Irony in the Big apology

March 13, 2009 By

There is some real irony in this week’s apology from HBO regarding their anticipated controversial portrayal of a Mormon temple’s “sacred endowment ceremony” in the amazingly entertaining and insightful Sunday night soap opera Big Love. The show, which features a Utah polygamous family dealing with the challenges if interacting with both the secular world and with their fundamentalist roots, is genuinely known for portraying conservative religious beliefs quite sympathetically. Some would even say that it is (arguably) “one of the most sympathetic portraits” of such beliefs.

I watched the occasional episode during the first two seasons, but for one reason or another became hooked starting with this season. As the season winds down, the plot is hurtling towards a collision between The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the polygamous family’s fundamentalist faith that maintains that multiple wives continue to be a mandatory element of achieving one’s exaltation and is consistent with the original teachings of Joseph Smith. The Mormons portrayed on the show object.

The fact that the collision occurred over the portrayal of a Mormon temple ceremony, which is considered sacred, and secret, shouldn’t be too surprising, but I’m amazed it didn’t happen sooner because the show is not afraid of wrestling with some very difficult hot-button social issues like teen pregnancy and family relationships. (Thanks to the Arts Admin. blog for first bringing this to my attention.) Here is the Associated Press:

SALT LAKE CITY — HBO on Tuesday defended its plans to depict a sacred Mormon temple ceremony in an upcoming episode of “Big Love.”

The drama about a Utah polygamous family will show an endowment ceremony in the episode airing Sunday.

HBO said it did not intend to be disrespectful of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and apologized.

“Obviously, it was not our intention to do anything disrespectful to the church, but to those who may be offended, we offer our sincere apology,” the cable television channel said in a statement issued Tuesday.

But the ceremony is an important part of the “Big Love” story line, HBO said.

The AP’s coverage seems spot on to me, noting that HBO and the Church negotiated an agreement whereby HBO would disclaim in the show’s credits the fact that the beliefs portrayed on the show were distinguishable from the Church’s modern position on polygamy. The current dispute appears to be not merely over the ceremony scene, but also includes other instances that seem to blur “the distinction between The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the show’s fictional non-Mormon characters and their practices.” From my perspective, the distinction is made quite clear, at least once one gets the general gist of the show.

The fact that overall the show tends to be very respectful towards a group of people who maintain a rather obscure and minority faith isn’t reflected in the AP story, but that’s a detail that’s probably best left for the commentators and columnists. The article points out that the show employs advisers to vet the show for accuracy, and to my knowledge the show portrays the faiths fairly accurately.

The rest of the entertainment industry should take a serious look at how Big Love pulls it off. The show doesn’t play on stereotypes and portrays the individuals’ faith as genuine and meaningful even if most Americans do not relate to that particular faith and its practices.

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Filed Under: Evangelicals, Journalism, Marriage & family, Pop Culture, Radio & TV, Religion, Sex, Social Issues, World Religions
  • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u7JgK_mmEBk Chino Blanco

    Tom Hanks puts this brouhaha into perspective (and waxes prophetic) at the 3rd season premiere of Big Love:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u7JgK_mmEBk

    “There’s gonna be lies, and secrets, and discoveries, and problems. Television!”

  • Ivan Wolfe

    As a Mormon, I can’t understand why some Mormons have become so worked up about this. It was going to happen sooner or later.

    To me, the funniest thing about the media coverage was the attempt to make a controversy where almost none existed. The church’s official response was a restrained statement that basically boiled down to “whatever.” Yet the headlines were “LDS Church takes HBO to task” or “HBO under attack from Mormons” or silly statements like that, none of which reflected the reality of the official LDS stance.

    Of course, some Mormons did go off the deep end, but when I heard about it, I shrugged my shoulders and said “what’s the big deal?” The church basically did the same. But many in the media tried to spin it as some sort of theological/rhetorical war.

    *Shrug*. Whatever.

  • HiveRadical

    The Church did give a restrained statement, and I agree with Ivan that it amounted to a “that’s disapointing but whatever.” But I think part of the media responded because something was there that was big enough for the Church to feel it needed to issue a statement.

  • http://www.ecben.net Will

    HBO would disclaim in the show’s credits the fact that the beliefs portrayed on the show were distinguishable from the Church’s modern position on polygamy

    Uh, that would mean that HBO was asserting that the “fundamentalist” beliefs depicted on the show are NOT distinguishable from the Church’s current position.

    You shouldn’t never use no double negatives.

  • Mama Pitta

    At first I was very upset at the prospect of seeing our sacred Temple Rites being viewed by every Tom Dick and Harry…BUT! then I thought.

    What the heck! they’ve run out of religions and sects to criticize. The Muslims, Scientology, the polygamist “Mormons” etc etc…like any gossipy out of touch OLD woman…they’ll start on someone else as soon as they run out of things to say about “The Church”…like any small minded person or organisation. Why should H B O be any different. What makes this channel so different? Soon we’ll be seeing “Blue Movies and Pornography” Got to get those ratings up and the word is SEX!!

