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Faculty Publications

2013-1

Speculative

J. Michael Hunter - Provo, [email protected]

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BYU ScholarsArchive Citation Hunter, J. Michael, "" (2013). Faculty Publications. 1395. https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/facpub/1395

This Chapter is brought to you for free and open access by BYU ScholarsArchive. It has been accepted for inclusion in Faculty Publications by an authorized administrator of BYU ScholarsArchive. For more information, please contact [email protected], [email protected].

Mormons and Popular Culture

The Global Influence of an American Phenomenon

Volume 2 , , Media, Tourism, and Sports

J. Michael Hunter, Editor

Q PRAEGER AN IMPRINT OF ABC-CLIO, LLC Santa Barbara, Cal ifornia • Denver, Colorado • Oxford, Copyright 2013 by ABC-CLIO, LLC

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, except for the inclusion of brief quotations in a review, without prior permission in writing from the publisher.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Mormons and popular culture : the global influence of an American phenomenon I J. Michael Hunter, editor. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-0-313-39167-5 (alk. paper) - ISBN 978-0-313-39168-2 (ebook) 1. Church ofJesus Christ of Latter-day -Influence. 2. Mormon Church­ Influence. 3. Popular culture-Religious aspects-Church ofJesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. 4. Popular culture-Religious aspects- Mormon Church. I. Hunter, J. Michael (James Michael), 1963- BX8635.3.M68 2013 289.3'32-dc23 2012033778

ISBN: 978-0-313-39167-5 EISBN: 978-0-313-39168-2

17 16 15 14 13 1 2 3 4 5

This book is also available on the World Wide Web as an eBook. Visit www.abc-clio.com for details.

Praeger An Imprint of ABC-CLIO, LLC

ABC-CLIO, LLC 130 Cremona Drive, P.O. Box 1911 Santa Barbara, 93116-1911

This book is printed on acid-free paper e

Manufactured in the United States of America Contents

Preface and Acknowledgments vii

1. "As Much as Any Novelist Could Ask": Mormons in American Popular Fiction Michael Austin 2. Mormon Contributions to Young Adult Literature 23 Toni Elise Pilcher 3. Testifying: Mormonism and the Writings of 39 Kristi A. Young 4. Orthodox vs. Literary: An Overview of 51 Christopher Kimball Bigelow 5. Mormon Picture Book Authors 65 Rick Walton 6. Mormons and American 81 Theric Jepson 7. Mormons and American Popular Art 95 Noel A. Carmack 8. "Horribly Caricatured and Made Hideous in Cartoons": Political Cartooning and the Reed Smoot Hearings 121 Michael Harold Paulos 9. Jack Anderson: A Mormon Who Influenced Millions 145 Tim Chambless vi Contents

10. : The Meteoric Rise and Decline of a Mormon Media Phenomenon 165 Robert A. Rees 11. The Dawning of a New Era: Mormonism and the World's Columbian of 1893 187 Konden R. Smith 12. Mormons in the New York World's Fair, 1964-1965 209 Nathaniel Smith Kogan 13. Touring Sacred : The Latter-day Saints and Their Historical Sites 225 Daniel H. Olsen 14. Ab Jenkins and the Mormon Meteor 243 Jessie L. Embry and Ron Shook 15. Profiles of Selected Mormon Athletes in Professional Sports 261 J. Michael Hunter

About the Editor and Contributors 291

Index 297 Preface and Acknowledgments

This two-volume work comprises a collection of essays related to Mormons and American popular culture, terms with multiple, competing definitions. For the sake of this publication, Mormons are defined as individuals who, at some point in their lives, have been baptized and confirmed members of The Church ofJesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Popular culture herein relates to American entertainment or diversions with an emphasis on mass media entertainment and ideas within the mainstream of American culture. Within this context, Mormons and mainstream may initially appear to be contradictory terms, as Mormons are widely perceived to be unconventional. Yet, talented and innovative Mormons have influenced mainstream percep­ tions with significant contributions to such technologies as stereophonic sound, television, video games, and computer-generated . Mormon artists, filmmakers, directors, musicians, actors, fashion designers, journalists, and writers have influenced national perceptions through mass media. Mor­ mons, like author Stephenie Meyer and radio host Glenn Beck, have introduced unique ideas into American mainstream culture, some of which have made a global impact. This work explores both the influence of individual Mormons on American popular culture and the influence Mormonism has had on these individuals and their contributions. Mormons have, at times, presented uniquely Mormon cultural elements and perspectives to the Ameri­ can public through the media of popular culture, and this thread of inquiry is followed in numerous essays in this publication. Likewise, American popular culture has influenced perceptions within the Mormon subculture. Mormons have emulated styles and techniques from the American mainstream in creat­ ing cultural works within the Mormon subculture-works by Mormons for Mormons.

