I just don’t get it. I don’t understand the need others feel to make fun of other religions. Sure, the joke now and then is one thing, but creating entire musicals, shows, books around trying to make fun of another religion seems like a waste of time. Unfortunately, I’m a member of a religion that gets made fun of…a lot.
Recently, there was an article written in the Washington Post titled, “Why I won’t be seeing the Book of Mormon Musical“. He makes some fabulous points. I couldn’t have said it better myself.
But, here is what I don’t get. Who are they trying to appeal to when they decide to make fun of Mormons? Is the average Mormon going to see this musical? No. Do we care? I would say, No. While it may seem like I do based on the fact that I’m blogging about it, I really don’t. For me, when I heard about this musical several months ago, I just rolled my eyes and thought, “Big deal. Another way to poke fun of the Mormons”.
But, the sad truth is that others that are not members of our faith are going to pay big bucks to see this musical. And, while the creators, who spent 7 years creating this musical, may say, It’s a joke! What’s the big deal? The fact remains that some people (and I know not all) will walk away from that thinking, “Are mormons really that naive?” or “Do mormons really do that?” They will have no more information about the truth of what we believe than they did before.
And, while one may argue that the musical is not a way to educate people about mormons, there are many people out there that are looking to media such as this musical, Sister Wives, or Big Love for more information. They don’t go to the source: An actual member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.
While I know that there are many fans of these types of shows that DO know they are a joke or fantasy, it still remains sad to me that many do not get that. They assume they know what mormons are all about based on their limited experience. A TV show. A musical.
I just don’t get it. And, I guess I never will. Likewise, I would not watch a program whose sole purpose is to make fun of the Catholic, Jewish, or any other religion. It doesn’t hurt me personally that shows are out there like this. It just doesn’t make sense to me why we live in a world that is full of belittling, or making fun of things that people find sacred, or important. Are we ever going to move beyond that? Unfortunately, I doubt it.
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