Just wow.
HBO nailed it.
Wow.
Did the creators of HBO’s “Big Love” cross a line in Sunday’s episode by portraying a ritual that normally happens behind the sealed doors of a Mormon temple? Some members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints say there are corners of the religious landscape where Hollywood is just not welcome.
Sunday’s episode shows Barb (played by Jeanne Tripplehorn) who is not a church member in good standing but finds a way into a temple anyhow.
HBO apologized to those who might be offended by the fictional ceremony. [Creators Mark V.] Olsen and [Will] Scheffer said they went to great lengths to portray the ceremony accurately.
Sunday’s episode has prompted some mainstream Mormons to boycott and cancel subscriptions to companies owned by HBO’s parent company Time Warner.
Wasn’t it the Mormons who cried foul when Prop 8 opponents protested LDS involvement in helping get Prop 8 passed and then pledged to boycott LDS-linked businesses that gave money in support of it? And now they’re turning around and boycotting businesses linked to HBO over a fictitious television show?
Oh, Mormons.
That Ted Haggard thing on HBO last night was brutal. Just brutal. I’m not exactly sure how to express my feelings about it. On the one hand, I despise people like him. People who not only spread intolerance and profit from the word God, but are also liars and hypocrites. I hate that shit, and when the Haggard thing first happened, I was giddy. Because fuck that guy, he deserves what he gets, right? Well after that movie last night, I’m not so sure. The man exists in a living hell. First of all, he’s obviously gay, but since he’s a Christian it can’t be a part of who he is. Instead it’s a horrible problem that he’s struggling with, and he’s a sinner. So that sucks. But he’s also been abandoned by every single one of his friends, was actually kicked out of his home and the state of Colorado by the church somehow, forced to live in exile with his family, and not a single person would hire him to do anything. He doesn’t have any savings at all and sells life insurance door to door to make a living. He laughs uncontrollably for absolutely no reason, and definitely hates his life. It was one of the saddest, most depressing things I’ve seen in a long time.
I forgot to watch this last night, so I can’t comment on it being the most depressing thing I’ve seen in a long time. But I agree with everything else about despising people who spread intolerance and profit from God, especially when proven to be a hypocrite.
I would probably feel sorrier for Ted Haggard if he hadn’t devoted so much of his life to spreading hate, but I believe his situation should be filed under How Religion Shatters Lives.
