Dallas Robbins

Marrow: The Mormon Films of Richard Dutcher

(Note: This review was originally published in Dialogue, Summer 2009.  Warning: spoilers.)

He that sings a lasting song
Thinks in a marrow-bone.
-W.B. Yeats, “A Prayer for Old Age”

In Richard Dutcher’s latest film Falling, a rich scene revealing the subtle conflict between the demands of commerce and artistic endeavor is focused around the word “marrow.” The protagonist, lapsed Mormon Eric Boyle, a suffering videographer and aspiring screenwriter, is failing to sell his latest story to a well-tanned and successful Hollywood producer. After rejecting Eric’s work, the producer complains to him that if he wants to make it in the film business, he needs to do something different, something new. It goes like this:

Producer: Last year somebody shows blood. This year you gotta show bone. Next year you gotta show inside the bones--whatever that shit’s called.

Eric [slight contempt in his eyes and a little exasperation in his voice]: Marrow.

Producer: Right, I don’t know what that shit is--I don’t know what it looks like--you gotta show it to me. . . Something new, that’s all anyone wants to see. . . . You gotta push it further than anyone has pushed it before. . . . Show me some marrow.”¹

Unsettled by the encounter, Eric leaves, conflicted about sacrificing his artistic integrity to the poolside Hollywood gods. Not ironically, the film that Eric happens to be a character in is an exact answer to the producer’s request. While we watch Eric fall from any grace that he once possessed, he descends into a mélange of violence, both domestic and public, leaving little redemption at the end. Is it something new? That would be debatable. Is it something new in Mormon film? Absolutely.

Pardon the Dust

Over the next few days or so I'm going to re-work the design of my site.  I'm figuring out a plan to blog regularly and also has more long-form online-only content, in addition to my freelance print work.

I have some ideas kicking around in my head to focus my site on a few select subjects, literature and art mostly, with a more focused interpretive approach that I don't normally get to explore in my City Weekly stuff.

The past couple years have only been a brief appetizer for what I would like to do in 2010.  So, we will see how it goes.

The Bakkhai @ Classical Greek Theater Festival: City Weekly

The notion of a classical Greek theater festival may sound stuffy and archaic but don’t be fooled. An inspired tradition at the University of Utah, the centuries-old plays are performed outdoors —Red Butte Garden’s amphitheater, this year—during the morning hours, evoking the performance traditions of ancient Greece.

The Story of the Cathedral of the Madeleine by Gary Topping: City Weekly

The history of a cathedral is not just about another nice building, but also about the struggles, triumphs, and personal histories of a people. Gary Topping, professor of history at SLCC and archivist for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Utah, chronicles in his new book The Story of the Cathedral of the Madeleine, the first 100 years of that magnificent building and the stories and voices of Utah Catholics.

Sunstone Symposium: City Weekly

The Salt Lake Sunstone Symposium is an annual gathering of scholars, historians, novelists, feminists, activists, and anyone intellectually curious about Mormon culture and history. Now in its 30th year, the symposium is a forum for liberals and conservatives, heretics and orthodox, atheists and believers, a place where free and open discussion is explored and encouraged.

Marrow: The Mormon Films of Richard Dutcher in Dialogue

In the latest issue of Dialogue (Summer 2009) I have written a review essay about the Mormon films of Richard Dutcher.  I used the idea of marrow from his film Falling as an metaphorical lens in interpreting his other film work. Here is a brief excerpt:

"Marrow as the concealed territory of the blood’s creation, serves as a metaphor of genesis - the source for the Mormon promise of health and Hollywood’s machine of shock and destruction, evoking ideas of divine blessing and redemption alongside the bloody precariousness of human mortality. Marrow, as a metaphor for the conjunction between sacred yearning and profane frailty, can serve as a useful conceit that provides an approach to the films of Richard Dutcher, where he explores Mormonism and the crux of life’s messiness and grace’s beauty..."

Dialogue is an intellectually vigorous and excellent journal, with a good balance between academic, literary, and personal expression, from a not-so-typical Mormon perspective.  To read the entire essay, pick up the issue or subscribe.  I would be very interested in any responses to my thesis about Dutcher's oeuvre.

