Faith Matters

I'm offended!

Show means nothing, compared to atrocities around world Language in show mild, compared to plight of many

I'll admit that I'm easily offended. Profanity, harsh language, sexual jokes or ridicule ... making fun of someone else because of their cultural heritage, race, gender, sexual identity, faith perspective, physical appearance or mental capacity -- all of that offends me. I was brought up to be a "nice, Southern, Christian lady," and all of the above fit into the category of what shouldn't be tolerated in my world.

So what was a nice girl like me doing driving all the way to Memphis to see the touring production of The Book of Mormon? The Book of Mormon -- by its own publicists -- is labeled a "religious satire musical." It was co-created by the trio that also created "South Park," an adult cartoon that is driven by foul-language, but many find it hysterically illustrative of today's culture.

I knew my "virgin ears" would be hearing language I ordinarily avoid and that much of the show would probably offend me. But I was meeting my high school girlfriends for the weekend, and the show was so critically acclaimed that I just had to see what it was like. After all, it won nine Tony Awards after opening on Broadway in 2011, including best musical, and a Grammy Award for best musical theater album. I didn't want to seem narrow-minded. Perhaps it was high school peer-pressure that led me to "go with the crowd." But whatever the reason, I went.

First of all, The Book of Mormon is coming to the Walton Arts Center on Dec. 13-18, and I don't want to give away too much to those planning on going. The Walton Arts Center has added it to their season as an optional show, so those who want to see the Broadway Series but not The Book of Mormon can do so. Advertising by the Walton Arts Center uses the description, "Contains explicit language," to warn the less daring patrons.

So is there offensive language? You betcha. The profanity and sexual references had me squirming in my seat. I am (thankfully) not used to that sort of talk. (In my home, "Shut up" is not allowed. Don't even get me started on four-letter words.) Did the "religious satire" bother me? No, not really, although I am not Mormon and can't say how I might feel if I were. (I do have cousins who are Mormon.)

But the show seemed, to me, to be an equal opportunity offender when it comes to religion, because Jesus is Jesus, whether you're a Mormon or a Christian. Spoiler alert: A glowing Jesus came across as humorous to me because many churches' depictions of Jesus or the cross come across as pretty "glowing." Think of the cross at Mount Sequoyah, or the one on Interstate 40 toward Little Rock east of Alma.

Do you know what offended me? Not the language, not the religious satire, but how the backdrop of the story is almost completely overlooked in both the play and in real life. The "backdrop" of the story is the situation in Uganda. Warlords terrorize the people who are helpless to protect themselves from rapists, murderers and thieves who come into their villages with guns, kill whoever tries to get in their way and take what they want -- including women.

The sexual mutilation of women, which is depicted in the show as the normal way of being -- just like breathing and eating -- shocked me in ways the intentional use of profanity and religious satire could not. People dying from AIDS without access to basic medical assistance, and the plight of orphans left behind -- these are realities that exist in so many African nations. And because their conditions don't affect us -- like conflicts in oil-rich nations do -- we ignore their plight.

I'm not a theater critic, nor can I get into the minds of the creators of the show to know what effect they hoped the play would have on viewers. But for me, it seemed as though the satire was intended to be as offensive as possible -- as though the writers tried to offend the audience with profane language and religious indignity because the American people have been ignoring a situation in Africa that should be offending us to our very core.

The show takes a deplorable issue and brings outlandish, over-the-top offensive humor to the situation, as though to say, "Are you offended? Are you offended enough to stand up and say something? What offends you more: Making fun of religion, the use of raunchy humor or the conditions in Uganda?"

For me, religion and language were no longer offensive, I was so offended by the casualness with which the play and the American public treat the deplorable situation in Uganda. And to think that there are atrocities going on around the world -- not only in Uganda but in Syria, the Ukraine, Central American countries ... places our economic security doesn't depend on.

That's what art can do: Open our minds and hearts to something we didn't see before. Music, visual art, drama, architecture, dance, the arts have historically been conduits to connect us with a message that is best heard through an artistic medium. Holy Scripture can fit into that category, as can worship -- when we listen to the stories with new ears, and let the words wash over us and into the places in our minds that we had closed.

I encourage you to go see The Book of Mormon when it comes to Northwest Arkansas. Let it offend you, perhaps in ways you hadn't anticipated.

NAN Religion on 04/23/2016

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