Nick and Dan, a screenwriter and a movie-lover, explore themes of changing faith through the language of cinema. They discuss their journeys out of the Mormon church using film narrative in order to build understanding between believers, non-believers, and everyone in between.
What kind of high schooler were you? What do you wish were different about your high school/Mormon experience? Nick and Dan explore these questions with special guest Jenny McKay, who joined them for a discussion about the film Booksmart. (This conversation was recorded in July 2023.)
Check out Jenny's coaching and podcast!
-Jenny McKay Coaching (website, Instagram, TikTok)
-Podcast: Just Create, Dammit!
Mentioned in this episode:
Barbie
Olivia Wilde
Barbenheimer, The Dark Knight, and Mamma Mia!
Find more information on our website. Post-Mormon at the Movies is on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok. Subscribe for regular updates. You can reach us by email at postmormonmovies@gmail.com.
Nick and Dan are joined by long-time friend Jon to geek out over Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse. We discuss the "canon events" of Mormonism and what it feels like to find others who accept you when you're different.
Mentioned in this episode:
Find more information on our website. Post-Mormon at the Movies is on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok. Subscribe for regular updates. You can reach us by email at postmormonmovies@gmail.com.
Jenny, Kyle, Nick, and Dan discuss season one of The Good Place and how it relates to their experiences in the LDS church. How similar is the Good Place to the celestial kingdom? Is there a "point system" in the church? Which character is the most "Mormon"? Tune in to find out! CONTAINS SPOILERS
Mentioned in this episode:
How to be Perfect by Michael Schur
SNL, The Office, Parks and Recreation
Damon Lindelof, Lost, and The Leftovers
The Good Place point system
The Trolley Problem
Video of cast reacting to season finale (SPOILERS)
Ted Danson and Cheers
Find more information on our website.
Post-Mormon at the Movies is on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok. You can reach us by email at postmormonmovies@gmail.com.
Subscribe for regular updates.
Head to the pub and grab a pint! Nick and Dan are joined by Kyle and Jenny (the human, not the donkey) to discuss The Banshees of Inisherin. Is this movie about the Irish civil war, inescapable despair, or church relationships? Listen to find out!
Mentioned in this episode:
Martin McDonagh
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri and In Bruges
Colin Farrell, Brendan Gleeson, Kerry Condon, and Barry Keoghan
Find more information on our website. Post-Mormon at the Movies is on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok. Subscribe for regular updates. You can reach us by email at postmormonmovies@gmail.com.
Go the distance with Dan and Nick in their first podcast of 2023! They discuss Disney's Hercules and its similarities to the LDS doctrine of the Plan of Salvation.
Mentioned in this episode:
Edith Hamilton's Mythology
Disney's 100th Anniversary
Hadestown
Find more information on our website. Post-Mormon at the Movies is on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok. Subscribe for regular updates. You can reach us by email at postmormonmovies@gmail.com.
Revisit this PM@M "classic" to learn why Nick and Dan love The Muppet Christmas Carol. They also discuss how they approach Christmas from a post-Mormon perspective.
Mentioned in this episode:
1. Muppet Treasure Island
2. Michael Caine and Tim Curry
3. Thomas S. Monson's 2011 First Presidency Christmas Devotional talk "Because He Came"
4. The "missing song" ("When Love Is Gone")
Find more information on our website.
Post-Mormon at the Movies is on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok. You can reach us by email at postmormonmovies@gmail.com
Subscribe for regular updates.
Sound effects from Zapsplat.
Nick and Dan tackle the messages and songs of Into the Woods to show how they relate to their own experiences in and out of church.
Mentioned in this episode:
Stephen Sondheim, West Side Story, and Sweeny Todd
Rob Marshall
"Into the Woods: The Humanist Gospel of Stephen Sondheim"
"The Debate is Over"
Find more information on our website.
Post-Mormon at the Movies is on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok. You can reach us by email at postmormonmovies@gmail.com.
Subscribe for regular updates.