Keith's Finale, Bernstein's MASS: City Weekly

With his all-American good looks and musical talent to burn, Keith Lockhart has given Utah music lovers more than their fair share of enjoyment. After inspiring us as conductor and musical director of the Utah Symphony since 1998, he now is bowing out from the Utah stage, leaving us all a little poorer.

The Chosen One by Carol Lynch Williams: City Weekly

Living in Utah, you’ve heard it before: old creepy guy marries prepubescent virgin on polygamous compound. When explored in fiction, such stories can be as over-baked as last Sunday’s casserole. But Carol Lynch Williams does the improbable in her latest novel The Chosen One. She takes a far-too-common headline and creates a brave, uncommon voice in the character of 13-year-old Kyra.

In the World: Politics as Usual? in Sunstone

Inspired by Wilson Quarterly's "In Essence," I write a regular piece for Sunstone summarizing overlooked scholarship and writing that intersect with Mormon culture.  In the May 2009 issue I talk about two recent pieces on Mormons and politics:

David Copperfield: City Weekly

In the current milieu of “extreme” magic, David Copperfield seems downright old-fashioned. But his style has inspired countless magicians who have gone their own way, including rebels such as Chris Angel and David Blaine. And while presentation changes over time, the magic remains the same in attempting to connect to another person through story and wonder.

Random Thoughts on MFA Writing Programs, Ponzi Scemes, and Workmanlike Novels

I have occasionally pondered on the possibility of getting an MFA in creative writing.  The idea has never really appealed to me, especially weighing the cost/benefit.  Would it make me a better writer?  Likely, but not certain. Does it guarantee a writing career?  No, not particularly.  Would it put me in a awful state of debt?  Without a doubt. 

The Marriage of Reason and Nightmare

I'm sure you have had fair share of Ballard coverage lately, but today I came across an insightful commentary on his work.  Theodore Dalrymple, one of the most acute and eloquent essayists that money can buy, wrote a thoughtful critique of Ballard's importance.

"No contemporary British writer captures our malaise better than does J.G. Ballard. In a writing career dating back half a century now, he has explored with acuity, from the aerie of his respectable suburban home outside London, the anxieties of modern existence—of what he calls themarriage of reason and nightmare. The reason is our technological advance, the nightmare the uses to which we have put it."

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Pulitzer Prize Book Winners, 2009

Just found out about this year’s Pulitzer Prize book winners.  Interesting choices.  Fiction always seems something unexpected, something that is usually off my radar.  For those who care about awards, here’s the list.

A Friendship with the Late J.G. Ballard, 1930-2009

Michael Moorcock writes of his late friend J.G. Ballard:

"Although literary critics were quick to minimize his years as an SF writer, Jimmy made no effort to divorce himself from his SF roots, though preferring to call himself first a 'speculative' and later an 'apocalyptic' writer. His influence was seen in the work of his admirers including Angela Carter, Martin Amis, Will Self, Iain Sinclair, Alan Moore, M. John Harrison and Christopher Priest. Tending, in the early years, to rely on me to introduce him to fellow spirits, like Burroughs, Chris Evans (New Worlds’ science editor), the artist Eduardo Paolozzi (our 'aeronautics adviser') and others, Jimmy remained a modest and rather shy man, a loyal friend who avoided what he called 'the literary crowd' even more assiduously than SF conventions . . ."

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The Manipulations of Ian McEwan

In regards to Ian McEwan's Atonement, James Woods writes:

"And indeed, knowing what readers want is at the heart of the diabolical success of this book. What is especially interesting about Atonement in the light of McEwan’s status as a popular but serious manipulator, is the delicate way it makes readers aware of their own desire to be gratified by serious narrative manipulation."

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The Utah Art Scene: 15 Bytes

Here is a short piece I wrote a couple months back for the City Weekly, but it was quickly orphaned and never made print.  For those interested in the Utah art scene (yes, believe it or not, there is one!), 15 Bytes is the premiere source.

