The Book of Mormon Musical vs. Religion: Satire With Heart
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 10 ก.ค. 2024
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🎵…have you heard of the All-American prophet?🎶
I dive into one of the most delightfully obscene shows to grace the Broadway stage: Trey Parker, Matt Stone, and Robert Lopez’s “The Book of Mormon”, and its unexpectedly thoughtful, heartfelt lessons in human faith and compassion.
Proof that a South Park musical can well and truly thrive on the Great White Way… make it happen my dudesss
Featuring spoilers for Broadway’s “The Book of Mormon”. 👼
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🕥TIMESTAMPS:🕜
0:00 - Intro
3:47 - What is Broadway’s “The Book of Mormon”?
7:40 - Reception
12:24 - Sacrilegious, Shocking, and “Surprisingly Sweet”
19:29 - Trey Parker and Matt Stone’s approach to Mormonism and religion
24:43 - An earworm OST
29:36 - Legacy
33:18 - Ad break!
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I do not own the Book of Mormon. All rights belong to Trey Parker, Robert Lopez, and Matt Stone.
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#thebookofmormon #broadway #southpark #musicals - บันเทิง
🙏🎵This show will change your life! 🎶🙏 Skillshare too - don’t forget to check out my link to gain a 1-month free trial of their premium membership (available for the first 1,000 users): skl.sh/anaisabel08211 ❤️ What’re your favourite musicals?
I'm basic and thus Les Mis
@@xenvakt300995 Les Mis is amazing though! 😭 'Twas my favourite too before seeing this one :p
@@ana-isabel I knew I was gonna love it when I heard Look Down.
@@ana-isabel BOM is my favourite musical too. My other favourites are Heathers and The Lightning Thief
I don’t watch musicals in the theater…but my favorite movie musical is Little Shop of Horrors
My best friend isn't into musicals at all and he still really wants to see Book of Mormon on Broadway someday lol
It was pretty much my boyfriend's (who is coincidentally a non-practicing Mormon) gateway into loving musical theatre 😆 who knows - maybe it could convert your friend too hahaha
I’m in a similar position too; musicals have never really appealed to me, but if I get the chance I’ll check out the Book of Mormon 😄
dafuck
Just about the only way I wil ever get my flatmate to sit through one end to end would be to tell him it's this
holy shit my two favourite youtubers in the same space? this is cool asf!
Matt & Trey have always had pure sensibilities and heart buried underneath the layers and layers of filth and degeneracy in the things they make. I think that is what separates their "offensive humor" from the rest
I watched this when I was still a member and I thought it was great. But as a former Mormon, this show was both downright hilarious and heartwarming and I love it even more now.
It is now my favorite musical of all time and, I kid you not, this show will change your life!
From what I've seen, it seems to have left one of its biggest impacts on former Mormons (and the formerly religious, in general). I'm glad it had that on you too! 😊 I'm sure there were a ton of priceless in-jokes that went over my head ahaha
Yup, due to how hard it is to get your information remove from the church there are support groups that help you with all the paperwork and get taken off their rosters as appose to just putting "inactive" next to your name.
A lot of them did group bookings to attend.
So much fun!
When I went to see the book of Mormon in Amsterdam last year, both times I went there were young mormon guys standing outside the theatre, handing out flyers on their beliefs and having friendly conversations about mormonism and the musical with those who just saw it! That was pretty awesome to see :)
Yeah I just say in Norwich UK England . Real Mormons was outside
I really love this show. I say it in 2019 when I was living in Brisbane. I will say one thing. As a Black American who experienced racism first hand from white Australians especially up until they realized I was American and not Aboriginal or a child of African immigrants the things and way some audience members laughed at some of the jokes made me uncomfortable. It reminded me of what Dave Chapelle had to say about why he quit doing his show. White people laughing for the wrong reasons.
Funny side note, there was a woman who was so drunk at the performance I saw that she got kicked out at intermission because she was being so disruptive during the show.
I wouldn't call it laughing for the wrong reasons. There's no wrong reason to laugh, but not everyone has the same sense of humor
@@Pugkin5405 are you a Black person?
@@meechelin5498 Maybe. Does it matter? I have a lot of black friends who like the musical. Whether or not I'm one is irrelevant
@@Pugkin5405 I mean it is in the context of what I'm saying. I told my experience as a Black person and you're essentially invalidating it. I never said I didn't like the musical just that I noticed that some of the laughter felt more like laughing with the racism and not laughing because it was being satirical about it. When a Black person tells you their experiences that have to do with their blackness that's a time to listen and not tone police/"well actually"/etc when you are not apart of that community.
And yes there are wrong reasons to laugh and when it's rooted in racism that is definitely one of them.
@@meechelin5498 I never actually did any do that. You just seriously missed the point
I also told you about black people I know. If I ignored you, you gave me the middle finger. And none of that happened. Like I said: You missed the point
And, no. Racism is a reason to laugh. Because it's, ya'know. Making fun of racism
I love this show BUT I will pay all the money to see you talk about SPIDER-MAN: Turn Off The Dark
Saaaame
Friendly reminder Matt and Trey are members of the EGOT(Emmy Grammy Oscar Tony) club,
*and every other member hates them*
Matt and Trey are EGOTs...and Lin Manuel Miranda still isn't.
@@gingergoddess8953 Hopefully he'll get that Oscar this year
When did they get an oscar?
@@UAlredyKnowWhatItIss They were nominated for Blame Canada but they didn't win so they're not EGOTs yet
Both of them won a Emmy, Grammy, Tony award and a Peabody award. They are only missing an Oscar to be in the PEGOT club.
Nothing has ever made my face hurt SO MUCH than laughing during that damn musical. It was actually painful lol
Omg, I don't think I've ever been in a room with as much non-stop laughter (and shock lol) as this one. There was a frail old lady sitting in front of me who wouldn't stop cackling the whole time hahaha
Would love to see a “cannibal! the musical” live version.
