| The leadership in our branch had a social recently, at which the
missionaries showed the tape.
As you can guess from the title, "What is Real" is an attempt to get us
worldly types to at least be challenged to think about the spiritual
dimension of life. The film contains a minimum of LDS doctrine, and instead
focuses on how typical people react to life's questions without having many
of the Answers.
Productionwise, the Church has done its usual very-high-quality job. There
was one segment that took place in a very real-looking chapel. I thought
for a moment that they must have used a real meetinghouse, but as the
camera pulls back at the end of the segment, it is obvious that this is a
set. I thought it was a bit much to construct a whole chapel just for one
segment of one film, but this is an indication of the level of the
production.
It is also, in my humble critical judgment, an example of how the film
tries to get its essential point across on another level: that the life we
perceive is just like a self-contained movie set; we actually live in a
bigger picture. And it is only from this perspective that we can find the
Answers.
Impactwise, the reaction among our group was mixed. Some thought it was
less of a "wow" than either "Together Forever," or "Heavenly Father's
Plan," which proceded this tape and had similar goals. On the other hand,
some thought it was right up there.
Spirituality-wise, it seemed like everybody found their own, different
moments in the film that had a spiritual impact. On this level, I am sure
the film is a success. If someone sits through the whole thing and doesn't
find even one segment that resonates with their spiritual selves, they must
have the spiritual sensitivity of cement.
I thought that "What is Real" would appeal to a broader audience than
either "Together Forever" or "Heavenly Father's Plan". "What is Real" tells
more of a progressive story than "Together Forever", but less than
"Heavenly Father's Plan". "What is Real" is less blatantly a missionary
tool than "Heavenly Father's Plan", except of course at the end when they
say "If you feel that now is the time to learn more..."
All in all, it is very, very good, and I would not hesitate for an instant
to recommend it to non-member friends. In fact, I plan to have a few people
around here see it.
Regards,
/kevin
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| RE: how the show was presented on TV38:
I was surprised that there was only one Church 'commercial' during the
show, which took place at the half-way point. I thought for sure the Church
would put the 800 number back up (with another offer for a cassette tape)
at the end.
Instead, TV38 had several loud, silly commercials for windows or Ginzu
knives or something blaring away immediately after the calm, peaceful
ending of the film.
I will be curious to see if there is an increased interest in the Church as
a result of this showing.
/kevin
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| I really enjoyed the film. I think it is one of the better films to show
non-LDS as their first contact with the church. It brought out the concerns
that people have about morality, war, etc., and it introduced the Church as
one potential source of answers. It did this, however, while retaining the
skepticism that non-LDS have about the Church, and I think that was a wise
thing to retain in the film. I also liked that the film took the young
couple far enough in their investigations of the Church so the viewer would
realize that the LDS church is a viable source of answers, and then the film
stopped and left open whether those answers are true or not--the viewer has
to make up his or her own mind through prayer.
The missionaries showed the film to us a few days before the broadcast, and
my kids helped place posters about the broadcast in quite a few stores in my
town. They invited their friend next door to see the film on TV and sleep
over that night, and all of the reactions from the friend that I heard were
positive.
Prior to the broadcast, my kids showed their friend another Church video that
depicted a father who was always working and never had time for his family (I
don't remember the name). The friend commented that she would like her father
to see that one, because he is always working late!
Allen
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| They showed this film on local TV here on 9/26. I really liked it. In
the version we saw, there was a "commercial" for the free cassette tape
in the middle and also at the end of the program. I thought it was
interesting how the movie included the family being taught by the
missionaries, and how they responded to the questions and the
skepticism of the couple in the film.
Rich
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