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Under the Banner of Heaven (Hulu, April 28) - limited series based on nonfiction book about murders within fundamentalist LDS sect

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skillzdadirecta

skillzdadirecta

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28 minutes ago, TheLeon said:

I haven't really paid attention to most of the recent "based on a true story" prestige miniseries that have been everywhere lately, but I'm kinda all in on Andrew Garfield at the moment. I'll probably end up watching this. 

"The Thing About Pam" was really good... that story is BONKERS. "The Girl from Plainview" is decent, but not as good as Pam. I was hooked on "Inventing Anna" as well. Will definitelt be checking this one out as well... huge Andrew Garfield fan.

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Mercury33

Mercury33

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31 minutes ago, TheLeon said:

I haven't really paid attention to most of the recent "based on a true story" prestige miniseries that have been everywhere lately, but I'm kinda all in on Andrew Garfield at the moment. I'll probably end up watching this. 


Oddly enough I’m the opposite. I actively don’t want to see movies he’s in. But I can’t really figure out why i don’t like him. I just don’t. 

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BloodyHell

BloodyHell

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40 minutes ago, skillzdadirecta said:

"The Thing About Pam" was really good... that story is BONKERS. "The Girl from Plainview" is decent, but not as good as Pam. I was hooked on "Inventing Anna" as well. Will definitelt be checking this one out as well... huge Andrew Garfield fan.

I found Inventing Anna really hard to watch, didn't last an episode. Wife enjoyed it though.

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GeneticBlueprint

GeneticBlueprint

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You know I'm watching this. :p

 

I enjoyed the book as well. Though it draws a line between violence in early frontier Mormonism and the Lafferty murders, the message is really more that dogmatism can lead to horrific things. Mormonism is just the setting here.

 

I am excited to see Andrew Garfield's portrayal of somebody going through some similar version of what I went through.

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GeneticBlueprint

GeneticBlueprint

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I watched the first two episodes.

 

It's hard to comment on how effective the "whodunnit" element of this show is since I'm familiar with the incident already.

 

I think the show has done very well at capturing the different aspects of Mormon culture. Especially in the 80s. The commentary online among Mormons is divided in that regard. But I think most online Mormons who are saying things like "the speech and dialog are awkward" weren't alive or aware in the 80s and early 90s. I find it very true to life for that time period.

 

There are little things that people without a Mormon context might not pick up on that are super obvious to somebody like me. And I appreciate those little details. For example: Detective Pyre became audibly upset with Alan only after Alan changed clothes. Pyre saw him in regular underwear. Not Mormon underwear. And that's when he became upset and started really grilling him about his abandonment of the faith. He never mentioned the underwear specifically. But that is so true to life. You are treated so differently when people notice that they can't see the line under your shirt or above your knee below your pants amymore when you stop wearing the temple garment.

 

And the show really does a good job of capturing the different kinds of Mormons. Your everyday devout and nice families like the Pyres; the believing but not so stringent types like Brenda's family; the insane hardcore believers like the Laffertys. Really good stuff.

 

I'm hoping the show starts painting a better picture in terms of historical Mormon violence and the insanity of the Laffertys better than it has so far. I think the book does a fairly decent job of that. The show has a ways to go in that regard though.

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Fizzzzle

Fizzzzle

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I want to watch this. I grew up in a town with a big Mormon community. There was a pretty large temple down the street from my house. A lot of my friends growing up were Mormon. They didn't act really any different from anyone else, then they all went on their mission after high school and HOLY FUCK came back entirely drinking the kool-aid. I was like... What the hell did they do to you?! Leave to go spread the word in Costa Rica or wherever for two years and come back like stepford wives.

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GeneticBlueprint

GeneticBlueprint

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1 hour ago, Fizzzzle said:

I want to watch this. I grew up in a town with a big Mormon community. There was a pretty large temple down the street from my house. A lot of my friends growing up were Mormon. They didn't act really any different from anyone else, then they all went on their mission after high school and HOLY FUCK came back entirely drinking the kool-aid. I was like... What the hell did they do to you?! Leave to go spread the word in Costa Rica or wherever for two years and come back like stepford wives.

 

The mission really does a number on you mentally. Every aspect of your life is controlled. Who you talk to, who you spend your time with, what you are allowed to read, listen to, and watch. You are never without another missionary unless you are bathing or going to the restroom. Then on top of that you work basically 14 hour days 6 days a week, and on your "free" day you get 8 hours to take care of things like groceries and laundry and the like. Then work for the rest of that day. It's very controlling.

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johnny

johnny

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20 minutes ago, GeneticBlueprint said:

 

The mission really does a number on you mentally. Every aspect of your life is controlled. Who you talk to, who you spend your time with, what you are allowed to read, listen to, and watch. You are never without another missionary unless you are bathing or going to the restroom. Then on top of that you work basically 14 hour days 6 days a week, and on your "free" day you get 8 hours to take care of things like groceries and laundry and the like. Then work for the rest of that day. It's very controlling.

do they let you send letters home or anything?

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GeneticBlueprint

GeneticBlueprint

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40 minutes ago, johnny said:

do they let you send letters home or anything?

 

Yeah. You are allowed to use your "free" day (missionaries actually call this "preparation day") to write letters. Most do it while the laundry is running or something. For some additional context into the isolation you feel: when I was on my mission, missionaries were only allowed to call home twice per year on Mother's Day and Christmas. And only for like half an hour. Time was monitored.

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