  • http://www.ldslearning.org Tony

    This is great for the many Mormons who will never be worthy enough to enter a temple.

    This “sacred and secret” thing about the temple is wearing
    thin. It all stems from the result that these ceremonies
    basically evolved out of the LDS apostles’ involvement
    in Freemasonry.

    While evangelical churches are sacred, there are no
    secret spiritual truths being held back.

    Tony

  • Rathje

    I can’t really get worked up over this.

    But I can see why other Mormons would. Anything about the temple is verboten in this religion. You don’t talk about it. We’re also rather sensitive to the fact that our ceremonies are likely to just simply “look funny” to outsiders. And no one likes being an object of ridicule.

    On the other hand, a lot of my fellow Mormons need to stop expecting everyone else to act like they’re working for the Church PR department. Fact is, there are a lot of Mormons who are never going to be happy with any media portrayal of their religion that isn’t full of shiny-faced happy people, heartwarming montages, and cheesy “special” piano music in the background.

    These people in my faith simply need to get over it. It’s not HBO’s job to be a satellite PR branch of the LDS Church.

    On the other hand, it would be useful for the newsmedia to recognize that religiously, depicting the inner workings of the LDS temple is the Mormon equivalent of publishing a picture of the prophet Mohammad for Muslims.

    Personally, I don’t think anyone in America’s information age buys the distinctions between “sacred” and “secret” that the LDS Church tries to promote. I’ve long given up trying to make the distinction myself. Now I just simply admit that it is, indeed, secret. But part of the reason it is sacred is BECAUSE of the secrecy.

    Mormons have always been good at carving out “sacred space” in their lives via ritual. Something we find rather lacking in the rather pedestrian and mundane “blue-jean” worship services of our Evangelical neighbors.

  • http://forgusonviews.blogspot.com Thomas

    The show’s potrayal of the FLDS is an abominsation. Their experts probably consist of liars like Carolyn Jessop. The research condcuted by the creators of the show conducted on the FLDS consisted soley of them driving into Colorado City, geting spooked and driving right back out again.

  • Kathie

    HBO made a choice – one they have a right to make; but they shouldn’t try to sidestep responsibility for their choice under the pretext of an apology. I mean if you know you are doing something offensive and choose to do it anyway that’s intentional – yes you meant to offend. The cut and dry mechanics of decision making is that you choose what matters most – the objectives in making this show or the sensitivities of those that will be offended. That’s what freedom is – to make choices with their attendant consequences. So why can’t they own up to their choice?

    It’s not just HBO, I see it all the time – I’m more impressed by those who own up to their choices.

  • Doug

    Since the HBO producers said they research the sacred Temple ceremonies in every detail, they would have invariably come across the warnings that are built into the ceremony not to reveal them or they would call down the judgments of God. I would hate to think what kind of repercussions that might entail knowing that these things aren’t things to be trifled with and that God cannot stand idly by. If they truly understood what the ceremony is saying and that God has built into the ceremony a warning voice that these things aren’t to be spread outside the walls of the sacred temples, it certainly is evidence that these producers disregarded any attempt to keep them sacred and have blatantly come out against the very ceremonies themselves. They will have no one to blame for what is to come forth, for the judgments of God will surely come as is stated in the very ceremonies they researched and overtly depicted. I am so appalled at the total disregard by HBO of religious rites being blatantly displayed without any regard for their obvious sacredness.

  • Chris

    It is disturbing when things that are truly sacred to people are disrespected.

    Hanks, HBO, the ex-Mormon consultant, et al have disregarded and disrespected the covenants that are made in the temple to not disrespect the covenants made therein by disclosure – except as the Lord has specified.

    As to Heavenly Father being a vengeful God – the Lord does not suffer fools, will not be mocked, and has rained fire upon various cities and destroyed groups of people who have chosen evil-even flooded the earth once to wipe it clean.

    And before the Second Coming of Jesus Christ, many people will be burned as the stubble in the fields. As in “whoosh” and turned to ashes, as specified in many places in the Bible.

    The scriptures are clear about those who go to hell: But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death. (Book of Revelations)

    What Hanks and HBO do is up to them. I resigned myself a long time ago to the fact that some people will choose to do wrong and can do so because they have their God-given agency to choose. There is little or nothing that I can do about it.

    So it’s sad to see them make bad choices. But it is also disturbing that people choose to commit fornication, use and or deal drugs, or that millions of mothers in the USA EACH year choose to abort their unborn children. Very sad that.

    As to the effect on the LDS church? “The dogs bark and the caravan rolls on.” HBO and others of their ilk just don’t make any difference in the Gospel of Jesus Christ being offered to the world or to all the people who embrace the Gospel of Jesus Christ and its benefits, blessings, privileges, and bilateral covenants.

    But clearly, the Lord will not be mocked and those who knowingly disrespect Him will be held accountable for their actions and pay a heavy price for their sins.

    …