Do you believe in signs and deeper meaning, or luck and coincidence? Either way, we hope you enjoy this special Halloween episode about the 2002 film Signs. Jenny and Kyle join Nick and Dan to discuss the religious themes of this M. Night Shyamalan classic.
Mentioned in this episode:
Field of Dreams
Mel Gibson and Joaquin Phoenix
Fowler Stages of Faith
Life of Pi
Check out Bite Size Reviews, where Kyle reviews books, movies, and TV with an emphasis on page-to-screen adaptations.
Find more information on our website.
Post-Mormon at the Movies is on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok. You can reach us by email at postmormonmovies@gmail.com.
Subscribe for regular updates.
Sound effects from Zapsplat.
Kyle, Jenny, Nick, and Dan share their differing opinions in a lively discussion about the film Everything Everywhere All at Once. Statistically, it's possible that there are universes out there where everyone gets to be right.
Mentioned in this episode:
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness
Turning Red
Daniels
Multiverse
"As man now is, God once was"
Postmodernism: Stuff You Should Know and Sunstone Podcast
Post-postmodernism
Walter Chaw: perspective from an immigrant family
More coverage of Everything Everywhere All at Once:
Intentionally Blank (Brandon Sanderson and Dan Wells)
The Big Picture: film discussion and interview with Daniels
Cinema Therapy
Pop Culture Detective
Check out Bite Size Reviews, where Kyle reviews books, movies, and TV with an emphasis on page-to-screen adaptations.
Find more information on our website.
Post-Mormon at the Movies is on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok.
Subscribe for regular updates.
"If it takes a village to raise a child, it takes a village to abuse one."
Sam Young joins us to discuss Spotlight, a 2015 film based on the true story of the investigative team from The Boston Globe that exposed the scandal and cover-up of child sex abuse by Catholic priests in the local community. We also discuss the recent Associated Press article "Seven years of sex abuse: How Mormon officials let it happen." This article was written by Michael Rezendes, who is portrayed by Mark Ruffalo in Spotlight.
Content warning: child sex abuse
Sam Young Mormon Stories interviews: Law of Common Consent, March for the Children, Response to church policy changes, Hunger Strike, Excommunication
Mentioned in this episode:
Protect Every Child, Protect LDS Children
Phil Saviano and SNAP
Protect LDS Children: stories of abuse
Sexually explicit questions asked to kids by Mormon bishops
California state law requiring background checks
The Night of the Iguana, The MagnificentSeven, A Beautiful Mind, Saving Private Ryan
Find more information on our website.
Post-Mormon at the Movies is on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok.
It's still summer break, but enjoy this bonus episode before we start up again this fall! Shawn rejoins us to discuss Sons of Provo. We talk about how this movie holds up from a post-Mormon view, whether it portrays Utah Mormonism more accurately than Under the Banner of Heaven, and the current state of Mormon cinema.
Mentioned in this episode:
Sons of Provo album
The Best Two Years, The Other Side of Heaven, The R.M., and The Singles Ward
Will Swenson, Kirby Heyborne, and Danny Tarasevich
Kirby Heyborne beer commercial
This Is Spinal Tap
Mormons and the Movies
"Pollyannaish"
The R.M. soundtrack
Jericho Road
Pretty Darn Funny and Sheri Dew
Once I Was a Beehive, 17 Miracles, Church Ball, and The Chosen
Studio C on Conan
Mormon No Moreand Murder Among the Mormons
"Same-Sex Attracted" and Believer
Shawn's blog: The Everyday Cinephile
Post-Mormon at the Movies is on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok.
Revisit this Post-Mormon at the Movies "classic" as Nick and Dan discuss 1998's The Truman Show and its connections to the post-Mormon experience.
Mentioned in this episode:
The Truman Show
Andrew Niccol and Peter Weir
The Twilight Zone inspiration
An essay discussing The Truman Show from the Association for Mormon Letters
The Screwtape Letters
The Allegory of the Cave
Gaslighting and cognitive dissonance
The Oatmeal's comic about cognitive dissonance and the backfire effect
Using fear to motivate/manipulate ("Perfect Love Casteth Out Fear")
Find more information on our website.
Post-Mormon at the Movies is on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok.
