A Darkness Settles Over "6 Days in August"

[Doctor Scratch]

By any chance have you been following any of the postings on "SeN" about the upcoming film? If so, you may have noticed something--namely, the the photos from the film seem to be getting darker. It's almost as if the Director of Photography has suddenly decided, right in the middle of filming, to channel the shadowy Godfather-era work of Gordon Willis. Take a look:





"If you had come to me in friendship, then this scum that ruined your daughter would be suffering this very day." --Don Corleone, or...?

On the one hand, it makes sense to photograph Mormonism's founders as if they were characters in Francis Ford Coppola's Oscar-winning crime epic. Why not make it seem as if they're plotting out their religious schemes in a murk of shadows? Or maybe this is a reaction to criticism? Not long ago, I commented:

“Witnesses”’ depiction of the historical era was totally unconvincing: everything was over-lit (remember: they didn’t have electric lights in the early 1800s) and it’s as if dust, grime, and smoke were completely absent.

The filmmakers have shown themselves in the past to be remarkably reactive to things that are written on this board. So who knows?

Meanwhile, Dr. Peterson has decided to reveal his true cards at last. From the outset, I have predicted that the film was essentially an anti-Community of Christ propaganda film: a movie that will inevitably trash Joseph Smith III in an effort to prop up the Brighamite version of the "Succession Crisis." DCP denied many times that this was the case, and yet in this recent post, he now seems to be admitting that I was right all along:

But, even then — for some, at least — there remains another decision-point that can pose a problem: Suppose that we’ve concluded, yes, that there is a personal God, that Jesus Christ is his atoning Son who rose from the dead, that Joseph Smith is a prophet, that God’s true church, accompanied by divine priesthood authority, was restored to the earth. The question then arises, Which, of the churches today that claim to possess that priesthood authority and to represent the Restoration that began with Joseph Smith, is the real one?

That is why it’s so pivotally important to revisit the story of the rise of the Twelve to leadership after the murder of Joseph and Hyrum Smith.

We would very much welcome your help in bringing this project to full realization.

The title of the blog post is "Why we're doing it." Yes: the whole point is to prove that the Brighamite version is right and everyone else's claim is wrong. It will be interesting to see what winds up happening with this sophomore effort from the Mopologists, but based on the posted images so far, things are not looking especially good. I mean, how do you make an interesting movie out of an event that, when you boil it down to its essence, is really little more than a matter of theological bureaucracy and administration? Remember: the scene in Harry Potter where the magical hat (coincidence?) sorts all the students into their various houses--Gryffindor, Slytherin, etc.--was just one tiny scene. They didn't try to make a whole movie out of that process. But the Mopologists have always been interested in carrying on and on and on and on about minutia, so perhaps this is just a case of history repeating itself. We shall see.

[Kishkumen]

The same priesthood held by Brigham Young was also held by William Marks, who ordained Joseph Smith III to the high priesthood when he became prophet of the Reorganization. Brigham Young was not Joseph Smith, Jr.’s successor. I would say that in many ways the Community of Christ and the LDS Church are on equal footing when it comes to priesthood claims.

[Philo Sofee]

The same priesthood held by Brigham Young was also held by William Marks, who ordained Joseph Smith III to the high priesthood when he became prophet of the Reorganization. Brigham Young was not Joseph Smith, Jr.’s successor. I would say that in many ways the Community of Christ and the LDS Church are on equal footing when it comes to priesthood claims.

I wonder if DCP really actually understands the implication of this. I bet ya he has a squirreling way out of it, come on! I betchta! I betcha a buck-fiddy.

[Doctor Scratch]

That’s a great point, Reverend. Imagine if they included something along those lines in the film? They could have kind of an epigraph that shows Joseph Smith III becoming a prophet and thus leaving the door open for other possibilities. It would help to undercut the widely held assumption that the Mopologists are contemptuous towards other faiths. It will most likely never happen, but I would respect the filmmakers a lot more if they did.

[Dr Moore]

Kind of like Game of Thrones season 8?

[Doctor Scratch]

Actually, I was thinking more along the lines of the 1988 version of The Blob. You think the threat is over only to learn in an epilogue scene that the preacher character has saved a small piece of the blob in a jar for “the day of reckoning.”

[Gadianton]

Actually, I was thinking more along the lines of the 1988 version of The Blob. You think the threat is over only to learn in an epilogue scene that the preacher character has saved a small piece of the blob in a jar for “the day of reckoning.”

An important film that I remember well. The hubris of the apologists to recreate it!

Indeed, these are dark scenes, very dark and very serious. But the problem is exactly what you're suggesting with alternative story lines: you can't have the autumn darkness with a transparent, didactic script. Kim Jong Il, an ardent student of Western film and movie-maker, ran into the exact same problem as a film maker that DCP struggles with. How to have a complex plot while simultaneously celebrating his own beliefs as unquestionably right?

[Doctor Scratch]

To be clear: I don’t think that the apologists are attempting to recreate The Blob. The Mopologists are amateurs and hacks and they couldn’t carry The Blob’s jock strap.

But you make an interesting point about North Korean filmmaking. I recall listening to a so-called podcast some years ago that told of how the North Korean leader was quite disappointed in the quality of NK cinema, and so he actually arranged for the kidnapping of a South Korean actress so she she could appear in NK films.

The story is a great parallel for the dilemma that DCP is facing: like Kim Jong Il, he knows that LDS Cinema sucks, but how far is he willing to go in order to redeem it? Is he content with his movie being nothing more than thin, propagandistic gruel? Or does he want the wider world to take his movie seriously?

[I Have Questions]

The new film seems intent on covering the period when Joseph was in hiding...

Emma Smith visits the Prophet Joseph while he’s in hiding.

https://www.patheos.com/blogs/danpeters ... ng-it.html

Will the film mention some of Joseph's other visitors, and the awkwardness of managing those other visits at times when Emma wasn't around? Dark stuff indeed.

[Moksha]

Actually, I was thinking more along the lines of the 1988 version of The Blob. You think the threat is over only to learn in an epilogue scene that the preacher character has saved a small piece of the blob in a jar for “the day of reckoning.”

A quantity of Brigham's DNA is found and transferred to the replication facility at Jurrasic Park Island.

The story is a great parallel for the dilemma that DCP is facing: like Kim Jong Il, he knows that LDS Cinema sucks, but how far is he willing to go in order to redeem it? Is he content with his movie being nothing more than thin, propagandistic gruel? Or does he want the wider world to take his movie seriously?

A catchy Bollywood song and dance number could get the viewers' toes tapping.

A scene with Tim Ballard dressed as Rambo and rescuing a young maiden from the clutches of John C. Bennett's Spiritual Wifery would rouse most Mormons and help reinstate Ballard's Senate candidacy in Utah. Being too dark to see what is going on would enhance believability.