"Do you ever find yourself coming home from Gallery Stroll or finishing the latest City Weekly arts coverage, but still craving more aesthetic and creative goodness? Then look no further than the smart and lively 15 Bytes. It is a local hidden gem of a magazine dedicated solely to art, artists, galleries, and more.

In the World: The Uncertainties of Faith in Sunstone

Inspired by Wilson Quarterly's "In Essence" section, I have a started a regular gig for Sunstone Magazine summarizing writing I've culled from overlooked sources, which I call "In the World."  Here is the introduction:

"Not many years ago, writings by and about Mormons were an irregular occasion in the popular and academic press.  But these days, Mormons are everywhere, from the national media to literary journals to handmade 'zines.  This column gathers some interesting and overlooked items, Mormon and otherwise."

In the the current issue, February 2009, the theme is "The Uncertainties of Faith," covering three articles by Matthew Bowman, Brian Evenson, and Christian Wiman.  Pick up an issue or subscribe.

Coil of the Wild: Robert Smithson’s re-emerged Spiral Jetty demands a visit.

Looking to get out, but yearning for something off the beaten track? Taking a road trip to Spiral Jetty at Rozel Point will provide a unique afternoon on the shores of the Great Salt Lake where art and the outdoors create unusual bedfellows.

Art of Siddarth Parasnis

In the painting of architecture, the subject is rarely revisited with a new, interesting perspective. Siddarth Parasnis brings something different that shakes our vision and shows unexceptional walls and windows as something more beautiful than we expect.

Julia Alvarez's Return to Sender

Tackling the looming political conundrum of illegal immigration would be a challenge for any novelist, let alone a young adult novelist. But Julia Alvarez spins a brave tale in Return to Sender, putting a face on the fears and challenges of illegal workers in America with personal aplomb.

After being injured in a tractor accident, Tyler’s father hires a migrant family to help keep their Vermont farm going. Tyler can’t help but look on this family with fear—especially Mari, the oldest daughter among three, who is proud of her Mexican heritage but is slowly becoming connected to American culture.

George D. Smith's Nauvoo Polygamy

With an endless stream of books on polygamy and its discontents, do we really need another one? If the answer includes mention of Nauvoo Polygamy: "… but we called it celestial marriage" by George Smith, it would be a definitive yes. Ten years in the making, Nauvoo Polygamy traces the origins and establishment of Joseph Smith's vision of "spiritual wives" before it ever stepped foot in the State of Deseret. The book should dispel forever the common misperception that Joseph pined after only one wife and that polygamy was Brigham's idea while crossing the plains.

Utah Symphony: Mozart's Requiem

Before we get carried away with holiday cheer, the Utah Symphony is reminding us that some of the most soul-stirring music is not always about babes in mangers, reindeer or winter wonderlands. Mozart's Requiem is a funeral mass that became his own swan song, with the current performance marking the 217th anniversary of Mozart’s death.

David Ebershoff's The 19th Wife

David Ebershoff’s moving and humorous story The 19th Wife explores the unlikely lives of two remarkable characters: Jordan Scott, a 21st-century “lost boy” and hardscrabble gay man, who travels from Los Angeles back to the site of his polygamous upbringing to help absolve his mother of the murder of his father; and Ann Eliza Winters, the novel’s namesake, who divorced Brigham Young and lectured against polygamy across 19th-century America.

Massacre at Mountain Meadows

The first sentence of the book Massacre at Mountain Meadows sums it up perfectly.

"On September 11, 1857, Mormon settlers in southern Utah used a false flag of truce to lull a group of California-bound emigrants from their circled wagons and then slaughtered them.  When the killing was over, more than one hundred butchered bodies lay strewn across a half-mile stretch of an upland meadow.  Most of the victims were women and children."

Pendergast's Portraits of Malawi

What does a Buddhist orphanage in Africa have in common with a Park City art gallery? The artist Olivia “Holly” Mae Pendergast. On a recent trip to the country of Malawi, she created a new series of evocative and beautiful figurative paintings of people she encountered.

