Ep 9 - Under the Banner of Heaven: Ex-Mormon Fan Fiction?
Updated: Aug 17, 2022
We promise that this is more than just an hour of Mormons complaining about the bad representation in Under the Banner of Heaven, though there is a good deal of that. We discuss the problems caused by picking the true crime genre to tell this story and how we would have rewritten the story. (Too bad no one consulted us!) Bad history is debunked and real problems with church culture are discussed. And we arrive at the distinction between a thesis-driven show and an open exploration of ideas.
Our Ratings: Content: Outer Darkness (for temple portrayal & domestic violence) Artistic Merit: 3 popcorn balls Gospel Connections: 2 apricots
Best Books:
Liz - Bird Summons by Leila Aboulela
Carl - Consider Phlebas by Iain M. Banks
Conor - Heike's Void by Steven Peck; Margin Call (film)
Tarik - Natural Philosophy: From Social Brains to Knowledge, Reality, Morality, and Beauty by Paul Thagard
Links:
Under the Banner of Heaven (tv series on Hulu)
Under the Banner of Heaven (book)
IndieWire's oral history of the origin of the series
Mormonland podcast with Janan Graham-Russell
Article on "Who Killed Joseph Smith?" conspiracy theory documentary
Massacre at Mountain Meadows (book put out by the church in 2008)
Liz's reviews of the series for Public Square Magazine
Carl's live-tweets of each episode
Find Us:
Conor - @theConorHilton
Tarik - @realscientistic
Carl - @CarlCranney
Liz - lizbusby.com
Video editing by Carl
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