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| Friday, May 24, 2013 |
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They’re both comedy. Dalton and Dahlquist seem so awkward and scripted that you can’t do anythng but laugh or feel sorry for them. When did being an entertainer become a prerequisite for being a YM/YW president? What I learned from serving in young mens was that we should feel free to provide opportunities for fun and entertainment, but don’t expect to make it yourself, unless you are actually talented. |
When I was once called to be a cubmaster, I told that I needed to get over myself and learn to be a goofball with the boys. Sorry, but that’s just not me. I don’t have a testimony of the need to be a goofball… |
i’m not sure i see your point… why must it be faith vs comedy? faith and comedy aren’t mutually exclusive. and thanks for including that Gatsby link. that blog is hilarious. |
A few thoughts. Yes, Dalton and Dahlquist seemed awfully out of place and scripted, and the whole thing seems a bit “wha–?” in contrast to what we’re conditioned to expect. But I must say this: I applaud the Church’s efforts to rebrand the youth program based on what appears to be valid market research (as opposed to the “unwritten order of things.”) True, this is no sunday service, but the format, scope and content of this production is not too far off from what we might see in Megachurches (which are doing quite well, I’m told.) Also, given the outrageous success of the “High School Musical” franchise (and its connection to both Utah and this target audience,) doing this song-and-dance neo-broadway thing seems to speak to the kids in a way that “Saturday’s Warrior” or Janice Kapp Perry’s “Modesty is Always in Style” never could. Also, I am floored by the church’s new website, which is correlated to this event: http://abrandnewyear.lds.org/ Despite recent some recent General Conference lambasting of texting in church, this site seems to embrace the media of today’s youth: download mp3s, ringtones, youtube-style videos, widgets for your myspace… The Church has taken some serious strides that are both unprecedented and, in my view, promise to be more effective than heretofore seen attempts at church leadership connecting with youth culture. It’s true that it does seem jarring from my older perspective, and with my experiences as a seminary youth in mind, but if I was a teenager growing up in today’s culture, something like this would likely appeal to me. |
“the Church’s efforts to rebrand the youth program based on what appears to be valid market research” There is so much wrong with that sentence I just don’t know where to start. |
MCQ, please have a good look at http://abrandnewyear.lds.org/ and tell me no valid marketing work was done to create it. You still may have issues with the rebranding effort itself, but if you’re looking for a place to start, tell me how a bunch of geriatric couple missionaries, out-of-touch church committee members, or suits in Salt Lake come up with that. The appeal may certainly be limited, but you’re kidding yourself if you think that this new look was generated by Boyd K. Packer mumbling about what kids these days “ought to do.” I’m willing to confidently guess that a substantial amount of cash was given to marketing and branding consultants to generate it. I will grant that you may squabble over whether that is to be considered “valid,” but there’s no question that this rebranding is the collaborative work of many professionals. |
Can we keep the Packer bashing to a minimum? If, as Quentin says, ABNY was the result of sophisticated branding and market research, it’s entirely possible that BKP is actually supportive and encouraging of the move. I mean, is it possible that “the unwritten order” has taken a life of its own, and that perhaps it had time and place when it was given but not now… |
Fair enough. I didn’t mean to bash Pres. Packer. For all I know he could very well be behind it. I was just exploiting the stereotype, sorry. |
I just showed the video to my wife, but she missed the opening (when the leaders were introduced). At one point I said, “It looks like televangelists,” to which she replied, surprised, “This is LDS?” So yeah, not quite what we expected, but that’s not criticism. I’m too far removed from the youth program (for now) to have any insight. |
It’s fine to exploit stereotypes … but when a stereotype becomes *so* entrenched that it’s accepted all over the world, I feel a need to call BS and dig into it. Put another way, if BKP were giving a talk today, would he give the “unwritten” talk again? Or, whenever an entire group of people universally believes the exact *same* thing, without much justification except a few random data points over an almost three-decade period, that’s might be a sign that there’s a problem… |
becky #3: I don’t for a minute think the two are mutually exclusive. It was just a way to post this video for discussion. Besides, it’s a deliberately ambiguous title. Does it mean (promoting faith) vs. (promoting comedy), (promoting faith) vs. (comedy), or promoting (faith vs. comedy)? It doesn’t matter, there are lots of ways to read any and all of those into the two items I posted. Quentin, I have talked with family members of some of the supervising people involved. I see what you are getting at, but I think it would surprise you just how much of an inside job it was. As for the video… just… wow. On the negative side, yes, it’s awfully cheesy, and I’m not into the music here at all; but, since I recognize that I’m not exactly the target demographic and I can understand what they are trying to do with it (even if I don’t think they pull it off), my aesthetic criticisms aren’t really relevant. But overall, sugar-coated / bubblegum / EFY approaches to the gospel really get on my nerves. Dalton and Dahlquist are stiff and unnatural, but… who can blame them? I’m sure this wasn’t in the job description when they took over the YM/YW, and at least they’re being good sports. Still, Dahlquist’s mention of “that good feeling” being