Share the Love

My sister and her husband are coming down to Bountiful today as it's USU's Spring Break. And I would just like to say that I want a spring break too! I know I'm not going to school, but I would like to take a week off from work. Really, it's kind of ridiculous--I only work part-time and it's a pretty cushy job that I generally enjoy, but still... And I know that most students still have to work that week anyway (unless they have an awesome job like working in the Writing Center! or another school job). And maybe that's why I'm bummed, because I do work at a university, but I still have to work next week which is when the U takes its break.

I also picked up my first actual shift at the City Library for Wednesday. My training was not very involved, so it will be most exciting as I have only the vaguest, faintest notion of what I am actually supposed to do. But I love it so. I went in today to see if they had my name badge yet (No!) and to pick up even more books. I got the Annotated Alice which begins my preparation for Tim Burton's Alice movie coming out next spring. In a surprising and twisted way, I'm excited for the movie. I think Anne Hathaway's role as the White Queen is doing wonders to allay my fears. Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter are of course starring as the the Mad Matter and the Queen of Hearts (or is the Red Queen?) respectively. The Disney film terrified me as a child (I much preferred the Care Bears version) and subsequently I never actually read the books. Now as an adult and Harold Bloom's disciple, I am quite intrigued. I also picked up John Crowley's Little, Big and The Solitudes which is the first book of the AEgpyt Cycle, both of which Bloom has called the finest unread fantasies of the twentieth century. I'm thinking perhaps I should wait on Little, Big and recommend it for book club instead. We'll see. Additionally, I got a copy of Hans Christian Andersen's Fairy Tales (I've been very into fairy tales lately) and The Counterfeiters which won the Best Picture Foreign Language film last year (it's a Holocaust film--go figure). I'm quite excited!

Anyway, I logged onto Facebook today and saw that six of my friends recently joined the group Stop HBO From Showing LDS Temple Ceremonies or something like that. I even had received an invitation to join the group which I immediately ignored. But I was intrigued and visited the group's page. It concerns of course the HBO original series Big Love which features a polygamous family living in contemporary Salt Lake City. And supposedly on an upcoming episode they will be portraying a temple-like ceremony on the show. I say supposedly because there's been some discussion that this is blatantly untrue. When Big Love first premiered it caused a minor uproar here in Utah because Mormons are very touchy about their history of polygamy--actually they're very touchy about their history in general (while not caring so much about others' histories). This is perhaps an unfair statement, but it does reflect my own general notions. They are also very protective of their temples and what happens there not because its secret per se, but because it's sacred to them. Now I respect that, but at the same time I feel that HBO has the right to do pretty much whatever it wants to do.

First of all, I am greatly biased by my deep and abiding love of HBO series. Secondly, it's called free speech. Finally, I have seen several episodes of Big Love (mostly because Ellen was deeply fascinated and borderline addicted in college) and it's a well-done show. Ginnifer Goodwin and Chloe Sevigny are excellent! I feel that even if Big Love were to show such a ceremony it would be done quite tastefully and as something very important and sacred to these characters. It would not be done in jest or in a way that made light of it (this is not Monty Python or Bill Maher.) I'm sure Mormons will still be very upset if this does happen, but my knee-jerk reaction is tough beans.

I also want to take a moment to talk about my love of Six Feet Under--another HBO series. I've been watching the third season, and I've realized that I previously stopped watching sometime during the second season because a lot of stuff has happened that I don't remember. Nevertheless, I love it so. I also love Rachel Griffiths as Brenda and I'm sure she is coming back for good sometime. She's so much better than Nate's current wife Lisa--blah. That's not Lili Taylor's fault; it's just the character. Anyway, all the characters are odd and a little off center but still deeply human. The dialogue is the way people actually speak in real life. There are some great camera shots and cuts which always make movies and television better and more visually interesting. But most of all, I love the portrait of a deeply dysfunctional family who is learning to grow. The growth is slow and sometimes quite painful and frequently the characters backslide--just like real people. But it's a family learning how to be a family, and it's amazing. I know Six Feet Under isn't the same show as Big Love but I feel that if it's serious, artistic television about real families being used for good then I don't really care if they show a temple ceremony. But then again, I'm not a Mormon anymore.