who have no problem mocking Mormons.

BayAreaBoob Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> he does have point, a lot people are petrified of
> mocking Muslims, but have no problems attacking
> Mormons. they are both wacky religions, but the
> muslims get a pass, from a lot of the same groups
> who have no problem mocking Mormons.
Because Mormons won’t lop off your head for parodying their holy book, or their Prophet, or them, like Muslims did to Theo VanGogh and threatened to do to Ayan Hirsi Ali, among many others.
Thank God Particle for people like them for criticizing such a barbaric religion.
I’m exMuslim and exMormon, so I know.
When I became Muslim they told me very clearly (although it was in Arabic) that it would be my Muslim brother’s responsibility to cut off my head if I ever turned my back on Islam.
In Mormon temple I had to promise to slit my own throat if I ever turned my back on MORmONism, which didn’t seem nearly as bad as agreeing to joining a religion that just made you agree to be murdered if you apostatized.
Difference is, Muslims take that shit seriously.
Mormons don’t.
No MORmON would seriously expect you to slit your throat if you change religions, but a hell of a lot of Muslims would cut my head off if they heard me say it’s a barbaric religion that needs to go the way of the Neanderthals.

Of course he doesn't like it. He's a TBTBM, as can be plainly seen by his diligent avoidance of the term "mormon," making his review more awkward and obnoxious than it needs to be:

"I myself am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints"

"educate themselves beforehand about the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints"

"talking with actual Latter-day Saints. I thought: I’m a Latter-day Saint"

Mormons cannot take jokes about the church from outsiders. It's simply not in their programming. He had already prepared himself to dislike it, but had to find a way to deflect any blame back onto the production, and settled on racism as the best way to do it. And being TBTBM, he lacks all sense of self-awareness about the actual racism baked into the church.

logged out today Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Of course he doesn't like it. He's a TBTBM, as can
> be plainly seen by his diligent avoidance of the
> term "mormon," making his review more awkward and
> obnoxious than it needs to be:
>
> "I myself am a member of the Church of Jesus
> Christ of Latter-day Saints"
>
> "educate themselves beforehand about the Church of
> Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints"
>
> "talking with actual Latter-day Saints. I thought:
> I’m a Latter-day Saint"
>
> Mormons cannot take jokes about the church from
> outsiders. It's simply not in their programming.
> He had already prepared himself to dislike it, but
> had to find a way to deflect any blame back onto
> the production, and settled on racism as the best
> way to do it. And being TBTBM, he lacks all sense
> of self-awareness about the actual racism baked
> into the church.
I agree, but ‘he’ is a she, who’s an Asian American professor of religion in Auckland NZ. I get where she is coming from but she completely missed the whole point of the parody in her defensiveness. But at least she’s not going to lop of your head or fire bomb the theater for staging it, like she might just do if she were Muslim and it was “The Koran on Broadway” instead.

I BE-lieeeeve, that in 1978 God changed his mind about Black People!

And no one cares.

He has a right to feel offended, and likewise other people have a right to feel offended by Joseph Smith's behavior, Brigham Young's behavior, church leaders' behavior, and maybe even some Mormons' behavior. It's a two way street.