the Spirit is cringe worthy (it feels manipulative and brain-washy to me). Can I get a hallelujah? Most importantly, though, the whole production is all just so foreign to what I’ve come to expect from the church and grown up with my whole life that I admit it weirds me out more than a little bit. Some positives: I sincerely think it is great that the church is willing to try new things to help reach the youth of the church. It is clear that a lot of thought and effort went into this, no matter your opinion of the result. I’m probably not young enough anymore to get an accurate impression of how well it will be received by the YM/YW. For those of you out there that work with them, what sort of reactions have you seen? Unfortunately, my gut tells me that they will probably laugh at it. It’s like watching the nerdy kid at school trying so hard to be cool all the while making himself seem exponentially nerdier by failing so miserably. I can just imagine myself mocking this as a teenager. But then again, High School Musical is wildly popular, so my opinion clearly doesn’t count for much in situations like these. I haven’t checked out the rest of the website out yet, though. Thanks for the link Quentin. |
I am not looking forward to showing this to the youth I am working with. They are intelligent, fantastic kids who do not fit the image this video is trying to create. They do not often verbalize their testimonies, but I see strong evidence in their actions that they understand what the Savior wants for them. I think whatever positive messages that may have been received will be missed because of the delivery method. I think they will be insulted by the High School Musical approach to the gospel. And for the younger set (Beehives) this will confuse them as to what to expect “the Spirit” to be. |
That vido looks like a scene out of a spoof on Mormonism, a la, “The Singles Ward” or “The R.M.” What I want to know is whether those boys rapping about the gospel were allowed to pass the sacrament the following Sunday. Personally, I think that kid who was breakdancing for the restoration should be subject to church discipline for conduct unbecoming a member. Seriously, how is it that you can write excellent historical scholarship and get ex’d, but you can breakdance for Jesus with no consequences whatever?!?!? Your footprint story reminds me of this cartoon from my favorite humor web site, entitled “Carry your chips.” |
It’s boring. The music is boring, their clothes are boring (I think it looks like a polygamist kids’ musical). There’s no real rhythm. I agree with Brian J’s wife. If me and Brian Gibson and ESO and a few of us hip Mormons got together, we could really nail this one. They should have had Donny Osmond emcee and introduce Sister Dalton and the other guy. I’d have put them in jeans and t-shirts. Those brightly colored shirts and ties—that’s just….not….something not good. Compare it to Saturday’s Warrior. This is what I’m talking about. |
“it looks like a polygamist kids’ musical” We had our big ABNY stake activity a few weeks ago, and I thought about blogging about it, but couldn’t think of anything to say. Like many of you, this would not have spoken to me at any point in my life. It is way too happy for me. I hate how scripted it is. It feels very evangelical. I suspect it is actually very EFY–and loads of people have great things to say about EFY (parents in my area make some serious sacrifices to get their kids there). But, it is something. It shows a giant effort to consider our youth and to communicate with them. I appreciate that the leadership tried something new. [I also hop I don't have to sit through another] When our stake leadership previewed this, we could not keep ourselves from laughing, and I was concerned that the youth would react like that, but they didn’t. Some even started singing along. I hope it spoke to someone. |
It seems to me that the HSM type stuff is aimed more at the 6-10 year old age group than the YM/YW age kids. I can’t imagine our older youth seeing this as compelling. |
So, what kind of meeting is this, exactly? Is that the conference center? They should lose the ties, but at least they weren’t all wearing white shirts. |
annegb: “A Polygamist Kids’ Musical” LOLZ!!!1!!!! Is that in production? Do they need ushers? I’ll help in any way possible. Left Field: “at least they weren’t all wearing white shirts.” You said it. |
I am so morbidly fascinated with this thing… I just keep watching it over and over again, not believing what I’m seeing… |
Wow, white people really can’t dance. Loved the breakdancer, for what it’s worth. |
I’m confident that Dalton and Dahlquist will eventually “find their stride” in this new (or new for them, and new for the church) format. I think future events of this type will flow more smoothly and be less stilted. |
djinn, I can dance. And Motown is my favorite kind of music. A lot of white people can dance and write great music. Just not the people who did this deal. |
LOL. When does “Seminary Musical 2″ come out? |
“I think they heard that all the way to Vladivostok in Russia”! and break dancing! BrianJ: “At one point I said, “It looks like televangelists,— |
…thanks for posting this! |
The video promotes neither faith nor comedy. It promotes embarrassment. Which I guess is comedy for some. |
[...] like the 116 pages all over again, only this time it’s with musical attempts to teach doctrine. It was only a matter of time. Behold, suddenly a BYU MDT degree has gained a modicum of [...] |
[...] DKL, commenting on Orwell’s post “Promoting Faith vs. Comedy” (on the Church’s “Brand New Year” videos) at Mormon Mentality: What I want to know is whether those boys rapping about the gospel were allowed to pass the sacrament the following Sunday. Personally, I think that kid who was breakdancing for the restoration should be subject to church discipline for conduct unbecoming a member. Seriously, how is it that you can write excellent historical scholarship and get ex’d, but you can breakdance for Jesus with no consequences whatever?!?!? [...] |