Subscribe for regular updates.
Who would've thought that Damian Chazelle's "Whiplash" would lead to such a deep discussion about morality, self-worth, and abusive leadership? Not us, but that's the way the cymbal crashes. Dan and Nick are joined once again by Kyle to discuss 2014's "Whiplash."
Mentioned in this episode:
Youtube: Whiplash (as reviewed by a jazz musician)
La La Land
Find more information on our website.
Post-Mormon at the Movies is on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok.
Subscribe for regular updates.
Our discussions of FX's Under the Banner of Heaven come to a close. Jenny and Kyle once again join Nick and Dan to share thoughts about the finale of this epic miniseries.
Find more information on our website.
Post-Mormon at the Movies is on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok.
Subscribe for regular updates.
It may not be in a Jacuzzi in Oregon, but join Nick and Dan for a chat about FX's Under the Banner of Heaven. Kyle and Jenny return to break down depictions of revelation and a crisis of faith in episode six of the series.
Find more information on our website.
Post-Mormon at the Movies is on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok.
Subscribe for regular updates.
Jenny and Kyle keep Nick and Dan around to continue their in-depth review of FX's Under the Banner of Heaven. The investigation is full steam ahead as we discuss depictions of polygamy, excommunication, and Joseph Smith's martyrdom.
Find more information on our website.
Post-Mormon at the Movies is on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok.
Subscribe for regular updates.
Nick and Dan continue their in-depth review of FX's Under the Banner of Heaven with Kyle and Jenny. We hear Kyle's quick take on Episode 3 and then explore all things Church and State, especially the friction that polygamy has caused and continues to cause in the LDS church.
Find more information on our website.
Post-Mormon at the Movies is on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok.
Subscribe for regular updates.
Continue the deep-dive into FX's Under the Banner of Heaven on the podcast's temporary retitle: Post-Mormon at the Mini-series.
Nick and Dan, joined again by Jenny, take a look at the show's third episode and discuss its depiction of the LDS temple, faith crises, and the accuracy of some Mormon euphemisms.
Find more information on our website.
Post-Mormon at the Movies is on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok.
Subscribe for regular updates.
Welcome to Post-Mormon at the...TV? Streaming? Mini-series?
Dan and Nick are joined by Jenny and Kyle (from our Encanto episode) in a new series covering Under the Banner of Heaven. In discussing episodes 1 and 2, we focus on what they got right and wrong in depicting Mormon culture and history.
Find more information on our website.
Post-Mormon at the Movies is on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok.
Subscribe for regular updates.
Dan and Nick discuss how Mormons are portrayed in popular media by non-Mormons, and share their favorite references from movies and TV.
Mentioned in this episode:
PM@M episode 28 - "Same-Sex Attracted"
President Nelson and the name of the Church
"I Am a Mormon" by Shawn Hall
A Study in Scarlet, Danites, and Around the World in Eighty Days
Trapped by the Mormons
"Mormons in Classic Hollywood Films" by Shawn Hall
Breaking Bad (S01 E04), The Office (S05 E10), Gilmore Girls (S04 E10), Quantico (S01 E01), Big Love
"The Publicity Dilemma" (LDS Church response to media depictions)
The Book of Mormon musical
South Park (S07 E12 and S04 E10)
Stranger Things (season 3)
States of Grace, Ocean's Eleven, and Fargo (season 4)
The Colbert Report ("I'm A Mormon" campaign and posthumous baptisms)
Saturday Night Live (Tim Tebow, Olympic skier, Mitt Romney)
Community (S06 E04)
Mormons in Media (Instagram)
Under the Banner of Heaven
Go a level deeper with Nick and Dan as they discuss Christopher Nolan's Inception.
Mentioned in this episode:
The Prestige
"Non, je ne regrette rien"
Inception trailer
Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith
Find more information on our website.
Post-Mormon at the Movies is on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok.
Subscribe for regular updates.
Dan and Nick talk about the upcoming 2022 Academy Awards and several of the nominated films.
Click here to submit your responses to our Oscars Predictions Contest!
Find more information on our website.
