Brigham Young

1) What was the Legion of Decency and what was its understanding of how films
work on those who watch them?

2) Why might we say that The Song of Bernadette was a Jewish-Catholic movie?

3) What did the non-LDS audience and reviewers of 1940 think about Brigham Young?

4) Turn off the sound for a moment and look at the film. Visually, how does the film
work to make us sympathetic to the Mormon characters?

5) The Song of Bernadette and Brigham Young both represent Hollywoods understanding
of religious experience in the nineteenth century. Given what the filmmakers actually
represent in the movie, would you argue that are Joseph Smith and Brigham Youngs
religious experiences are different or the same from that of Bernadettes? (pick one!)
Why?

6) At the end of her essay, Paula Kane argues that filmmakers made a film where
Catholics could embrace that difference and still be true Americans at the same time.
What does she mean and do you think this holds true for Brigham Young as well?