Early Return Missionaries

When we began talking Marshal and I wanted to find a subject that we are both passionate about, without looking to far we realized we both had a connection the unrighteous stigma that is often associated with early release or non-missionaries.  As we approached this subject we knew maybe all to personally that this is a delicate subject, and one that often goes overlooked so it was important that the video was informative yet honest to the emotions. One of the videos that impacted our approach to this assignment was “Stoop Sitting” it was focused on normal people in a normal environment. We have all sat on a front porch before, and that is why we can all relate so well to it. We also wanted to semi satire the “I’m a Mormon” ad’s by adopting their style and approach to professing their faith.

Originally we wanted to interview UVU professor Kris Doty who has pioneered new research to the adverse effects of being an “Early Release Missionary” (heretofore referred to as ERM(‘s)) on young men. She clearly had a deeply personal connection and a scientifically rounded approach to the subject. Initially after reaching out to her she was eager to participate and we were very excited, however last minute obligations got in the way and she would not be able to participate before the deadline so we decided to take a new approach to the project.

David had been an early release missionary, before his mission he looked down on missionaries that returned early. Marshal finished his mission and often considered the missionaries that returned home early wimps with “not enough faith”. When his younger brother returned home early from his mission for mental health issues, he was stunned and his outlook changed overnight. Over time what David and Marshal had to come understand and what we wanted to members of the LDS church to understand is that the Lord issues the calling, whether it is two years, two months or a lifetime, as long as you serve to the best of your ability that is a “full time mission” and a worthy one.

We approached this film with a more personal tone and asked Marshal’s brother to be interviewed for the piece, he agreed. So we filmed him while he went for a hike to see the sunset (one of his favorite past times), and delved deeper into his emotions, his concerns and what he is doing to reform this unrighteous stigma and help future ERM’s. We initially had shot B-Roll of missionaries, the temple etc. but ultimately felt that the images distracted from the real message, which is the “worth of souls” in particular, Parkers. Arlene Goldbard said in our reading “If our higher purpose is to develop societies securely grounded in possibility, compassion and connection, our task is to collectively imagine these things. There is no more powerful way to do that than by making art that rehearses the future we wish to help into being”. We feel that we accomplished this by (1) letting Parker rehearse his mission, emotions and experiences (2) paint his image of a better society (3) testify to his belief in said future.

1. http://www.chron.com/news/article/Study-probes-impact-of-early-returned-missionaries-4983273.php

2. http://blogs.uvu.edu/newsroom/2013/10/30/uvu-study-reports-on-the-reasons-for-and-reactions-to-early-returned-missionaries/

Textual Poaching

I chose to remix the story of Abraham and Isaac. The reason I chose this story is because I am the oldest child. As the oldest child you are the ‘guinea pig’ to your parents to figure out what works and what doesn’t. This can be both a benefit and a burden as the child. On one hand you have a different relationship with your parents because both of you are trying to learn how to become a family. On the other hand there may be some things that the oldest child has to experience that the younger children don’t because the parents realize that certain things don’t work very well in their parenting technique.

Peter Forbes article “The Power of Story in an Age of Consequence” really impacted me on how I wrote this story. He says, “Story has always been the way we explain our

relationships and who were are.” I wanted to reflect my relationship with my father in this story. To state the obvious, my father has never tied me to an alter to sacrifice me. We though do trust each other and love each other very much. I respect my dad’s opinions and I believe my dad respects mine.

Just like Isaac I trust my dad with my life. I wanted to put myself in Isaac’s shoes if my hero did something like that to me. What would I say? What would my dad say back? Would I still love him? Isaac most likely did not walk away from that situation completely fine at first. There were probably some questions that he asked and I am guessing there were a few heated discussions.

I also made a conscious effort to have the dialog be more modern. I wanted to put the reader in the story and one of the best ways to do that is to use common language that feels familiar and welcoming. Sometimes we read these stories as if they are like the Harry Potter series of books, as in the people in the stories are not real. I believe that these people are real and they had lives and real emotions just as much as any person who is alive on Earth right now. To show those emotions I used language that presented a less formal feel.