“Wait, you're cutting into his butt!”
“Well what kind of piece do you want?”
“Well not butt!”
Cannibal! the Musical is great.
id be interested to see what people from uganda would thik of the play as its argubly more offensive to them than mormons, even then trey parker and matt stone are masters of controversial commentary, their movie and the season with PC principle shows that.
Same actually. It's unfortunate that you don't get to read much from their perspective on the show. The play's portrayal of Ugandans was arguably overshadowed by their portrayal of Mormons, even though, as you said - they were actually a lot softer on the latter. (I share more of my thoughts on this in a reply to a similar comment, if you can find it.)
It's nice to see the creators apparently take this feedback and "re-evaluate" aspects of the show for its re-opening later this year. Keen to see how they plan to amend or update it to address these concerns.
@@ana-isabel I agree with everything you say to be fair, I reckon if they just said africa and kept it vauge on where in Africa it could of been less problematic but even then I think it'd be easy to insult them for over generalising Africa. The issue you've got is the plot requires them to be in a country that's terrible to give the fish out if water feeling and other than just making up a country all together that's always gonna be problematic. The people of Uganda arnt bad people tho, they make a point to go as far as to say alot of the problems are lack of information and the poor treatment the authorities (them thinking having sex with babies cures aids comes to mind) and cuttinghams girlfriend is arguably the heart of the movie, I found her to be the most likable character at the very least. Either way I dunno how you'd be able to tackle it without it being another episode in its own right and you'd need to fact check everything you say to high heavens
The Book of Mormon was the first and so far only broadway show I've seen and I loved every minute of it. I saw it with my mom and she was shocked the entire time but still loved it. It's music is still my favorite part about it so many incredible songs throughout it
I honestly can't think of a throwaway song! Seriously one of the best musical soundtracks I've listened to, and one I've had on repeat without getting sick of (yet).
@@ana-isabel I totally agree! Two By Two, I Believe, and Spooky Mormon Hell Dream are my favorites! I was really hoping for a movie or something animated
This is one of my favorite musicals. It helps that at the time of it's release, I was a big fan of South Park and I was just begging to get into musicals. Perfectly bridged the gap of these two things that interests me.
So, my grandmother has gotten me Broadway tickets for my birthday every year since I was young. So I saw this play at about age ten, I'm not sure I fully understood it, but it's very strange to see it talked about.
your grandmother is awesome
I took my wife to this show on her birthday. It was an unforgettable hilarious experience that we will never forget
What an awesome present, I'm glad she enjoyed it!
This is amazing! Totally wasn't expecting a musical theater topic on your channel!
Book of Mormon was one of the last musicals I got to check out before the "rona" hit and went in blind and absolutely loved it haha.
It's insane how Matt and Trey can balance crude comedy and storytelling and definitely feel like your points on the power of storytelling/religion to inspire people to do good and be happy is spot on!
also just remembered when my friends and I played the soundtrack while carpooling, halfway through hasa diga ebowai... one of our friends just stopped with a "hold on...WHAT IS THIS SONG!?" kind of face😅😅😅
Another amazing video Ana!!
Thank you! ❤ And omg I can only imagine how pleasantly surprising the experience must've been going into this blind - I did the same with a few friends and it was hilarious seeing them flip from "...Aw, this is wholesome," to "oH GOD." 😂 I also agree Trey and Matt have a wonderful talent for balancing lowbrow humor with surprisingly sentimental storytelling.
As a huge fan of musical theatre it's odd I hadn't gotten around to this topic sooner - but I'm glad you enjoyed this one!
I clicked so fast omg AND I got an ad for hadestown! TH-cam knows me. Hope you’re doing amazing!
HADESTOWNNN💕 TH-cam getting their ads right. 😍 Hope you're doing amazing too!
I don't even know half the things you talk about in your vids. I just love watching you explain them
Aw, really happy to know I can entertain a salty potato 🥔
Andrew Rannells was the best choice to play Elder Price. His solo of "I Believe" ALWAYS gives me chills and goosebumps!
RIIIGHT? I go back to that Tony performance waaay too often. 😂
Exactly
I liked BOM well enough from watching a slime tutorial a few years back, but seeing it love was PHENOMENAL. I laughed so hard my chest hurt so two hours straight; it is such an endearing and captivating tale, one that is best served live. I highly recommend it as well!
Great review/analysis Ana.
Love thisa I would argue though that Sal Tlay Ka Siti is the show's I Want song. It has that Part of Your World vibe to it too.
Xenu's story would make a good rock opera.
i would pay to see this yes 💰💰💰
great video as usual! I guess I need to find some way to watch this now
This is a great video and I love how you present, time to binge your back catalogue I guess lmao
I’m hearing that we could get the film within the next couple of years!!!! Can’t wait for the film adaptation!
Also, fantastic video and analyzation of this incredible musical!
@@noahwoolleyfilms7037 Thank you and glad to meet another fellow fan! :D Also omg, for real? Really hoping they still have the original creators at the helm!
This was my gateway drug to musical theatre and theatre as a whole about 5 years ago. I’ve seen it twice now.
I've been a life-long lover of musicals, so I was curious about this when it came out, so I bought the soundtrack. It is brilliant, moving and laugh out loud funny. I finally got to see it in Toronto in 2014 and it exceeded my expectations. Absolutely hilarious. After many years, I started listening to the soundtrack again all day today. That's what brought me to this video lol. I loved your in depth take on it!
Very good topic and content. Thanks
I've lived my whole life in salt lake city, Utah. Basically, the heart of mormanism and, I gotta say, it hasn't been great. The church has an unreasonable amount of power here. It's actually insane. They own whole ass companies that don't pay taxes since it's a part of the church. They manipulate the government to their own end. It's truly a bit frightening.
