Re: [MOPO] Brokeback Mormons

[Susan Heim]

Hey Danny,      I was waiting for part 2.  My first experience with the Morman church was also one of my first experiences in the television business. I worked on the "Donnie and Marie" show. I can't even begin to go into the stories there, but suffice to say, it was an interesting gig!  Your story about your friend is devastating but not that uncommon with this subject matter. I have had several friends that have experienced the same or worse. I have two daughters of my own and I often wonder how as a parent you could ever disown your child, no matter what. Let alone send them off into the world at 17 with nothing and nowhere to go. It's mind blowing to me.      When I was a small child, about 4-5 years old, in the late 1950's, I lived with a family who had an older daughter of their own who was 12 years older than me, so about 17 at the time. The parents found out that she had been dating a black boy behind their back. This was Columbus, Ohio in 1958-59. I was small, but I got the gist of it. They were screaming at her, smacking her around, she was crying hysterically and I was hiding at the end of the hall. You can only imagine the dialogue they were using. I can still hear her saying to them that she loved the person they were all fighting about. Now, up to this point, these two people were two of the most loving and generous people I had ever known. Heck, I wasn't even their child and they took care of me as I was their own. I had never seen that side of them and it scared me to pieces. In addition, I loved my older sister and was scared to see her being beaten and screamed at. Think about the message they were sending to me. I realize now, as an adult, they were taught to hate like that, just as they were inadvertently teaching their children to hate. I only lived with them until I was 7. They shipped her off to the military, where she met a guy, got married, started having babies, and so on and so on.   Many years later when I was in college, she knew the city I was in and called me as she and her husband had been restationed (he still in the military) to the same city. I went to see her and it was awful. She was in an abusive marriage, had 4 children and was only in her early to mid 30's. She looked awful, she had begun drinking, her children were dirty and unkempt and they all lived in some run down apartment. It saddened me to no end to see her that way. I had so looked up to her when I was a child. I couldn't help but think about that day, so long ago, when she took a beating for loving someone her family found unacceptable.      I'm not trying to make excuses for bad behavior. No matter what adversities come our way in our lives, we are still responsible for our behavior, but nonetheless, it is a sad affair when those you love and trust walk away from you for something that is not really in your control. How do you control who you love?   Sue Heim ----- Original Message ----- From: Danny Steward To: MoPo-L@LISTSERV.AMERICAN.EDU Sent: Friday, January 20, 2006 1:16 PM Subject: [MOPO] Brokeback Mormons The ongoing thread of the Utah megaplex reneging a contract showing of Brokeback Mountain offers a window of understanding into my previous Brokeback post.  During the 1950's the Mormons, full title, The Church Of Jesus Christ Of The Latter-Day Saints, began a systematic recruitment in the west.  The aim was world wide but the selection at the time was to expand into western states.  The Mormons are, from my experience,  a repressive conservative Christian cult and homosexuality in NOT tolerated in any form or representation.  While watching Bareback Mountain the thought crossed my mind the movie was turning into a Mormon story.  Let me offer a first person history.  A close friend, who was from Utah, described a 1960's family horror when he was outed to his parents by an anonymous phone call.  The morning call resulted in a confrontation between son and parents to the point by the afternoon he was told to leave home.  With what he could carry he was told to leave and never return.  He was a homosexual and had deceived his parents, defiling his Mormon home.  At the door his mother told him his sins were unredeemable and as far as she was concerned he was dead.  His father blankly agreed.  He never saw his parents again.  He was 17 years old   I can speak with a background because my parents, like many others at the time, were attracted to the family based umbrella of LDS doctrine, and went through a lengthy process of indoctrination education.  My family dumped the idea of putting on horse blinders and joining a false front church.  My input was I thought the Mormons were nuts.  We read the Book Of Mormon and my observation was it was an 1830 low brow science fiction.   I understand the head honcho at the Jordan Crossing Megaplex refusing to play Brokeback Mountain.  It would be sinful for a good Mormon or Mormon business to allow the movie to be shown.  It would be inexcusable to allow ANYONE to view and perhaps be influenced by this film with an underlining gay theme already being called a classic. So Woo Hoo to you western dudes everywhere and to you country Ladies and backslid Mormons ------get your butts to Bareback Mountain! Danny Steward / Seattle          Visit the MoPo Mailing List Web Site at www.filmfan.com    ___________________________________________________________________               How to UNSUBSCRIBE from the MoPo Mailing List        Send a message addressed to: [EMAIL PROTECTED]             In the BODY of your message type: SIGNOFF MOPO-L     The author of this message is solely responsible for its content. Visit the MoPo Mailing List Web Site at www.filmfan.com ___________________________________________________________________ How to UNSUBSCRIBE from the MoPo Mailing List Send a message addressed to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] In the BODY of your message type: SIGNOFF MOPO-L The author of this message is solely responsible for its content.