STYLETHREAD -- LET'S TALK SHOP!

I was raised LDS in Salt Lake, and in fact, my great grand-daddy was a polygamist. (Only three wives.) One branch of the family ended up in Colorado City, which I learned when I read Under the Banner of Heaven and kept coming across the family name. My siblings and I decided to follow a different path once we reached adulthood, and we've all moved away from Utah.

I came into possession some old family letters when my folks died. I've scanned them and I'm trying to write biographical sketches of some of these folks. I'm going to put them on a website to share with my many, many cousins. I hope to get it going in the next couple of weeks.

So it's quite a coincidence that Big Love came along just as I am so involved in my research project.

I've got links to a couple of interesting articles on polygamy today. I'll post them in the current events thread.

I think they've really nailed the neighbor. I've known many just like her, although she isn't the only LDS type. For example, one woman who fascinates me is Christine Meader Durham, the Chief Justice of the Utah Supreme Court as well as an active Mormon.

I read somewhere that the writers spent three years researching the show and spent a lot of time in Utah. They have picked up on a lot of little details that I am sure go past the audience that has never been around LDS. The checking for garment lines is one of them.

To me Heather seems mature for a girl her age in that she is quite aware of things outside what I would consider the normal teen-age world. A lot has changed since I lived there. I'm just comparing her to some of my nieces.

So far they've shown a pleasant version of Salt Lake. It isn't that clean and pretty everywhere. Salt Lake Valley is a beautiful setting though. I get nostalgic whenever they do a shot with the mountains in the background.

I also find the Rhonda character fascinating. She seems to be quite aware of the power she has as Roman's wife, although it looks as if she is in danger of overstepping her bounds. I'm wondering if she will end up being one of the girls who runs away.

Wow, Maven, you have a really neat perspective about all this.  Like Halleybird, I find the LDS Church amazingly interesting as a social and political force, simply because of its influence in the western U.S. and, increasingly, around the world.

My appreciation for the show rose to a whole new level, too, once I figured out some of the symbolism imbedded in the opening sequence (e.g., Bill pulling each of his wives through "the veil").  The writers obviously spent a lot of time researching. 

While I doubt this show will ever become HBO's flagship like the Sopranos (I feel like Bill Hendrickson's character is too one-dimensional to inspire a cult following like that), it's a really fun and interesting watch.  For an entire hour, you really get sucked into their world.

ETA:  I think the actor that plays Benny, Douglas Smith, is awesome.  He is so perfect as a gangly, tall, awkward teenager... reminds me a lot of my brother at that age (except without the LDS part).  I'm interested to see where they go with that storyline, as I think his character could be made very complex and deep.

-- Edited by Eurodaisy at 09:39, 2006-04-27

Ok, I have to jump into this thread. It's soooo interesting. My family moved to SLC when I was 21 and my little bro & sis were still young. We are not LDS (Espicopalian) but live a few blocks from the temple. It's such a fascinating culture there, so family oriented. I am totally intrigued by it. Maven, thanks so much for sharing your perspective!