Nicely done video! I would like to see more musicals covered too
Really enjoyed this video, and the praise is well-deserved, but it's frustrating not to see much criticism. Great to see all this talk about feedback from Mormons, but what about from Ugandans, and people of colour more generally who already have so few roles and opportunities on Broadway? Complicated by the historical racism of Mormonism, which barely got a passion mention. There's also the amount of privilege these two white dudes have to even make a play, and just the uncritical praise of South Park as if they're "equal offenders" to everyone when they're obviously not.
I enjoyed the musical, but this didn't feel like the most well-rounded or intersectional conversation, and it was just a bit disappointing when "controversial" was in the video title.
Exactly. This was basically going to be my comment, but you put it well. Properties like South Park have that problem in the way that they contribute to equivocation of "both sides", essentially pardoning groups that practice a lot of harmful stuff and and bigotry by equivocating them with activists from marginalized groups.
I think there's just a little bit of a line there and in one of their interviews in this video, where the guys are saying that they didn't meet a Mormon they didn't like? And the interviewer says, well neither of you are women?? That was almost my response before the interviewer said it. XD
And that's... I watched the show, I really loved the show, I really enjoyed the music. It briefly was one of my favorite musicals. I actually was working a religious children's sleep-away camp one Summer and shared the music with some of my coworkers, because it was so catchy and funny, and one of them was a young gay man, and the humorous "turn it off" song made him burst into tears, because he knew people who had self harmed or ended their lives to deal with/ escape the repression and homophobia of the church. And that was super jarring and eye opening for me and my privaledge.
I'm much more experienced and qualified to speak on the subject of religion than I am the racism in the show, but I can't help but feeling...
I don't know if a musical that truly engaged with and challenged the higher control, Cult-like elements of the church, that truly engaged with the kind of harm that the governing body is capable of enacting through its members, that engaged with the families that get torn apart when particularly children who are queer or certain kinds of disabled or neurodivergent (or women who want to have control over their own lives) come out and leave and are forced to cut ties with their families in order to avoid continued abuse (also including people that simply find themselves questioning, and realize that they don't believe it, and consider themselves agnostic or atheist or members of other religions from then on out, from the church then paints as anti-mormon and encourages its members to shame ghost and avoid, if they can't be converted), that engages with the way that the mormon church chooses to use their money to influence public policies like prop 8, that engages with, genuinely engages with, the way that church leadership continues to get away with long time abuse scandals, and the way that such a high control religion can destroy a person's personality, absolutely traumatize them, trap them in abusive marriages, etc etc.
I don't know if a musical that genuinely engaged and challenged that stuff, which to me feels like the responsible thing you have to do when you have the platform and money to talk about a group like this, I don't know that a musical like that can be funny. Or at least could be the kind of comedy that these men write. It would certainly be less of a propaganda tool for the Mormon church.
That right there, the fact that it was inoffensive enough that it probably did serve to drive more people to the Mormon church? That should have been a red flag for them.
There definitely are places where the Mormon church is not as bad, and is on a par with any other generic religious institution (and for people who only ever saw Mormons when they were behaving as examples and ambassadors, but were never part of the religion or never part of a group that the religion condemned... I can absolutely see where they wouldn't necessarily immediately think of it as a harmful institution), but particularly in Utah and particularly when we talk about the time period around missions, Mormonism is a very very high control religion.
Like that "nice"-ness that the creators talked about? That is a trained personality/presentation that is designed specifically to bring people in. And once people are in, they're told that the reason other people don't behave like that is because you cannot be happy outside of mormonism. And if you think you're happy outside of mormonism, then you're deluded.
The comment that was made in the early part of the video about "rule of two", nevermind leaving your partner behind on a mission? Isn't really all that funny. Part of the reason you're not supposed to abandon your partner, is because you are explicitly supposed to be spying on your partner and helping to shame them and control them. Being that far out from your church, that is a time that the leadership is very aware of, that is an opportunity where, like Amish folks on rumspringa, where you may encounter things that invite you to question things. But by planting another person right near you all the time (they're barely allowed to go to the bathroom separately, and often have strict time limits on things like showering, to prevent temptation) it ensures that you are always performing, because you know that your partner will rat you out to the leadership if you stray.
All of that not to mention, as the previous commenter whom I've now gone on much longer than, and this probably was the wrong place to do it, but all of that is not to mention the deep deep history of racism, extreme sexism, sexual control, and sexual abuse, the truly impressively abysmal way native people are treated within the religion, the role Mormonism played and plays in colonialism, etc...
Like, some of these things are mentioned a little bit in the video (and a lot of it is mentioned in the musical itself, but again, it's often done in a way that equivocates and lets it be silly or ironic, and then moves on), but they are such deep parts not only of the history of mormonism, but the way the LDS church continues to function today, in the US and globally, that it really does feel incomplete to have a discussion of this musical without engaging much more heavily with those things, and I was definitely surprised and a little bit disappointed to not see more of that discussion in this video, or at least to see this video calling out that that discussion did not happen as much as maybe it needed to with the creators.
Definitely can both be true that this musical is an excellent and very catchy and very well written and performed piece of entertainment, and also that it potentially contributes to a lot of really harmful stuff.