Post-Mormon at the Movies is on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok.
Subscribe for regular updates.
Dan and Nick are joined by returning guest, Shawn Hall, to talk about Kenneth Branagh's Belfast.
You can find Shawn on Twitter, Substack, and at his personal blog where he shares his thoughts on classic film.
Click here to submit your responses to our Oscars Predictions Contest!
Find more information on our website.
Post-Mormon at the Movies is on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok.
Subscribe for regular updates.
Dan and Nick are joined by Jenny and Kyle, a mixed-faith couple, to discuss Disney's Encanto. And, spoiler warning, we definitely talk about Bruno.
Mentioned in this episode:
2022 PM@M Oscars Predictions Contest
Encanto director's tweet on white board notes
General conference talk about Christ's hands
Russell M. Nelson and conditional love
Encanto animation reference during pandemic
Kyle's Instagram account and Bite Size Reviews
Find more information on our website.
Post-Mormon at the Movies is on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok.
Subscribe for regular updates.
In honor of Valentine's Day, PM@M covers the romantic comedy Dan in Real Life. Nick and Dan try really hard to not spend the whole episode quoting the movie at each other.
Mentioned in this episode:
Dan's Letterboxd profile
Steve Carell and The Office
Cyrano de Bergerac: the play, the stage musical, the movie
Peter Dinklage
Peter Hedges
About a Boy, Pieces of April, The Odd Life of Timothy Green
Find more information on our website.
Post-Mormon at the Movies is on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Subscribe for regular updates.
Dan and Nick discuss "Same-Sex Attracted", a documentary about LGBTQ+ students at BYU, with co-director Maddy Purves.
Recent developments not discussed:
BYU makes changes to demonstration guidelines
LGBTQ dating ban at BYU probed in federal investigation
David Archuleta Instagram post
Mormon Stories: BYU Under Federal Investigation for its Treatment of LGBTQ Students
Mentioned in this episode:
Hot Dranks, The Existential Ginger, and Mormon Stories: The Purves Family
Anchor Point
Pride & Faith, Church & State, and Believer
Dallin Oaks denial about electroshock therapy
Big 12 and BYU
2012 USGA panel
The Out Foundation, Restore Honor
Jeffrey Holland's "musket" talk
Agnès Varda, Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath, Murder Among the Mormons, Tyler Measom
Extras:
It Gets Better at Brigham Young University
On the Record: A Chronology of LGBTQ+ Messaging in the LDS church
USGA website
Nick and Dan discuss the film It's a Wonderful Life, the history behind it, and whether George Bailey is a good person.
Mentioned in this episode:
Frank Capra
Jimmy Stewart
Mr. Krueger's Christmas
PM@M Episode 009: The Muppet Christmas Carol
SNL's It's a Wonderful Life: The Lost Ending
Extras:
Find more information on our website.
Post-Mormon at the Movies is on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Subscribe for regular updates.
Nick and Dan are joined by Kyle, a believing member of the LDS faith. They discuss the film Stardust and how it relates to being in a mixed-faith marriage.
Mentioned in this episode:
Neil Gaiman
The Princess Bride
Daredevil
Charlie Cox, Claire Danes, and Henry Cavill
The Hero's Journey
Find more information on our website.
Post-Mormon at the Movies is on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Subscribe for regular updates.
Nick and Dan discuss what makes a good film adaptation before jumping into a review of the new release Dune.
Mentioned in this episode:
The Hunger Games, Pride and Prejudice, The Little Prince, Ender's Game, The Prestige, Little Women, and Adaptation.
Frank Herbert
Jason Momoa, Timothée Chalamet, and Zendaya
Dune (1984), Patrick Stewart, and Sting
Find more information on our website.
Post-Mormon at the Movies is on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Subscribe for regular updates.
In honor of Guy Fawkes Day, this episode covers V for Vendetta. Nick and Dan discuss the film in conjunction with the LDS Church's controversial exclusion policy (announced 11/5/2015) and its subsequent reversal.
