There's a new musical out right now entitled "The Book Of Mormon" that's been quite successful on Broadway. The show was created by South Park's Trey Parker and Matt Stone, and has garnering a large share of Tony Awards while the soundtrack, which includes songs like "Turn It Off" and the particularly foul "Joseph Smith American Moses" is at #3 on the Billboard Hot 100.
I haven't seen the play, nor will I. Listening to the soundtrack and seeing a few short promo clips told me everything I need to know about this particular piece of work.
As a Jew, I easily recognize demonization done in the guise of 'humor' when I see it. What the creators of 'The Book of Mormon' have done is to create a modern day minstrel show, complete with all the cute little bits of bigotry disguised by catchy tunes and cute dialog.
Particularly vicious 'fun is made of the Mormon's prophets, their missionary work and their history, and I don't think it's at all a coincidence that we just happen to have a member of the LDS as the Republican frontrunner and the possible nominee to run against Barack Obama.
The Mormons have endured hateful bigotry during their history in America, including the lynching of their prophet, Joseph Smith. Their reaction was to pick up and move across country into unknown territory where they could worship as they chose and to create a New Zion in the middle of the wilderness by the Great Salt Lake, one they built themselves from scratch. Instead of living on their knees or accepting defeat, they pioneered, triumphed and prospered. And again, as a Jew that is something I can relate to.
It was and is a uniquely heroic part of our American story, and to mock it the way "The Book Of Mormon" does is simply disgraceful.
Not only is this blatant bigotry, it's cowardice as well. I guarantee you that Trey Parker, Matt Stone and the other people associated with this garbage would never dare put on a similar show like this about Islam entitled "The Qu'ran".
There are a fair amount of members of the LDS in my particular neck of the woods,including my congressman, Buck McKeon. The ones I know are almost universally hard working, self-sufficient, and patriotic, with strong values and close knit families who make ideal neighbors.
As such, I guess they make an easy target.
For what it's worth, I stand with them. They do a great deal more for the country and are a lot more valuable than the sort of people who produced a horror like "The Book of Mormon", who I'd say ought to be ashamed of themselves if I even remotely thought they had the capacity.
6 comments:
Your statement about Parker and Stone never daring to insult Islam means you're either stupid or ignorant (and, judging by some of your other posts, I'm guessing it's a combination of the two). Parker and Stone are literally the only two living artists who have relentlessly skewered Islam and have even been threatened with death for doing so (I'm guessing that you haven't put YOUR neck on the line). Do your research. Of course, this comment won't reflect well on your intelligence and thus won't get past your firewall. But maybe you'll read it anyway and learn something.
Oh BS, troll.
What you're referring to was fully covered here, the censoring by Comedy Central of a single episode with one innocuous part depicting Mohamamed.
However, the brave souls at South Park have indulged in plenty of Jew hatred and Christian bashing before.
"You lied to me, Jew producer!" - Edgy, courageous and provacative, no?
I especially get a chuckle out of someone like you, too gutless even to provide a name let alone a contact e-mail talking about my courage or lack of it.
Cut the horse manure, boyo. Do you approve of this kind of religious bigotry against Mormons or not? And that's a yes or no question.
Regards,
Rob Miller
'Literally the only two living artists who have relentlessly skewered Islam'???
I suppose you never heard of Irshad Manjie, Salmon Rushdie, Wafa Sultan, Ayaan Hirsh Ali, Mandoline, Cox and Forkham, Molly Norris, Chris Muir or a dozen others I could name.
Talk about stupid...
Regards,
Rob
It is pure coincidence that Christian religions are trashed by the left. That they are now trashing the Mormons has nothing to do with them being a conservative religion who believe in taking care of their own and self-sufficiency rather then have the taxpayers support the poor, lazy and indolent. How silly of you to think this was intentional.
My karate master and several students I train with are Mormon. I know little about them really, but they are gentle souls. Hard working, upstanding, nonviolent citizens, (full contact karate aside), I can truly say I love my master and owe him an incredible debt of gratitude that is impossible to express in a blog comment. I have respect for them and I believe your post and comments are spot on as usual.
GREAT post.
The neo-Bolshevik left is as bigoted as ever. When people become apostate from the faith of their fathers there is no place to go but merciless bigotry. History has proven again and again the wherever the ruling elite worship the created rather than The Creator you will find mountains of skulls.
The old Marxist/Bolshevism killed 200 million human souls in the 20th century alone. You are correct to point out that the persecution of the Jews began in the arts, and mass media in 1930s Germany with thinly and not so thinly veiled degradation of German Jewry. Similarly the conspiracy of the atheist ruling elite in Hollywood aim to defame, mock and eventually incite violence and human rights abuses against Christians of all denominations is well under way. Be very afraid.
As with all bigotry the bigot does not see their own bigotry especially when they are seated next to each other in a theater witnessing one another laugh at the victims of their deep seated hatred affirming and encouraging one another's moral bankruptcy.
At this point in America's moral and ethical decline is it any surprise that we are left with no more than bread and circus the likes of "The Book of Mormon".
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