(If anybody reads this comment and wants more resources on some of these subjects, TH-camr Telltale, a former Jehovah's Witness interested in educating people about high-control organizations, has a series of videos evaluating the Mormon church on the B.I.T.E. model-- a cult-diagnostic tool. TH-camr Jimmy Snow, a queer person and former Mormon, has quite a few videos on various subjects, from a timeline of homophobia in the church, to interviews with women who grew up in the church about the extra layers of control and lack of agency impose on people the church perceives as women, to the ways in which his disability/medical issues were leveraged against him to keep him faithful, to the ways in which the church teachings and programming actually encouraged him to be a toxic and abusive person behind the facade, until he could deprogram, etc. And Zelf on the Shelf is a TH-cam channel run by a pair of former Mormons who talk about things like being groomed within the church, and being love-bombed and converted into the church as teens or adults. I believe TH-camr ShannonQ, whose background/qualifications are in psychology, also has interviews and videos online talking about the Mormon church. Just to name a few.)
Thank you for this honest feedback. When carving out the “controversial” angle for this one, I admittedly was predominantly focused on the play’s provocative handling of faith/religion over anything else. You do bring a lot of incredibly interesting points that in hindsight, I should’ve at least briefly explored for a more substantial analysis of the show’s controversial nature. Particularly their racial portrayals - which a lot of commenters have brought up, and it's actually pushed me to look further into this aspect of the play and its warranted criticisms. I regret not adding this to the video’s discussion, and it’s a bit late for that now - but I’ll share my thoughts here for what it’s worth.
I agree there’s a lack of conversation around the play’s portrayal of Ugandans; it was a caricature that was largely overshadowed by their “controversial” depiction of Mormons. While the latter was their central target, some viewers have made the notable point that the stereotypical portrayals and jabs surrounding them were ironically a lot less harsh than their Ugandan counterparts. I do believe Trey and Matt thought they were probably just playing their “equal offender” card throughout it all since *everyone* was a caricature, but in retrospect this group did get the shorter end of the stick (i.e. the Mormons were portrayed as incredibly naïve but well-adjusted and educated in other aspects nonetheless; I can’t say they were as charitable with the Ugandans).
I’m glad more people are highlighting this now and the cast, crew, and writers are reportedly amending these issues (and I'm interested to see how) for when the show returns to theatres. I think Josh Gad said it best that this doesn’t mean the play is “any less significant or wonderful or incredible a musical, [it’s just] the nature of art to adapt.” And I’d love to see this production maintain its relevance and grow with the times because I do believe it’s an amazing creation in every other way - and having more people share in that experience would be awesome.
Again, I wish I could’ve mentioned all this in the actual video since it is a now significant part of the “controversial” conversation. Thank you for bringing it up however, because it’s also one that’s often unfairly overlooked - and I was evidently guilty of that too.
@@ana-isabel I wrote a super long comment but apparently I touched on some topics that the algorithm didn’t like. In summary…
You should definitely pin this comment as a way to add upon what was said it the video.
This Musical has always given me Sixteen Candles or Breakfast at Tiffany’s vibes. It’s iconic, yes, but you leave the experience feeling kinda gross, and it’s not the depiction of Mormonism that’s the problem, it’s the racism.
Like you said the Mormons generally come across as naive but good-natured, in contrast the Africans come across as (redacted for algorithm but you’ve seen the musical).
Not only are these extremely harmful stereotypes, but they also make light of some pretty serious topics (which I will not get into because I think this is where the algorithm took offense).
Also we shouldn’t gloss over the fact that this was written by two white guys. If this had been a dark comedy set in a war torn African nation written by an African person the musical would have been very different, maybe not any less crude, but certainly less offensive and gross.
@@mikaylaeager7942 Thanks for your sharing your thoughts and I'm incredibly sorry TH-cam seems to be deleting comments, looks like its happened to a couple from others on here. (Some would pop up in my notifications but are inaccessible once I click on them, which sucks.)
As with the original commenter, you've brought up insights I wish I touched upon in the actual video; it was a missed opportunity to flesh out the subject a bit more. While I can't pin the comment above yet (due to sponsor requirements, I need to have my link pinned for a certain amount of time), I'm working to fix the title and thumbnail of this vid to highlight the essay's focus on religious mockery, rather than its controversies as a whole. It's a small change, but I hope it helps avoid accidentally misleading viewers since this one is admittedly more centred on the former rather than a fully-fledged dissection of the latter (which is unfortunate, but I appreciate all these constructive critiques for when I broach complex topics like these in the future!).
@@ana-isabel Thank you for your response and for being so gracious in recognizing your blind spots. You’re a true class act and I really respect your work and perspective even when I don’t agree!
This was fantastic, thanks. Now I need to actually watch it.
This musical came around at an interesting time in my life. I grew up in a Mormon household and was disgruntled with the faith, this music, as someone who doesn't like musicals, was still a fun way for me to have a sardonic laugh at the belief system I was coming to resent.
I love this channel.
Saw it on my 25th Birthday when it coincidentely toured in europe and went a second time 2 days later! xD
It was amazing, I loved the europe cast a lot and waiting for its come back since :D
Maybe one day I can see it on broadway, would be pretty cool
Wow had now idea Matt Stone and Trey Parker did a musical, these guys are just so talented.
Check out Cannibal the Musical :D they did it before South Park
@@charliewaves definitely will take a look!
i´m a mormon and believe it or not my first contact to the LDS church was trough south park, i was also a missionary and i think the musical was great maybe not the best way to meet the church believes XD yet it´s a good way they can better understand those believes and at the end of the day know that as most of the people out there we are just looking to be better either what we believe it´s true or not.
We're just people trying to do better in the best ways we know. And that includes loving other people and believing that God loves and has a plan for all of His children.
Whoa you gave me some flashbacks when you mentioned Spider-Man turn off the dark
I love it the only musical I’ve seen twice, just sad the second time I missed the first part leading to hasa diga ebowai.
I've went to see the musical in London last weekend. It is without a shred of doubt the best musical I have ever seen. The songs will not leave my head!