Mentioned in this episode:
(NOTE: the LDS Church has since updated their definition of apostasy and grounds for excommunication)
First Presidency letter to church leaders about the 2015 policy change
D. Todd Christofferson discusses changes with director of Church Public Affairs
Mormon Stories episode about 2015 policy comparison to polygamy
Articles about Utah youth suicides: Deseret News, The Salt Lake Tribune, Vox
Russell Nelson announces 2015 policy change was revelation
Mormonism Live episode about Russell Nelson and the 2015 policy change
Mass resignations following 2015 policy change
LDS Church announces reversal of policy
Extras:
Join Nick and Dan for their Halloween Special covering 10 Cloverfield Lane. The film is a great watch for the holiday, but also surprisingly fitting for the COVID era.
Mentioned in this episode:
Cloverfield, The Cloverfield Paradox, and Overlord
J.J. Abrams and Matt Reeves
John Goodman, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, and John Gallagher Jr.
COVID vaccine controversy in the LDS church
Gaslighting
The Village (PM@M episode)
Extras:
Find more information on our website.
Post-Mormon at the Movies is on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Subscribe for regular updates.
Sound effects from Zapsplat.
In honor of National Hispanic Heritage Month, Nick and Dan discuss the film Coco and its themes of family and the afterlife.
Mentioned in this episode:
El Niño
Olaf's Frozen Adventure controversy
Disney tried to trademark "Día de los Muertos"
Michael Giacchino
Robert Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez
Response to Dallin Oaks' talk
Extras:
Find more information on our website.
Post-Mormon at the Movies is on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Subscribe for regular updates.
"I find your lack of faith disturbing."
Nick and Dan dive into the mythology of Star Wars and find connections to their journeys in and out of the LDS faith.
Mentioned in this episode:
Joseph Campbell, The Hero's Journey, and Star Wars
Younger generations are less religious
Wookieepedia
Extras:
Find more information on our website.
Post-Mormon at the Movies is on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Subscribe for regular updates.
"The weight of your silence is terrible."
Nick and Dan talk about how the religious themes of the 2016 film Silence relate to their own faith journeys.
Mentioned in this episode:
Martin Scorsese
Taxi Driver, The Wolf of Wall Street, and The Last Temptation of Christ
The Other Side of Heaven
Sakoku
Andrew Garfield, Adam Driver, and Liam Neeson
Extras:
A Conversation with Martin Scorsese on Faith and Film (FULLER studio)
How "Scorsese" is Silence? | Video Essay (The Take)
Silence - The Deconstruction of Faith (Josh Keefe)
Exclusive: Martin Scorsese discusses his faith, his struggles, and "Silence." (America - The Jesuit Review)
Silence by Shusaku Endo
Find more information on our website.
Post-Mormon at the Movies is on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Subscribe for regular updates.
Nick and Dan are joined by Shawn, a PM@M listener and winner of this year's Oscars Prediction contest. Shawn selected The Bridge on the River Kwai for this episode. The discussion centers on how obedience, loyalty, and morality are portrayed in this classic war movie and how they relate to the post-Mormon experience.
You can find Shawn on Twitter, Substack, and at his personal blog where he shares his thoughts on classic film.
Mentioned in this episode:
Alec Guinness
"What-e'er thou art, act well thy part" and David O. McKay
Source for Joseph Smith quote
The Righteous Mind by Jonathan Haidt
States of Grace
A Knight's Tale
Find more information on our website.
Post-Mormon at the Movies is on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Subscribe for regular updates.
Happy Mother's Day! Join Nick, Dan, and special guest Stephanie from My Great and Spacious World as they discuss Disney's Tangled and its connections to life in and out of the LDS Church. After the episode, we invite all mothers to remain seated as the young men and women hand out a small gift from the bishopric.
You can find Stephanie and My Great and Spacious World on YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok. Follow the links and give her a follow/subscribe!
