Last week we watched the film Together Forever which depicts couples and family's who have struggled with some of life's greatest questions such as: where do I go when I die? Can I have my family with me in the next life? What can I do to love my spouse and help our marriage? How do I turn my life around? These and other questions were answered in the film by showing these people tell "their stories" and how the gospel of Jesus Christ has helped them. This is all well and good, however it is quite clear that they are using professional actors and making up the stories. For instance, they had the man behind the camera asking the actor questions. To me that just screams "I am reading from a script! This is all made up!" It doesn't even leave room in my mind to believe it is real and therefore I don't take it seriously.
Prof. Burton posed to us this question, "What are the moral implications of films that employ manipulative measures to achieve noble means?" I think this film has a noble purpose which is to aid in proclaiming the gospel and show how the teachings of Jesus Christ can help us in life's struggles. However, I think it accomplishes this purpose in a manipulative way. I know that my heart strings were pulled while watching the film, and it was only after reflection on the discussion before the film, and knowing they were just actors playing a part, that I realized it was only my emotions being touched, not the spirit. For me the problem with the film is that it is pulling emotional strings and disguising it as the spirit for those who don't know the difference.
I think the film could have been much more effective had they used real people telling real life experiences. This is why I have chosen to contrast Together Forever with the new commercial spots done by the church entitled "Truth Restored." These short clips are in simple black and white (not employing strategic use of color as was done in Together Forever) and show normal people telling their stories. The church experimented with these spots in certain states to test responses by people in order to determine if they should proceed to show them nationwide. To me these clips have a greater sense of legitimacy to them than anything shown in Together Forever. I wonder if that is simply because I know there are no actors or scripts? Had I not been told that there were actors in Together Forever would I have been more impressed with it?
Again I think the problem with Together Forever is that it is pulling emotional strings and disguising it as the spirit for those who don't know the difference. In a way they're making it too easy. They're taking a shortcut in sharing the gospel by telling a touching story, pulling at people's heart strings and having them believe they're feeling the spirit. On the other hand, who knows? Maybe they are feeling the spirit. And I'm sure there are countless stories of those who were led to investigate the church after watching Together Forever. I'm simply saying that I think "Truth Restored" has a better approach, especially if people know that those telling the stories are not actors, but real people.
Click here to watch a spot of "Truth Restored": http://www.mormon.org/mormonorg/eng/exhibit#Sandy_adversity
2 comments:
It's great that you compared this to today's "Truth Restored" spots! I was actually thinking about this as well, but somehow the thought escaped me. I definitely agree with you, the Truth Restored spots are more effective, even though it still uses some carefully placed edits and theatrical lighting, however these devices only serve to focus the viewer's attention rather than elicit emotions. I'm glad you caught this.
To Prof. Burton's question: all filmmaking is manipulation. What you want to do as a filmmaker is not draw the audience's attention to the fact that they are being manipulated. Once they begin focusing on their own feelings rather than the story, you walk a thin line of losing them, and possibly having them revile you.
Making movies about spiritual truths is a difficult enterprise, because as a filmmaker you want the audience to come away affected (read: positively manipulated) by what they've seen. Some try to be subtle about it and fall just short, while yet others just throw caution to the wind and hammer the audience with wave after wave of "Good Feelings!", "Miracles!", "Answered Prayers!", and so on.
A lot of Church films have fallen into that latter category, unfortunately. "Legacy," for one. But they're getting better. "Testaments" was a big improvement. And "Joseph Smith: Prophet of the Restoration" is (IMO) the best piece of cinema the Church has produced to date. It's a quantum leap forward in many ways. The "Truth Restored" spots represent the continued upward evolution of their skills.
Here's hoping there's even better things to come.
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