I think a lot of people overlook Matt & Trey's ability to make something absurd still have a warmhearted core. I'm a sucker for their pattern of putting naïve characters in horrendous situations, this musical is one of my favorites of all time! I also got so excited when you mentioned Cannibal the Musical, it's another gem I love that showcases their goofy and humble beginnings!
Your videos are wonderful and I'm so excited to watch more from you, keep up the fantastic work!
Thank you! 🙏 and yes, Matt and Trey have a talent for satire that's often bizarrely provocative, yet unexpectedly sweet. Not to mention their musical writing skills - hope they make more shows on Broadway!
You forgot to mention that it's basically a modern take on The King and I. ;)
I really enjoyed the book of mormon, but i honestly feel like claiming to critisize a religion and then not actually talk about the bad parts is disingenuous if nothing else
I get that but I think that the main problem with mormonism (according to former mormons I have listened to and read about) is that they are taught to just have blind faith in it. They have to be uber passionate about it even if start losing their faith. It can be quite superficial for some Mormons and I think that was the main focus they were criticising in the show. So I think they were taling about the bad part of mormonism but I also agree with what you said to an extent, apart from the disingenuous part
I saw it in Montreal in 2017 and it was magnificent
You picked a hell of a week to publish this video. As a former Mormon (and missionary) I appreciate that you don't paint the religion in a bad light, but just a couple of days ago one of the leaders of the church chastised BYU professors that were merely supportive of the LGBTQ+ community. I left the religion after seeing the hate it bred for some of my best friends. So, while the church was "cool" with the musical, they most certainly didn't feel the same way about some of the actors performing it.
I loved this musical! I would love to see a video about Spider-Man turn off the dark. I personally still like this musical despite its problems
As well as Avenue Q
@@FormalFilmsProductions Hahaha might get to doing a video on Avenue Q first before Spider-man - but that'd be a fun video topic too! Also thinking of doing one for In The Heights :)
@@ana-isabel woooooo! I’m looking forward to seeing it!
I'm happy to say, after never catching a musical I finally caught my first show and it was the Book of Mormon, I could only rustle up 1 mate to come with, and boy did we love it! Looking forward to lock-down ending (lucky 6...) and hopefully one day seeing another.
Woohoo! If you liked this one, I highly recommend catching Avenue Q when you get the chance :D It's got a similar type of humor, with a ton of catchy songs too.
@@ana-isabel I really wanted to see that, but at least when I heard of it last I was in Uni and tickets were ... expensive. Too expensive for a Uni student XD
If they do a performance in Australia/Victoria again, I definitely want to go see it! I'm going to do a search tonight and see if there's been any shows recently/post covid lock down
I remember the Book of Mormon episode didn’t know they brought it to Broadway
I was lucky enough to see it about a week before the first pandemic lockdown
New Video Hype!
Great video. I know it's a weird ask but have you considered doing a video about "theater kid" culture in the same vein of your cos play video? Maybe there would be too much crossover but I think it would be cool to see.
Thank you! :) And interesting as that topic would be - I unfortunately was never a part of "theatre kid" culture (always wanted to join in play/musical productions when I was in high school but was far too shy do actually do so), so I wouldn't be able to really speak from experience. However my next video *will* focus on a particular subculture I'm rather nostalgic about - so keep an eye out for that one 😁
Your eyes, your smile
Made my little life worthwhile.
There's nothing I couldn't do
When I was on top of youuuuuuu.
- Cannibal the Musical
I've been a fan of theirs since Cannibal the Musical back in 1998?7?
It's awesome to see them doing so well. And cheers on you for enjoying it too!
Have a Shpadoinkle day!
I've only ever listened to the Cannibal! soundtrack on Spotify, but haven't properly seen the actual musical end-to-end. Need to fix that soon! Looking forward to these dudes working on more musical projects, they're awesome at this stuff.
Hope you're having a Shpadoinkle day yourself 🎶
@@ana-isabel The movie will really remind you of their later work. You'll be constantly going "omg Southpark! Omg Team America! Omg The Book of Mormon!" Its fun.
I don't understand why this video only has 10k views! I really enjoyed this. The video was really well paced and it was interesting to dwell on that dichotomy between the show's religious irreverence and its success in the U.S, which has such deep religious roots. I still haven't seen it, which now feels like a crime.
Well you've inspired me to go check it out fo sho! Lol. Great video,HOWEVER i couldn't help but notice you not mentioning one thing these guys were also behind of and That is baseketball ! Lol Remember that lol.
AW DAMN that's right - hahaha don't know how that slipped my mind, but it's definitely one of their "classics" 😂
I resonate hard at 0:49-0:53. It’s why I usually let my car passengers pick the music. 😭
Idk anything about theatre beyond Kat Steele's channel and Sakura Wars stuff so uh... All I can say is yay, new Ana vid
Glad to see another Kat Steele viewer haha!
@@ana-isabel yeah she's amazing
My only reluctance about seeing the show is that I have heard it is pretty damn racist - like, I’ve heard this from people who aren’t typically overly sensitive.
Also - I do feel that Matt and Trey are not as “equal opportunity offenders” as people claim. They are libertarian atheists so making fun of other religions, and liberals and republicans is easy - but have they lampooned libertarians?
They do seem to be pretty transphobic. Half the time I see someone making fun of trans people they inevitably start quoting South Park, comparing transitioning to wanting to identify as a helicopter.
Matt and Trey also started a lot of young people down the road of dismissing climate change with their comparing it to Al Gore believing in a mythical “man bear pig.” While in a recent episode they expressed their regret for this, it didn’t stop them from going on to push the myth about muscular men with no hormone therapy slapping on a woman’s wig so they can play sports against women in a recent season.
They love putting a political message behind their comedy but rarely seem to think that message through or the damage their being thoughtless can have on the culture.
Any time it was mentioned that I have Jewish heritage in my home town I would get kids trying to pretend they are cartman and repeating his racist remarks.