Mentioned in this episode:
Friday Night Lights
M. Russell Ballard's 2014 general conference talk "Stay in the Boat and Hold On!"
M. Russell Ballard's 2016 general conference talk "To Whom Shall We Go?"
"No One Is Alone" from Into the Woods
Extra Resources:
Women at Church: Magnifying LDS Women's Local Impact by Neylan McBaine
"Dear Mormon Man, tell me what you would do." by Amy McPhie Allebest (and her interview on Mormon Stories)
"30 Questions Nobody Asks My Husband at Church" by Dr. Julie Hanks (and her interview on Mormon Stories)
Find more information on our website.
Post-Mormon at the Movies is on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Subscribe for regular updates.
Put on your tuxes and dresses, it's time for the Oscars! Nick and Dan discuss the Academy Awards and this year's nominees.
Mentioned in this episode:
List of 2021 Academy Award nominees
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
Eligibility rules for films
Auteur Theory
How a Film Wins the Oscar for Best Picture, Explained (Vanity Fair)
Extras:
A Brief History of the Oscars (ABC News)
How Are Oscar Nominees Chosen? (Mental Floss)
Honest Trailers | The Oscars (2021)
Find more information on our website.
Post-Mormon at the Movies is on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Subscribe for regular updates.
Sound effects from Zapsplat.
"The complexity and the gray lie not in the truth but what you do with the truth once you have it."
Nick and Dan are on the case! Join them as they investigate the hit 2019 mystery Knives Out.
Mentioned in this episode:
Netflix buys Knives Out sequels
Rian Johnson
Brick, The Brothers Bloom, Looper, Breaking Bad, and The Last Jedi
Dialect coach talks movie accents
Daniel Craig and Chris Evans
Extras:
Director Rian Johnson Breaks Down a Scene from 'Knives Out' (Vanity Fair)
Therapist Reacts to KNIVES OUT (Cinema Therapy)
How I Wrote Knives Out - Writing Advice from Rian Johnson (Behind the Curtain)
Rian Johnson Breaks Down 'Knives Out' in 55-Minute Q&A (Collider Interviews)
Find more information on our website.
Post-Mormon at the Movies is on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Subscribe for regular updates.
In honor of Passover, this episode's discussion centers on The Prince of Egypt. Join Nick and Dan as they discuss Moses and the Exodus story.
Mentioned in this episode:
The Ten Commandments
Jeffrey Katzenberg and DreamWorks
The Hunchback of Notre Dame
Hans Zimmer and Stephen Schwartz
Jeff Goldblum, Steve Martin, and Martin Short
Passover
Extras:
"Through Heaven's Eyes" and "When You Believe" by The Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square
"When You Believe" (official Whitney Houston/Mariah Carey music video)
Commentary by Cinema Therapy
Commentary by Upon Friar Review
Video essay by Josh Keefe
Find more information on our website.
Post-Mormon at the Movies is on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Subscribe for regular updates.
Daylight Saving Time starts this weekend! As you're turning your clocks ahead, slow down to listen to Nick and Dan discuss the time-turning Doctor Strange.
Mentioned in this episode:
Iron Man, Thor, Captain America, and The Avengers
Batman: The Animated Series and Batman
Spider-Man and X-Men
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and Daredevil
Thor: Ragnarok, Avengers: Infinity War, and Avengers: Endgame
Black Panther and Ant-Man
The Fellowship of the Ring
Find more information on our website.
Post-Mormon at the Movies is on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Subscribe for regular updates.
In honor of Black History Month, this episode's discussion is focused on Get Out. Nick and Dan are joined by special guest host Robert Martin, who shares some of his experience as a Black member of the LDS Church.
Robert is on Instagram and Twitter.
DISCLAIMER: Our goal is to make this podcast appeal to current and former members of the LDS Church, regardless of belief. As such, we try to talk about things in a way that will feel approachable to everyone. In this episode, we got into some discussions that might be uncomfortable for believing members to hear. We hope you'll listen, because we think these conversations are important to create understanding and unity.
Mentioned in this episode:
Jordan Peele, Key & Peele, and MADtv
Bradley Whitford and The West Wing
LDS Gospel Topics essay on Race and the Priesthood
Jordan Peele's tweet on 'The Sunken Place'
Spike Lee
2018 satirical/fake LDS Church apology for racism
Additional resources:
Discussion of Get Out and parallels with the LDS Church (Thinker of Thoughts)
Jordan Peele on Get Out fan theories
Response to fake LDS Church apology for racism (Sistas in Zion)
Black people and Mormonism (Wikipedia)
Black people and Mormon priesthood (Wikipedia)
Vox article on Get Out and benevolent racism
Robert and his wife Melissa's interview on the podcast Making Love Today
Find more information on our website.
