The first episode of the new Netflix series about the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints starts in the middle of a story. A man named Warren S. Jeffs is introduced to the audience by reputation, as we watch interviews with members of his very large family, in anticipation of truly bizarre and evil events. For those events must be truly bizarre and evil if arranged marriages between very young and sheltered women and a geriatric cult leader are given as merely a background.
While not American, I have had a sustained if limited interest in Mormons (blame Sherlock Holmes, if you will). In other words, I know just about enough to follow the twists of the narrative and not too much to feel like I know the story already. Yet, I think the series would benefit from providing some wider context: how did Mormonism start? How widespread is it in the region? How much have Mormon practices differ from those of their neighbours throughout the 19th and 20th centuries? How come polygamy became the main subject for debate within Mormonism? How is it possible that there is a society within the society, and how are the borders defined? If Mormon men run businesses open to the wider public, yet Mormon women might never interact with people outside their church, what is the approach to healthcare? Law? Settling disputes? Paying taxes? And so forth.
It may sound like a strangely academic angle, but it is not. When there is so much emphasis on marriage and childbirth, plus a seemingly total lack of sex education, there are consequences that will necessarily result in trauma and death. It would be an integral part of existence for the wives and daughters within the Fundamentalist movement - including those who have since left the church and are speaking here on camera.
It may be that some of this information is to come, but I wish the story were provided less in the 'you heard the rumours, now you are about to learn the truth' fashion, giving a more thorough depiction instead.
The cinematography is beautiful. Some of the landscape shots are stunning and the breadth of the land seems in contrast with the very narrrow views of some of the characters. The widows of Rolan Jeffs interviewed by the film-makers - Rebecca Musser, Alicia Rohbock - are quietly angry, well-spoken and dignified. The series succeeds in making sure their voices are heard, which is, in its own way, a response to the larger issue at hand.
While not American, I have had a sustained if limited interest in Mormons (blame Sherlock Holmes, if you will). In other words, I know just about enough to follow the twists of the narrative and not too much to feel like I know the story already. Yet, I think the series would benefit from providing some wider context: how did Mormonism start? How widespread is it in the region? How much have Mormon practices differ from those of their neighbours throughout the 19th and 20th centuries? How come polygamy became the main subject for debate within Mormonism? How is it possible that there is a society within the society, and how are the borders defined? If Mormon men run businesses open to the wider public, yet Mormon women might never interact with people outside their church, what is the approach to healthcare? Law? Settling disputes? Paying taxes? And so forth.
It may sound like a strangely academic angle, but it is not. When there is so much emphasis on marriage and childbirth, plus a seemingly total lack of sex education, there are consequences that will necessarily result in trauma and death. It would be an integral part of existence for the wives and daughters within the Fundamentalist movement - including those who have since left the church and are speaking here on camera.
It may be that some of this information is to come, but I wish the story were provided less in the 'you heard the rumours, now you are about to learn the truth' fashion, giving a more thorough depiction instead.
The cinematography is beautiful. Some of the landscape shots are stunning and the breadth of the land seems in contrast with the very narrrow views of some of the characters. The widows of Rolan Jeffs interviewed by the film-makers - Rebecca Musser, Alicia Rohbock - are quietly angry, well-spoken and dignified. The series succeeds in making sure their voices are heard, which is, in its own way, a response to the larger issue at hand.