Sorry. This became a rant - I have enjoyed a lot of South Park and I am curious about Book of Mormon as a theatre fan but I am divided on whether or not the show’s writers deserve my money
The criticism towards the play is justified, and from what I've read - they're fortunately re-evaluating those aspects of the show. I'm interested to see how they're gonna go about it before they re-open at the end of the year, and I'm glad to see them take the criticisms in stride.
As much as I love South Park, I do think Matt and Trey were pretty clumsy with their particular episode on trans athletes. Though they attempted to broach the storyline with some nuance (particularly through a B-plot that mirrors similar issues), their use of widespread, strawmen stereotypes sadly overshadowed any efforts at thoughtful commentary. They were quite out of their depth with such a complex subject matter and it showed. And it's a bummer too, 'cause I thought they did a pretty good job at handling the topic of gender identity in one of their previous eps (I believe it's titled "The Cissy") and the often absurd, negative stereotypes pushed onto those who aren't cis.
I was happy to see them evolve in their views though in their most recent take on "Man Bear Pig"/climate change - and there's a part of me that does hope they show the same growth regarding their sentiments on the trans community.
Based on the stuff I've read, they don't come across to me as bad faith actors (and actually seem pretty liberal-leaning on many social issues) - but mostly just edgelords who aren't immune to bungling hot button topics every now and again, though willing to evolve in their beliefs/adapt when it's needed. Because shock comedy and satire *is* their thing though, evading misinterpretations of their work is sadly near impossible (i.e. I think anything that Cartman does or says is meant to be seen as despicable; and we’re meant to laugh at him, and not with him - but there are always going to be those who miss the point and do the latter.)
But those are just my thoughts, and I’m aware my charitability comes from my bias as a long-time fan of their stuff. I understand your sentiments though, thank you for sharing them. (And while I can’t convince you to support them now, I do hope the show does successfully adapt with the times into something more can enjoy - because for all its pitfalls, it’s still a fantastic theatre experience that absolutely deserves that.)
@@ana-isabel
I get that the intention with Cartman is to make fun of small minded bigots but there is a huge segment of our population (mostly kids) who don’t get irony.
The same kids who were raised quoting Cartman on the playground, go on to spout misogynistic crap in video game headsets and then grew up to be the type of idiot who thought voting for Donald Trump would shut up all the snowflakes.
I don’t think one has to work hard to draw a straight line between South Park and assholes on 8chan.
And you’re right - Matt and Trey undoubtedly think those people are disgusting idiots and have more progressive views but I also think that they have mostly been irresponsible with their platform, in the name of being edgy, they kicked Islam while American Muslims were still reeling from the heightened bigotry in our nation, because they didn’t like the idea of being told they couldn’t do something.
Contrarian mindsets like that is why we have a proven vaccine in our country that half the country is refusing to take because they don’t like to be told what to do.
But they do genuinely write some brilliant comedy. I can’t deny that. And I can’t deny that they have evolved. I don’t think their show is being quoted on playgrounds anymore so it is likely too late for kids raised on their humor to learn being contrary isn’t a substitute for being thoughtful.
I am a theatre geek and I think it is inevitable that I will give Book of Mormon a chance. I live in NYC now so now I am divided whether or not I should shell out the big bucks and see the Broadway production or if I should wait for the tour to hit my hometown in NC and see it there, while feeling less guiltily about giving money to people I think may have been irresponsible.
If they have found a way to make the show not racist, I’ll be far more likely to see it on Broadway.
A lot of people say its racist but their reasoning is usually pretty flimsy at best. You could argue that it's racey, sure, but I think it's a huge stretch to say the show is overtly racist.
@@ana-isabel Thank you for this! I couldn't agree more! South Park certainly has stumbled more than a few times on particular issues, particularly trans issues, but they do genuinely seem to be overall good faith actors and it blows my mind that people can't see how Cartman is literally framed as being the worst person you could possibly imagine, and PC Principle is honestly framed as a genuinely good person, if a bit cringy and overly eager to seem woke. The fact that people misinterpret this is just an unfortunate inevitability of satirical humour, but of course they are not perfect and do on occasion stumble over certain issues despite their efforts. Like I believe the b-plot on that episode about strong woman and the transwoman in sports was intended to show that they were not actually anti-trans but their execution was clumsy and did in fact come across as transphobic to many, and for good reason. But it also seems clear to me, just taking the man bear pig thing as an example, and their recent storyline with Tolkien, that they do pay attention to this and try to do better so I look forward to seeing how they tackle these issues better in the future.
The little inaccuracies when talking about Mormonism (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints) have me cackling. Thanks for a great breakdown of a musical I haven't seen but have heard a lot about.
"Hello my name is pastor"
Light switch is banger
6:17
I JUST REALIZED
i spent a few years with my dad as a priest in the Mormon church and they do seem super nice and they are almost creepily nice people, but its all a façade. their communities hide so much anger fear and abuse its insane. the strong pressure to appear to be perfect American families makes it so everyone just pretends that abuse isn't happening
While I've known Mormons who do seem genuinely happy, I don't doubt that this is a thing too, and it makes me sad. I'm curious - what happens when they want to leave the Mormon community?
@@ana-isabel I think it gets touched on in this video. th-cam.com/video/wvlYnnODHaM/w-d-xo.html
@@ana-isabel excommunication. its the main reason people stay. if you leave everyone including friends and family are told not to talk to you or have any contact with you at all
@@ana-isabel also i think a big part of the happiness comes from ignorance is bliss really. if they pretend to themselves that everything is good then at points in their lives it can totally be true. its just when things arnt perfect they arnt allowed to talk about it or even admit they feel that way. just smile and grit your teeth.
