tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23563380.post3834533358934775870..comments2023-10-02T00:28:29.335-07:00Comments on Gay LDS Actor: Unique ProductionsGay LDS Actorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17841236084753512311noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23563380.post-53771790102440139962011-09-20T13:11:14.365-07:002011-09-20T13:11:14.365-07:00...that they are laughing at my beliefs rather tha...<i>...that they are laughing at my beliefs rather than sharing a joke with me, and that was and is uncomfortable.</i><br /><br />Yes, this exactly. At the same time, I agree with you,<br /><br /><i>nor do I even feel that Matt Stone and Trey Parker are creating the humor from a malicious angle.</i><br /><br />For some reason, as I said in my previous comment, I don't get the same feeling of discomfort from listening to the songs themselves. I get the impression Stone and Parker are laughing at Mormonism, sure, but they're laughing at a whole lot of other things as well, including themselves, and I also get the feeling that they are quite fond of Mormons and Mormonism -- they might not understand the wacky doctrine (well, heck, I don't either, often), but I do get the impression they have a great deal of respect, and even love, for Mormons.<br /><br />Perhaps what bothers me about the audience reaction is that it strikes me as coming from the outside and not sympathetic, whereas I get the impression Stone and Parker do have quite a bit of sympathy? Either way, I think you have the right idea to think of it from their perspective.<br /><br />And yes, I laughed so hard at some of the cultural jokes. I almost think much of the musical is lost on those who aren't Mormon!<br /><br />And yes, I'm not saying either of our reactions are right and wrong; it just struck me as interesting that I could like the songs so much (and I really do -- I go around singing "I Believe" and "Two by Two" around the house all the time, which probably confuses my (nonmember) husband) and have such a strong negative reaction to the audience reaction, which I hadn't expected.cahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09690762083289844806noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23563380.post-57768896663862126202011-09-19T22:05:30.591-07:002011-09-19T22:05:30.591-07:00Hey, ca,
Thanks for the comments. I'm glad t...Hey, ca,<br /><br />Thanks for the comments. I'm glad to hear that you find some of my posts spiritual and insightul and that you enjoy my blog.<br /><br />Your situation sounds very interesting. I'm glad you love you ward. I really have a great love for my home ward in Utah, but I'm back home with Jonah now. I like this ward, too, but don't have the same connection with it as I do the one in Utah.<br /><br />In answer to your question about "I Believe," yes, when I watched the Tonys, I was bothered for the very same reason you were and had the same reaction which I didn't have when I just listened to it.<br /><br />It does feel (and felt when I watched the copy of the show) at times that people are laughing at things that I find sacred and important; that they are laughing at my beliefs rather than sharing a joke with me, and that was and is uncomfortable.<br /><br />At the same time, I think most people are laughing at things that seem humorous from an outside point of view because they don't understand them from the inside.<br /><br />I don't feel that people (the majority anyway) are laughing at my beliefs maliciously nor do I even feel that Matt Stone and Trey Parker are creating the humor from a malicious angle. I think there are simply things that Mormons believe that seem so strange from an outside point of view that they come off as funny and absurd.<br /><br />But when you hold certain beliefs and traditions close to your heart and someone makes fun of them, it can still hurt your feelings or make you uncomfortable or offend you.<br /><br />I don't feel Matt Stone or Trey Parker mean any harm, nor do I feel the majority of the audience means any harm, but that doesn't mean they don't cause harm, even if it's unintentional.<br /><br />I do remember as I watched the show that the phrase "for God will not be mocked" came into my head, and I did wonder how my Heavenly Father would feel about the lighthearted and mocking portrayal of some of the beliefs others hold so dear.<br /><br />On the other hand, the phrase, "forgive them, for they know not what they do" also came into my head.<br /><br />Let's face it, some Mormon beliefs can be viewed as very odd to someone who isn't Mormon, especially when they are taken out of context, and I must admit there were also some Mormon culture jokes that I laughed at because they were true.<br /><br />The fact of the matter is that "I Believe" doesn't really contain anything that is doctrinally unsound, but, yes, when taken out of context by people who really don't fully understand those beliefs, and when laughed at by people who don't fully understand those beliefs, it can hurt one's heart, and it did mine and obviously did yours.<br /><br />And even though it does hurt and makes me uncomfortable, I try to step outside of myself and see it from an their point of view, and that makes it a little easier.<br /><br />But the very same things you've brought up are also why I'm very uncomfortable with songs like "Baptize Me" and "Joseph Smith American Moses," because something that is sacred and special to me is being mocked or treated in a flippant way, and I am uncomfortable with it.<br /><br />I'm with you; I rarely listen to the songs with the profanity. I get their point and even see the humor, but I don't have to listen to it if I choose not to. That doesn't make me better than anyone; it's just my preference.<br /><br />Thanks for writing.Gay LDS Actorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17841236084753512311noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23563380.post-90447425819211372032011-09-19T21:37:30.918-07:002011-09-19T21:37:30.918-07:00Hey -- I found your blog several weeks ago because...Hey -- I found your blog several weeks ago because I was looking for a review of the Book of Mormon that was both sensitive to Mormonism and was interested in what Parker and Stone had to say -- and I stayed (lurking) because you have such insightful and spiritual posts. (By the way, I'm an agnostic practicing Mormon, so I have sort of an opposite but related viewpoint to you -- I love my ward very much, and appear to be following the "rules," but can never get a temple recommend or anything like that.) So thanks for your blog -- I really appreciate it.<br /><br />I've listened to the songs and watched the Tony Awards but have not watched the play live at all, and wasn't planning to, because... watching the "I Believe" performance really bothered me in a way that listening to the song didn't -- not because of the song itself, which I actually really love, but because people were laughing at places that made me feel like they were laughing at my religion and me. Did that bother you at all?<br /><br />And I agree, the profanity bothers me! I do see why they're doing it, but it does turn me off -- it's funny, I've listened to the songs without profanity about ten times more than the ones with.cahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09690762083289844806noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23563380.post-64519073004997514682011-09-17T23:20:56.193-07:002011-09-17T23:20:56.193-07:00My pleasure.
Certainly I get the sentiment of how...My pleasure.<br /><br />Certainly I get the sentiment of how the people in "Hasa Diga Eebowai" feel, but that doesn't make it any less jarring to my ears. lolGay LDS Actorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17841236084753512311noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23563380.post-6137677568399033302011-09-17T22:45:48.604-07:002011-09-17T22:45:48.604-07:00Love, love, love Broadway. :) Thanks for these r...Love, love, love Broadway. :) Thanks for these reviews...I'd love to see Next to Normal. <br /><br />FYI--The Book of Mormon will have a run in Chicago, but patience is required. It will begin in December of 2012. Group ticket sales have already begun.<br /><br />I understand when people are offended by Hasa Diga Eebowai, but I think the profanity of that song is answered in the line, "If you don't like what we say, try living here a couple days..."<br /><br />Thanks again for the info on these shows. I need to get the NtN soundtrack. :)Michellehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09591981716535134038noreply@blogger.com