Downtown Farmers Market

Whether we think about it or not, during the winter months most of our bananas, broccoli, apples and strawberries come from a different state, and more likely a different country. But for the past 16 years, every Saturday morning during the summer, Pioneer Park has become the burgeoning Downtown Farmers Market, offering us locals a taste of what Utah farmers have.

Living Traditions Festival

Where can you eat Bosnian Cevapi, drink Tahitian Otai, and finish off with Scottish apple tarts for dessert, all at the same place? At the 2008 Living Traditions Festival, of course. But food is only the beginning at this annual celebration of Salt Lake City’s folk arts and ethnic culture. Musicians, dancers, artists, craft makers, storytellers and many more come together every May to offer attendees a unique experience.

84th Annual Springville Art Salon

In the small town of Springville, you’ll find one of the best museums in Utah. And now until July 6 is the 84th Annual Spring Salon at the Springville Museum of Art. With close to 300 works of art in a diversity of styles and approaches, you will find something for everyone’s taste: painting, sculpture, drawing, photography, mixed media, and occasionally pieces that are difficult to categorize.

Ian McEwan's On Chesil Beach

“They were young, educated, and both virgins on this, their wedding night, and they lived in a time when a conversation about sexual difficulties was plainly impossible. But it is never easy.”

The opening hook to Ian McEwan’s latest novel On Chesil Beach is a delicious invitation into a world that time forgot. McEwan, the celebrated, literary Limey, whose previous works include such novels as Saturday, Atonement, and Enduring Love, has now focused his attention on two characters with such a rich and complex history, taking the reader back to a time and place that we sometimes wonder existed at all.

The Mormon Church on Trial

After Mitt Romney dropped out of the presidential race, many people gave a sigh of relief that we would not have to possibly endure years of Mormon jokes delivered on late night television. But a century earlier, Reed Smoot—an LDS Apostle who was elected to the U.S. Senate—caused an even greater media controversy.

Apostate Secrets: The William E. McLellin Papers

Before the infamous forger and murderer Mark Hofmann became a household name, he was double-dealing a nonexistent “McLellin collection” to several buyers, claiming it would change Mormon history forever. On Oct. 15, 1985, he was to deliver what he promised was “two apple crates full” of these documents to Salt Lake City businessman Steven Christensen. But instead, on that chilly morning, he delivered pipe bombs, killing Christensen and Kathy Sheets, two innocent believers caught in Hofmann’s psychopathic crossfire.

The Mark of Zorro @ The Organ Loft

Contrary to popular perception, silent films are not actually silent. I mean, you don’t get to hear the characters talk, of course, but you do get music and all that visual energy that started this whole crazy business we call show. And to unsuspecting audiences, silent films are fun—especially when the music is performed live.

Utah Opera: Puccini's Tosca

"Why should those two guys over there go to the opera?” asks Guido LeBron, pointing through the windows of the Utah Opera rehearsal hall across the street to two workers taking a break outside of the SpringAir Mattress company. Those “two guys” might be amused to know this conversation is taking place among a talented group of musical artists for their sake.

Sax and Sushi SMALL Show

During the monthly Gallery Stroll in Park City, the Phoenix Gallery will hold its winter kickoff event, SMALL: The 2nd Annual Miniature Painting Exhibit featuring contemporary paintings that are … well, small. But paintings are just part of the experience at this gallery during the “Sax and Sushi” opening reception.

Paul Toscano's The Sacrament of Doubt

In August of 1993, I stood in a conference room of a local Salt Lake City hotel listening to a passionate and angry speech by a local bankruptcy lawyer and family man—Paul James Toscano—criticizing the leadership of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for an idolatrous overemphasis on Heavenly Father at the expense of the grace of Jesus Christ. Toscano said such an imbalance leads to an abuse of power in the LDS hierarchy, a false conception of salvation and a misguided view of sexuality. In anticipation for the inevitable backlash, he declared, “We must not fear excommunication.” I thought to myself, “This man is packing some serious chutzpah.”
Just one month later, Toscano was sitting in his own “court of love” for that speech he gave, facing 15 of his local priesthood leaders. And by late afternoon on Sept. 19, he was excommunicated for apostasy.