@@ana-isabel I’m a lifelong member of the church, I served a mission in Korea like the guys in the musical, and I’m involved with the leadership in my local congregation. If by “leave the church” you mean they stop showing up on Sundays, what usually happens is people will try calling them, or the missionaries might drop by to see how they’re doing, or someone will leave some cookies on their doorstep. In my whole life I’ve never heard anyone say “Oh that person left the church? No one talk to them ever again.” If they ask us to leave them alone we respect that (though some people can definitely be overzealous). I don’t doubt that that’s happened before, but it’s not been my experience for what it’s worth. I’ve never heard of anyone getting excommunicated for going inactive. Maybe things are different in Utah. Usually if people stop showing up we try to reach out more since it usually means they’re going through a hard time.
If people really want to leave they have the option of basically excommunicating themselves. You can write a letter to the church headquarters in Salt Lake and they’ll erase all your membership records. Nobody will try to call or visit you ever again. People usually don’t bother doing that though.
A pleasant surprise! I didn’t get the hints that you’re a musical/theatre fan. This is great. Please make more videos like this!
Okay, so TH-cam decided for some reason that I wouldn’t want to watch this video, so I’m here 3 weeks later
This sounds pretty interesting and i realy don´t get musicals in gerneral :D
Oh snap, I didn't realise it was a young Brian Tyree Henry as General in the original cast!
He also played Johnny Cochran in Spooky Mormon Hell Dream
This musical legit was one of the funniest fucking things I've ever seen. 10/10 and love the review.
So weird, just two days ago i discovered this musical existed and was watching clips! XD it was because of central park, the animated series...
2nd best show, just behind Spider-Man: Turn off the Dark, the single greatest work of art ever produced by humanity
:/
payhaps i want to wait to watch this until after i've seen the bnook or mormon
Funny thing. Years ago I watched "Life of Brian" in a religion class. It's a thing in Germany that depending on your religion you get a specialized class. Atheists go to Ethics class. Anyways we watched that movie and the teacher said that the movie was definitely not making fun of the Christian religion. Well, turns out that was all bs. Of course, the movie was making fun of Christianity. It is so blatantly criticizing religious movements and that's the thing that makes it funny.
It feels like the Mormon reaction here is the same. The outward message is: "Sure we are not mad about it." and internally they are like: "How dare they?"
Btw. Would be cool to have sources when you flash articles on screen. I know not many people care about it but sometimes I just want to check out the sources.
Hey there! I do post my sources just under the article excerpts on the bottom right-hand corner. The play blatantly *does* mock, parody, and criticise plenty about their religious text/beliefs, but simultaneously empathises with what genuinely positive, compassionate intentions these Mormon characters have. Perhaps some will say the creators are trying to "have their cake and eat it too" but I thought they walked the line pretty well, especially with the story's final takeaways.
As for the real-life Mormons who supposedly had a positive reception to this, I can only take their word for it in the interviews/articles they were featured. As I mentioned, there were still many that definitely didn't take it well; that's inescapable.
Engagement for the engagement god!
Thought it was funny enough, but otherwise didn't really think much of it. It's pretty derogatory using the white saviour trope and generally just being very formulaic. Also didn't really like how they kind of "white-wash" given its at least precious beliefs about black people and how they still ostracize people and even family for leaving the church.0
Havn't seen the play but actively practicing.
I think another aspect about the musical thst LDS members relate to is the fact thr two leads are the kind of missionaries other missionairies dred. Cunningham. The woobie of the group that just needs a hug and acknowledment, dosn't know a whole lot about a religion he claims to beleive in. This is a cery sad fact. I am not expecting anyone between the ages of q8 and 27 to be scriptorians, but 4 years of seminary shouldbhave installed the basics. As is i have known several missionaorws and former missionairies that didn't get their faith until being on it, which is not the point. Yet, espesialy with Mormon heavy Idaho, Utah, and Colerado, you have parents that expect to have their kids obsorb it on their own without a guiding hand, or its just tradition. Then they send their kids out on an expensive mission where they have to live like monks for 2 years, sometimes in very dangerous areas for essentialy tradition not faith. These people treat it like Mormon Rumspringa.
As for Price, oh the arogance and the for my will not yours, for his honor and not Gods. The male equivolent of the little old ladies that have after church brunch and make wait staff question the validitity of a loving, caring creator God. Also known some of these where they think they are the greatest thing to happen to the world since Pokemon and are also a pain to deal with.
Its surprisingly relatable
8th or 6th? something like that
Hasa Diga Eebowai
Joseph Smith was called a prophet, dun dun dun dun dun...
So let us create the Church of Ana and Spread her great Content with Love around the World ;)
I don't plan on seeing it. The potential sacrilege doesn't particularly worry me, it's that (at least from what I've seen on South Park), their "clown on everyone" type of comedy means they end up kicking down far more than I can stomach.
Particularly because, when they do punch up, they can't actually inflict any meaningful injury - but when they kick down, they can get people killed, so on balance I think they cause far more damage than they can offset.
Have you seen Cannibal The Musical? They made it before South Park. The songs are so catchy! :D
I've only listened to the songs on Spotify - I definitely need to properly watch the actual movie soon!
As an LDS member, I think this show is awesome... But also, kinda bummed how this is the best representation I've seen my religion get in any sort of media(that wasn't made by members of the church). I'm not saying I need the representation or anything, I think the LGBTQ+ could use it more, but when every single other thing about my religion is actively crapping on us, perpetuating stereotypes, and so on, I think it would be better is my church had 0 representation than what it has now.
I agree with everything you said. I wish people would realize that most of us are just trying to do our best with what we know to be true, and that includes loving other people. Tangent time, I'm straight I think, but most of my friends aren't so I also wholeheartedly agree that LGBTQ needs better representation. About an hour ago my sister made a joke to me about how straight people don't exist, making fun of mainstream media for pretending queer people don't exist. I wish people in positions of power would recognize that a substantial chunk of the population isn't straight (the default assumption of everyone is straight and those who aren't are exceptions makes me angry) and that the LGBTQ community deserves actual representation.
