Big Hate

My
roommate just sent me a link to a story in this week's TV guide that
deals with the show "Big Love" on HBO. It's so upsetting to me, that
I had to share it with you all and hope you can take a second to send
the people at HBO a note explaining how you feel about this. Here's
what he sent me:

"Many of you may have heard of HBO's television show, Big Love. It
came out a couple of years ago, and it shows polygamous families.
When it first came out, the church came out with a strong statement
against Big Love and Polygamy. You can see the statement here:

http://tinyurl.com/ce2fat

"However, as if the polygamy weren't bad enough, HBO has taken their
unscrupulousness to new heights.
On Sunday, March 15, 2009, HBO will be airing an episode of their series Big Love in which they will be showing individuals dressed in full temple clothing (you can see the
picture right in the TV guide itself).

"You can see the advertisement here (on page 48):

[but seriously, says robbie, be forewarned that you can see sacred
temple stuff even right there in the TV Guide. So that you don't have
to look at it if you don't want to, here's the text from TV guide that
accompanies the picture of Jeanne Tripplehorn in temple clothing:

It’s one thing for Bill and Barb Henrickson’s inner
circle to know they have two other wives at
home…but letting the Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints in on the secret? That’s a whole
other story. “It’s almost a ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’
policy,” says executive producer Mark Olsen. Their
under-the-radar status will change this week when
Barb (Jeanne Tripplehorn) faces the consequences
of breaking the rules and is called to an excom-
munication hearing. “We researched it out the
wazoo,” says Olsen, who along with executive pro-
ducer Will Scheffer hired an ex-Mormon consultant
to help the set and wardrobe designers re-create
even the tiniest details. “We go into the endow-
ment room and the celestial room [areas of the
temple], and we present what happens in those
ceremonies. That’s never been shown on televi-
sion before,” says Olsen. Adds Scheffer, “But it’s
not for shock value. It’s really a very important
part of the story.” The decision won’t be without
controversy: According to a church insider, “If they
are in fact trying to emulate those rooms in any
way, that would be extremely offensive. The gen-
eral public is not allowed in our temples yet. Not
even all Mormons are. We consider them very, very
sacred.” Heaven help us. —Rochell D. Thomas

And in case you need to see it for yourself, it's here:]

http://tinyurl.com/bxbmmg

"Please help stop HBO from airing such an offensive show! You can go
to the link below to submit a comment to HBO.

HERE

"It's imperative that we get as many people to voice their complaints
as possible before HBO airs the show. Please pass this information on
to as many people as you can!"

-Kim


I just submitted my response to them. This is what I said:

First let me say that I am a gay Mormon. The Mormon church has done
some things that many find offensive recently. But it doesn't hold a
candle to what you are doing. I can't believe what I'm seeing in the
TV Guide. HBO, you have crossed a line with your depiction of sacred
parts of the temple on your program "Big Love." In the past you have
been much more sensitive, refraining from showing garments and other
things that are sacred to Mormons. But we are in a new era, where it
is suddenly politically correct to disregard the opinions of Mormons
because they sometimes don't align with current popular (at least in
the media, if not among voters) sentiment. I am outraged at your
contempt for a minority group like the Mormons and everything we find
sacred. You may not agree with the LDS church's stances or doctrines
or behaviors, but you should be able to still respect us as human
beings and afford us some privacy.

With disdain,

Robbie Pierce.

At this point, I also feel it's a good idea to point out the response the church has posted. In a way, the main message is just to ignore this. I think they realize that if we create more frenzy at this point, it will only cause more viewership when the thing actually airs. I would avoid big public protests at this point and stick to privately e-mailing HBO and sharing thoughts with friends. The church's response is found here: http://newsroom.lds.org/ldsnewsroom/eng/commentary/the-publicity-dilemma

Sorry 'bout the soap box! I'm not usually one to forward on stuff
like this, but since the show hasn't aired yet, I figured maybe a
large enough response might be effective. Which means this is your
official call to forward this message on to those you love. Up an' at 'em!