Tag: Film Criticism

KevinB on the role of criticism in LDS film

Back in February, I linked to Randy Astle’s excellent essay on LDS film and criticism. Now KevinB has taken up the subject at AMV’s sister blog LDS Cinema Online. Part 1, which provides an overview of film criticism and reviewing, is interesting, but part 2 is where things really take off as Kevin brings things in to the sphere of LDS arts and culture. It will come as no surprise that he comes to the same conclusion as Randy, one that’s also been discussed several times over the years here at AMV and elsewhere — that LDS art, and LDS film in particular, needs a stronger culture of criticism. What’s interesting about Kevin’s approach is that he frames it in a gospel context: that of repentance. And illustrates it with, what seems to be an intractable problem — or not so much a problem as a byproduct of certain aspects of LDS culture — that is, the often lack of quality teaching in LDS gospel doctrine classes.

There’s a lot to like in his analysis so head on over and check it out. I especially look forward to part 3, where Kevin is going to talk specifically about film reviews and what’s fair criticism and what isn’t.

Randy Astle on “What is Mormon Cinema?”

The latest (v. 42, no. 4) issue of Dialogue features another important Mormon film article by Randy Astle* titled “What Is Mormon Cinema? Defining the Genre.” Astle pulls together work by Mormon (Preston Hunter) and non-Mormon film critics (Hamid Naficy, Rick Altman) in an attempt to position Mormon film as somewhere (Astle says “positioned in the interstices”) between genre and ethnic cinema.

The article is available via a subscription to Dialogue, but Randy has generously allowed me to excerpt a few passages here at AMV. To start out with I want to present his basic summary of the second point of his two-part purpose for the article (the first is to offer up the case for “approaching Mormon film from a taxonomical perspective” — I’m going to assume that most of AMV’s readers already believe in the merits of such an approach, or at least allow that such an approach can be a useful exercise in literary criticism). Continue reading “Randy Astle on “What is Mormon Cinema?””