@@juliakra01 Totally! I'm happy that nowadays the LGBTQ are at least getting much better representation than a few years ago, but it's absolutely insane how the community still has to fight to get proper rep in media and not just A. Harmful stereotypes, or B. Nothing at all. Even though they are technically still a minority group they shouldn't be shoved to the wayside like they have been.
Because of the southpark episode about mormons I will never be able to hear the word "mormon" without hearing "dumb dumb dumb dumb dumb" in my head.
Okay, exceedingly minor things that, as a member of the church this musical parodies heavily, I just want to further clarify a few things you miss, from a church members perspective.
1. It’s “Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints” we are also fully okay with being called CJCLDS, or simply LDS.
2. The Book of Mormon is kinda like the musical says… simply put it’s like the Bible, but “The Americas” edition.
3. Total honesty here, we in the church actually refer to Utah in general as a “bubble.”
4. Believe it or not, we are honestly pretty positive about things, because we grow up seeing that we can grow from attacks from people. Just a personal thing for me, nice implies expecting something back… kindness implies doing it for the heck of it.
5. Welp, the part of “get his own planet” is kinda on track… that takes more than a TH-cam comment thread to explain in good detail.
6. It’s moreso to avoid addictive substances, which coffe can easily be.
7. That is actually a rule, though, not in those words, and nowhere near as badly punished… we also don’t believe in Hell to any degree beyond a thought process, meaning your soul won’t be sent down into endless pain and torment.
8. Fun fact! One of the biggest points in our church is to love all people, man or woman, straight or gay (or other among the dozen or so other sexualities), white or black (this includes brown, yellow, red, green, and blue)…
9. It’s oddly common for a missionary, Elder or Sister missionaries, to use things in media, like Star Wars, LoTR, or even Avatar: the Last Airbender, to help someone better understand the principles talked about in the Book of Mormon. How it’s portrayed in the musical is plain incorrect in the church, but it has a base in reality.
10. Fun fact part 2! There is tangible evidence that actually proves that, at the very least, Joseph Smith had some otherworldly luck in guessing where structures in central and South America should be, as Archeologists have actually found ancient structures fitting descriptions from the Book of Mormon! One such structure was even found in a ravine opened up in an ancient earthquake!
11. At about 17:30 that is seriously part of the reason we are taught on why we should choose to go on a mission! The other pet being to serve others, and thusly serve God, but that is equally important with helping build faith for yourself in God and Jesus Christ!
12. The truth of the teachings is literally to help you grow closer to God and Jesus Christ, to two people in all of existence that, in our beliefs, just want you, and all other people and creatures, to be truly happy, and full of joy. The stories in the Book of Mormon, and the Bible, are not the most important part, but the principles and truths they teach. One can even use the stories to think about how they might or should act in similar situations.
12.5. This is just a personal note, I love how Neil Patrick Harris, a gay man with a small history with liking this church, participated in making the musical. Shows even that this church can laugh, and is supportive of peeps!
13. Next, if you are sent to an African country to preach about a book you know rather well (or even know mediocrely), and go into peoples homes for it, you will see things kinda like what the musical shows. People being vulgar because that’s how they live. As a missionary, you will suddenly start living like them too. Culture shock at its finest.
14. One small thing about Joseph Smith’s story… he may not have been able to prove by an object, but absolutely nobody, to this day, can disprove every single part of what Joseph Smith stated happened. (He also didn’t start the religion, so much as restore the Church as Christ left it with his apostles, but that’s another point that is too difficult to explain in full on a comment thread.)
15. The naïveté of the two Elders is actually accurate if they are both from Salt Lake City, thanks to the aforementioned bubble.
This comment is beautiful and I love you, whoever you are, for writing it
@@juliakra01 just a friendly, neighbor, bi furry lds boyo.
I have been a southpark fan for more than 2 decades and have literally only just realised that the south park movie title is a dick joke :|
and "Fractured But Whole". (a double zinger, since Trey/Matt only went for it to get "Butthole" in the title 👌)
Honestly, I've never heard criticisms of Book of Mormon for being crude. I just heard it's really flippin' racist.
i loved it but i can def see how people can see it that way. we know what Mormans thought of it... it would be good to find out what Ugandians think (not that all Africans think the same of course)
How could you not mention Orgazmo?
I think you're overestimating how "cool" the Mormon church is with the musical. I'm a member of the church, and the reaction of the average members is more like: "look, another sign of how little cultural respect we have, how socially acceptable it is to mock us."
Yes, the public response from church leaders was along the lines of: "let's just turn the other cheek and move on, it could be worse." But that doesn't mean that we enjoy or support the show. Try to leverage it for better publicity? Sure. But it's more of a symbol of how easy it is to spread ridicule and hate about the religion.
Even in this comment section, people are trading bad rumors about the church. Yes, like any organization, we've got problems (in fact, right now there's a big schism happening between pro and anti-maskers). But it's not like every local congregation is hiding years of terrible child abuse. 99.99% of members are just doing their best to worship God, help each other, be better people, and find happiness.
Yep, I've seen so many rumors about the church online and I wish I could help people realize what they're saying is factually inaccurate. I don't care if you believe what I believe but it hurts to see slander thrown around so carelessly and taken as fact when it's easily disprovable and very untrue.
shame they didnt portray trans or lgtb people with the same sympathy
It's all fun and games until you remember that religion has never done any good for any community that practices it - quite on the contrary, really.
This musical certainly isn't a friend to anti-Mormons, sadly. It makes Mormonism seem very toothless