Heart of the Matter ESPRESSO!
Live from Salt Lake City, Utah, this is Heart of the Matter ESPRESSO! where we do all we can to worship God in Spirit and in Truth. I’m Shawn McCraney, your host.
Show 32 561
Richard Dutcher
August 8th 2017
Prayer
Announcements
ONE
Open Water Baptisms and Hot Dog Extravaganza Sunday August 20th 2017 here at CAMPUS from 11:30AM to 1:30 PM. All are welcome. Neither baptism nor hot dog consumption mandatory.
TWO
Our up and coming guests here on HEART before we launch the new show will be NEXT WEEK, August 15th will be dave Bartosiewitz who has had an online outreach to the LDS but is now studying with the Greek Orthodox. So tune in for all of those exciting guests. And then remember . . . HOTM has surrendered to Social Media and we now have our own FB page.
Encounter with Richard Dutcher
Going back to the year 2000, I was living in Huntington Beach and had had my roadside encounter with God but I was still attending the LDS church. One evening my wife and I decided to go to the movies and she usually has me pick what we will see since I sort of keep my finger on the pulse of cinema in our relationship and I had heard of this film called God’s Army that was playing at Fashion Island in Newport Beach. So we went. I was intrigued and impressed by the filmmaking and the story, but I think I was critical of the Mormon slant.
Jump forward some 13 or so years and I was eating in a downtown Carl’s Junior one night and two tables over from me sat a guy who looked like Richard Dutcher. So I said exactly that to him – you look like Richard Dutcher and he said, like Jesus to the Pharisees, “I am.” He wrote his email on a piece of paper which I kept in my wallet and two years later I wrote him about helping me prepare a script. We met, had dinner, made some plans but the thing never materialized. What did materialize was a friendship between us. In time, we hung out in various situations and over time I got to know him personally. Richard speaks to my person in a few key ways.
Richard Dutcher
First of all, he has a love for God – a trust in God – that many people in his shoes let go of. He is sensitive to the things of Christ – truly. We relate in this arena to a good extent. Paradoxically, the man is also able to perfectly address and speak to my flesh and his ability to make me laugh is frankly otherworldly – probably from the netherworld but never the less, we found in each other kindred spirits when it comes to humor. I am going to try very hard not to keep that side of our relationship off camera tonight. Richards cinematic accomplishments include Girl Crazy, his first, God’s Army, Brigham City, State’s of Grace (also known as God’s Army II) Falling, Evil Angel, and is in post-production on a couple of other projects. He is from Illinois originally, and served an LDS mission. He not only knows his stuff relative to writing, acting and filmmaking he knows Mormonism – a religious tradition he left back in 2007. Welcome, my brother. Very excited to have you with us tonight. Go back and tell us about Richard Hill.
Parting letter
In 2007, the Provo Daily Herald published an open letter from Dutcher on its editorial page where he announced, "I am no longer a practicing member of the church." He explained that he had taken a spiritual journey that, "may ultimately prove incompatible with Mormon orthodoxy." He hoped to explore human spirituality in film more broadly, but like early church leader Oliver Cowdery, someday he might return to the faith.
Dutcher lamented that Mormon cinema was dying from too many shallow, poor-quality films trying to "make a few bucks." He urged Mormon cinema to abandon "moronic," unfunny comedies that rely too much on self-mockery, and family films, which often lack any valuable meaning. He felt that church-produced movies fail to "share … the beauty and power of Mormonism," and are instead "polite, remedial and not-so-factual recitations of Mormon History and scripture." The potential of Mormon cinema was still unappreciated and untapped. Dutcher thought the market could be revived by reintroducing well-crafted films that explore the great depths of Mormon themes and experience. Rather than just making "clean" movies, free from violence and vulgarity, Dutcher said, "It is better to tell an R-rated truth than
Criticism and Apology
This letter provoked strong criticism from some LDS Church members, most notably Kieth Merrill, a Mormon filmmaker whose work was included in Dutcher's criticisms. In his fiery reaction, Merrill claimed Dutcher was arrogantly ignoring the importance of social and spiritual values. Merrill saw Dutcher as attacking LDS cinema because of the poor response to his latest films. Two days later, in a letter to the editor, Merrill apologized for his harsh criticisms, regretted the loss of Dutcher, and wished him well in his future.
Upcoming Guests
HEART IN THE PARKING LOT
Heart of the Matter Schedule
Next week, Dave Bartosiewitz, and then the following week, Delaney McCraney – here on HEART OF THE MATTER