Post-Mormon at the Movies is on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Subscribe for regular updates.
In this episode we discuss a tight-knit group of people who are devoted to their faith traditions and the importance of marriage—and due to religious persecution, they're forced to leave their homes pulling their possessions in handcarts. Do you think Mormons can relate? Join Nick and Dan as they discuss Fiddler on the Roof and the majesty of the name 'Lazar Wolf.'
Mentioned in this episode:
Sholem Aleichem
Fiddler on the Roof, the stage musical
Bane sounds like Tevye
A Musical Theatre Podcast and the Fiddler episode
Russell M. Nelson's talk "Divine Love"
Find more information on our website.
Post-Mormon at the Movies is on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Subscribe for regular updates.
Nick and Dan have a simulating—I mean, stimulating—conversation about The Matrix and why it's such a popular movie among post-Mormons.
Mentioned in this episode:
Morpheus meme
Inception
Avatar
Red pill vs. blue pill
The Truman Show and the PM@M episode
Find more information on our website.
Post-Mormon at the Movies is on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Subscribe for regular updates.
Join Nick and Dan as they review Pixar's newest film Soul and discuss how it relates to Mormon beliefs.
Mentioned in this episode:
Coco, Inside Out, and The Incredibles
Pete Docter
Popcorn Theology
Find more information on our website.
Post-Mormon at the Movies is on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Subscribe for regular updates.
Merry Christmas! For PM@M's holiday special, Nick and Dan talk about why they love The Muppet Christmas Carol. They also discuss how they approach Christmas from a post-Mormon perspective.
Mentioned in this episode:
Muppet Treasure Island
Michael Caine and Tim Curry
Thomas S. Monson's 2011 First Presidency Christmas Devotional talk "Because He Came"
The "missing song" ("When Love Is Gone")
Find more information on our website.
Post-Mormon at the Movies is on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Subscribe for regular updates.
Sound effects from Zapsplat.
R-rated movies can be a controversial topic in American Mormon culture. While church leaders have specifically spoken against these movies in the past, there have been no recent official directions to avoid any specific ratings, which creates a large gray area of interpretation. Nick and Dan tackle the tricky subject by discussing the history of movie ratings in the USA, the origins of this quasi-commandment in the Mormon faith, their personal experiences, and results from an informal survey on the topic.
Mentioned in this episode:
The Hays Code (a.k.a. the Motion Picture Production Code)
The MPA (a.k.a. MPAA) and a history of movie ratings
H. Burke Peterson's 1980 general conference talk "Purify Our Minds and Spirits"
Ezra Taft Benson's 1986 general conference talks "To the 'Youth of the Noble Birthright'" and "To the Young Women of the Church"
H. Burke Peterson's 1993 general conference talk "'Touch Not the Evil Gift, nor the Unclean Thing'"
For the Strength of Youth
BYU International Cinema
This Film is Not Yet Rated
Jana Riess and The 2016 Next Mormons Survey
Editing services like CleanFlicks, ClearPlay, and VidAngel
Gérald Caussé's 2013 devotional "'For When I Am Weak, Then Am I Strong'"
The 13th Article of Faith
John Hatch's article "Can 'Good Mormons' Watch R-Rated Movies?"(page 16)
Find more information on our website.
Post-Mormon at the Movies is on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Subscribe for regular updates.
What do Anne Hathaway, Disney Jesus, and Prop 8 have in common? They're all included in PM@M's exploration of Mormon Cinema! Join Nick and Dan as they continue discussing the unique aspects of LDS film.
