Faith under fire: Hollywood’s misleading LDS portrayals stir controversy and concern
Commentary by Jennifer Hicks | FāVS News
Hulu is releasing a docuseries in September called “Secret Lives of Mormon Wives,” and Hollywood is releasing a film called “Heretic” in mid-November. The Hulu series might attract voyeur types, but I’m hoping that more discriminating viewers will be repulsed by the sensational immorality featured in the program.
Sadly, “Heretic” is a horror film depicting innocent sister missionaries as victims. I feel I need to speak up about these blatant misrepresentations of my faith. Confusion easily occurs if people lack experience with members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and form opinions only from what they see on TV or in movies.
It’s frustrating to me that the trailer for the Hulu program highlights behavior that is inconsistent with our beliefs. The Church recently made an official statement about entertainment media distorting faith. Quoting from the statement, “We understand the fascination some in the media have with the Church but regret that portrayals often rely on sensationalism and inaccuracies that do not fairly and fully reflect the lives of our Church members or the sacred beliefs that they hold dear.”
The critique
While watching the “Secret Lives” trailer, it became clear that the raunchy behavior of the women in the show was completely foreign to what I have seen after a lifetime of the Church membership. I recognize that some choose to actively oppose the Church’s teachings, but I’ve never met moms at church who do anything close to what these women do. My question is, why do the women in the Hulu show even want to be associated with the Church?
In watching the trailer for the film “Heretic,” one gets the impression that our missionaries can easily fall victim to predators and are in danger as they serve. The Church has sent missionaries out since its founding in 1830 and today more than ever, have many safeguards in place to protect them. Though risks always exist, the Church does an impressive job of monitoring geo-politics, natural disasters, gang activity and other threats that could impact missionaries. If a young woman in the Church sees this film, she could become petrified of serving a mission and miss out on this life-changing opportunity.
The hope
If I could pose three questions to the entertainment industry, they would be these. First, would they please consider the real impact of their inaccurate portrayals of people’s beliefs? Secondly, might they take the time to survey diverse voices within a faith tradition to get a greater sense of how adherents behave before creating blatant stereotypes that are difficult to overcome? And finally, would they consider instead to strive for integrity by featuring respectful depictions of people of faith?
Since I recognize the entertainment industry is not one bit concerned about what I think, I’m hoping that instead you, dear reader, will pause when you see religious beliefs being portrayed on a screen. Rather than taking the media’s interpretation of how people with religious belief behave as truth, look to a sampling of members of that faith for a better representation. Become inquisitive and seek for more information directly from the source.
In my faith tradition, we are always willing to share what we believe with people who are genuinely interested. What Hulu and Hollywood are providing in these instances is just a flash in the pan. This in contrast to the living example of neighbors and friends who are committed members of the Church who will likely leave a more positive impression upon those with genuine curiosity.
The views expressed in this opinion column are those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect the views of FāVS News. FāVS News values diverse perspectives and thoughtful analysis on matters of faith and spirituality.
