Comments on: Coming Soon to a Screen Near You: The Book of Mormon

By: Nontrovert

Nontrovert — Thu, 13 Jul 2017 09:21:28 +0000

While it is convenient for our mostly beardless culture, Nephi was the youngest of the 4 so portraying him with less facial hair makes sense.

Helaman usually has a beard in our art. Abinidi too. Samuel doesn’t.

So while I agree our largely beardless culture colors how we view things, on reflection it’s only your inherent counter-culturism that’s on display here.

That pretty well sums up nearly every bloggernacle nontroversy, which is at least 30% of bcc and ts posts. Opposition in all things and inherently we all take the opposition some of the time because were just influenced to be contrarian rather than seeking for understanding and unity.

It’s truly something to reflect on if we took Pres. Eyrings advice to speak well of others and find unity even after having different opinions.

By: WillF

WillF — Thu, 13 Jul 2017 03:48:05 +0000

Although, now that I look again at those new photos I noticed Sam has a short beard.

By: WillF

WillF — Thu, 13 Jul 2017 03:44:36 +0000

Looks like Dave pegged it on the beards are bad cliche: http://utahvalley360.com/2017/07/09/the-brothers-who-begin-the-book-of-mormon-add-meaning-to-new-lds-video-series/

By: FarSide

FarSide — Thu, 13 Jul 2017 02:51:56 +0000

If nothing else, this series may open the door for several unemployed body builders to begin a career in acting!

By: N. W. Clerk

N. W. Clerk — Tue, 11 Jul 2017 18:48:50 +0000

“do we have any example of bad guys who are not bearded?”

The Geddy Lee lookalike in “Testaments”.

By: John Mansfield

John Mansfield — Tue, 11 Jul 2017 18:34:23 +0000

Are you sure the bare-faced youth leading the way isn’t Alma up to no good and about to meet an angel?

By: Clark

Clark — Tue, 11 Jul 2017 15:35:44 +0000

Temple videos often had bad guys without beards.

By: Steve

Steve — Tue, 11 Jul 2017 07:47:16 +0000

The photo is clearly of Nephi, Sam, Laman, and Lemuel somewhere in the “getting the plates” saga. Nephi is clearly the one out front, leading the way. I would guess Sam is the other beardless one. Laman and Lemuel are bearded either because bad guys always have beards or to indicate that they are older.

BTW, “bad guys always have beards” is not the same as “bearded guys are always bad”. The second is clearly not true in Mormon media since Lehi and Jesus are always bearded. But do we have any example of bad guys who are not bearded? I think it’s pretty rare, and limited probably to depictions of the Lamanites who are said to shave their heads.

By: KLC

KLC — Mon, 10 Jul 2017 20:23:30 +0000

Dave, in the photo in the OP there are two bearded men and two clean shaven men. Are you saying that the two beards in that photo are bad guys? How do you know that? I did a google image search on that photo and only got hits for the Mormon Newsroom and your post here at T&S, neither of them give any context to the photo. And, like Wally, I watched the newsroom video and saw Lehi with a very big beard as well as many other bearded and non-bearded unnamed characters in various scenes that showed no hint of the beards being bad guys or the non-beards being good.

By: John Mansfield

John Mansfield — Mon, 10 Jul 2017 19:06:07 +0000

Between 19 to 35 hours is a lot of material compared to past LDS productions of this sort. The recorded audio Book of Mormon was distributed on 23 CDs, so less than 27 hours. It seems someone is giving serious attention to the needs of illiterate people and others who like to watch video. Perhaps someday the Book of Mormon will be put out in blog post style, that all may receive it in their preferred communication format.

By: Clark

Clark — Mon, 10 Jul 2017 17:09:33 +0000

Jonathan, I actually think a Terrance Malick approach ala The Thin Red Line would be interesting. Have some battle going only then decenter where you think the action actually is and have this little moments with Mormon and his young son Moroni which shows how pointless and beside the point the action is.

By: MH

MH — Mon, 10 Jul 2017 16:40:36 +0000

Fingers crossed for a Kohor cameo.

By: Wally

Wally — Mon, 10 Jul 2017 16:27:14 +0000

On beards and evil: Well, in the PR piece I watched, Lehi had a beard. Also, if they film the Savior’s appearance in Bountiful, which I’m sure they will, I imagine he will also have a beard. So much for that theory.

On Blair Treu as director: I thought he’d had it after the Meet the Mormons project and would never work for the Church again. Wonder what they offered him or what arm twisting they had to engage in to get him on board.

By: Jonathan Green

Jonathan Green — Mon, 10 Jul 2017 16:24:59 +0000

No violence? That would be tragic waste. I want the people who brought us Helm’s Deep to handle Alma, Ether, and Mormon.

By: Clark

Clark — Mon, 10 Jul 2017 15:59:14 +0000

Yeah, if I had one worry, it would be to what extent they portray the stereotypical presentations of Nephites/Lamanites with the Nephites being portrayed as a weird combination of Vikings/Romans and the Lamanites as a mixture of Indians/Aztecs. I think they’ve gotten much better the past years. Even art at the visitor’s center in Temple Square now has Macuahuitls even if there are still a depressing number of Roman gladii in the art as well.

I should ask my friend who has contacts in the film world about it all.