Mentioned in this episode:
Johnny Lingo
Aaron Eckhart, The Dark Knight, and Godly Sorrow Leads to Repentance
Jimmy Stewart and Mr. Krueger's Christmas
Anne Hathaway and The Other Side of Heaven
Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Latter Days
Deseret Book, Pretty Darn Funny, and Sheri Dew
Breaking Bad
Richard Dutcher and God's Army
Portrayal of Deity (section 20.6.15) from the LDS General Handbook
The Testaments, Bible videos, Finding Faith in Christ, and Simon Dewey
The Return of the King
Believer, Dan Reynolds, Imagine Dragons, and the 2015 exclusion policy
Tyler Glenn and Neon Trees
Prop 8
John Dehlin, Savannah's testimony, The Trevor Project, Encircle, Mama Dragons, and Tom Christofferson
Find more information on our website.
Post-Mormon at the Movies is on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Subscribe for regular updates.
“I'm afraid of what I'm risking if I follow you...into the unknown."
Nick and Dan discuss Elsa's continuing ex-Mormon journey in the 2019 sequel Frozen II.
Mentioned in this episode:
"Lead, Kindly Light"
Video on Frozen II songs by My Great and Spacious World
Find more information on our website.
Post-Mormon at the Movies is on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Subscribe for regular updates.
Join Nick and Dan for their Halloween Special discussing M. Night Shyamalan's The Village.
Mentioned in this episode:
Chernobyl, Clue, and Hocus Pocus
Judy Greer, Bryce Dallas Howard, Sigourney Weaver, Jesse Eisenberg, Joaquin Phoenix, Roger Deakins
M. Night Shyamalan (Unbreakable, Signs, The Sixth Sense, The Last Airbender, Split)
J.J. Abrams and the mystery box
The Truman Show, Full House, and Gaslight
Gospel Topics essay discussing Joseph Smith's polygamy
Source for Boyd K. Packer quote
B.H. Roberts and his concern with LDS truth claims
Find more information on our website.
Post-Mormon at the Movies is on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Subscribe for regular updates.
Sound effects from Zapsplat.
From Johnny Lingo to Meet the Mormons, Dan and Nick discuss the strengths and weaknesses of Mormon cinema.
Mentioned in this episode:
Community
Video essay about Christian cinema
Johnny Lingo
Story of the tree stump and the Eight Witnesses
Book of Mormon cartoons
Using a hat to translate the Book of Mormon
Carl Bloch's edited painting
CleanFlicks, ClearPlay, and VidAngel
Meet the Mormons and introductory video
Find more information on our website.
Post-Mormon at the Movies is on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Subscribe for regular updates.
“We accept the reality of the world with which we’re presented.”
Nick and Dan discuss 1998's The Truman Show and its connections to the Post-Mormon experience.
Mentioned in this episode:
The Truman Show
Andrew Niccol and Peter Weir
The Twilight Zone inspiration
An essay discussing The Truman Show from the Association for Mormon Letters
The Screwtape Letters
The Allegory of the Cave
Gaslighting and cognitive dissonance
The Oatmeal's comic about cognitive dissonance and the backfire effect
Using fear to motivate/manipulate ("Perfect Love Casteth Out Fear")
Find more information on our website.
Post-Mormon at the Movies is on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Subscribe for regular updates.
"There's beauty and there's danger here."
Is Elsa the Post-Mormon Disney Princess? Nick and Dan discuss their thoughts on Disney's Frozen, how Elsa's journey mirrors many Post-Mormon journeys, and why Anna is a great example of a supportive believing Mormon.
Mentioned in this episode:
Frozen
examples of LGBT "controversy" around Frozen (here, here, and here)
The Book of Mormon Musical, Robert Lopez, and Kristen Anderson-Lopez
Find more information on our website.
Post-Mormon at the Movies is on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Subscribe for regular updates.
Dan and Nick introduce themselves and discuss their friendship, their love of movies, and their journeys in and out of the Mormon church.
Find more information on our website.
Post-Mormon at the Movies is on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Subscribe for regular updates.
A trailer for Post-Mormon at the Movies. A screenwriter and a movie-lover use the language of cinema to discuss themes of changing faith relating to their journeys out of the Mormon church.
Find more information on our website.
Post-Mormon at the Movies is on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Subscribe for regular updates.