vii VIII Preface and Acknowledgments

Also, the interesting of Mormon "outside-ness" has brought it inside the homes of mainstream America as Mormons provide interesting subject matter for the media of popular culture-cartoons, illustrations, , the­ ater, motion pictures, radio, television, music, and the internet. Since the 19th century, the portrayal of Mormons in American popular culture has ranged from pejorative to laudatory with everything in between. Mormons have been portrayed in competing and contradicting ways, and the shifting whims of a fickle entertainment culture have often influenced the Mormon image in the popular mind. This work explores that image and how it has changed over time. This publication consists of 26 chapters with numerous sidebars and in­ cludes profiles of Mormon actors, writers, and athletes. Contributors to this set include scholars from universities across the country, as well as filmmak­ ers, artists, journalists, and novelists. With limited space and a limitless field, the topics covered are necessarily selective, and selection depended on finding expert contributors with time to contribute. In some cases, interesting topics were unavoidably left for another time and another publication. Nonetheless, this publication provides students, scholars, and interested readers with an in­ troduction and wide-ranging overview of Mormons and American popular culture. Support and assistance from many persons resulted in the production of this publication. Special thanks are extended to Daniel Harmon, a former editor at Praeger, who initiated the project and approached me about editing the publication. I also wish to thank James Sherman, Editorial Manager for American History and Pop Culture at ABC-CLIO, who managed the project. Appreciation is gratefully extended to Randy Astle and Gideon Burton, who provided suggestions for topics and contributors, and to Ardis Parshall, who offered much wise advice. I also wish to thank numerous individuals who as­ sisted in the editorial process, including Amy Hoffman, Briana Beers, Caitlin Metzger, Caroline Elvey, and Christie Kapenda. Assisting me with photo­ graphs was Russ Taylor from the L. Tom Perry Special Collections, Brigham Young University, Provo, , and Bill Slaughter from the Church History Li­ brary of The Church ofJesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, , Utah. Pauline Musig also helped locate photographs. Finally, I would like to express appreciation to my family, who supported me during the countless hours I spent working on this project. J. Michael Hunter Mormon Contributions to Young Adult Literature 27

SPECULATIVE FICTION J. Michael Hunter Speculative fiction describes a broad grouping of fiction types containing fantastical content. It includes such as horror, fiction, and . It can include other genres such as mystery and romance if stories in those categories alter with elements of and the . It can include non- fiction­ any story with strange, weird, or amazing things going on. Speculative fiction takes readers out of the real world into a pl ace beyond reality, a place where anything is possible. Mormon writers appear to be particularly adept at creating these alternate worlds, and for the past several decades numerous Mormon writers have flourished in the field of speculative fiction. 1 One of the first successful Mormon writers in the field of speculative fiction was science fi ction writer (1951- ). He is best known for his Ender's . The saga's first volume, Ender 's Came (1986), won both the Nebula and the Hugo awards, as did its sequel, Speaker for th e Dead (1987). The prolific Card would go on to win numerous awards as one of the most celebrated writers of all time. Mormonism has influenced Card's work in many ways. His Tales of Alvin Maker series (1987-) revolves around the experiences of a young man, Alvin Miller, 28 Mormons and Popular Culture who discovers he has incred ible powers for creating and shaping things around him in an of the American frontier in the earl y nineteenth century. The story is a version of Mormon leader Joseph Sm ith Jr.'s life. Card's five-volume science fiction series Homecoming (1992-1996) is clearl y based on the . Card explicitly writes of Mormons in Folk on the Fringe (1989), a collec­ tion of post-apocalyptic stories, the title of which implies the subtle way in which Mormonism has possibly influenced Card's work the most. 2 Having been raised in the Mormon subculture, a cu lture on the fringe of the American mainstream, perhaps Card found a comfortable niche in writing specula­ tive fiction, sometimes described as fringe fiction. Perhaps Mormonism, which looks beyond the materi al world to a supernatural world of angels and divine beings, has impacted Card's basic conception of rea lity, making it possible for him to easily conceive of alternate ways of being and doing. As literary scholar Terry! L. Givens puts it, "Mormon doctrine is so unsettling in its transgression of established ways of conceiving reality that it may be more at home in the imagined of Card than in journals of theology."3 Speaking of Mormons, Card has stated, "We have no qualms about the idea of life on other planets, faster-than-light travel, ancient ' lost civilizations,' supernatural events with natural explanations."4 Card has also stated, "Mormons are theologica lly not so far removed from science fiction .... In many cases, we are writing about a universe we have already thought about from child­ hood on." 5 Card was followed by a string of successful Mormon writers of speculative fiction. The Adherents.com Religion in Literature database notes more than seventy Mormon authors of speculative fiction.6 As RedOrbit, the premier internet site for space, sci­ ence, and technology, noted: "It may be the culture. It may be religion or the land­ scape. Maybe it's something in the water. Whatever the reason, Utah has some of the nation's most prolific producers and ravenous readers of science fiction and fantasy, known in the book world as 'speculative fiction."'7 Perhaps, then, it should come as no surprise that Brigham Youn g University's liter­ ary magazine-founded in 1981-is a magazine of speculative fiction, a magazine where numerous Mormon writers of speculative fiction have gotten their start in the field-writers like (1957- ). In 1987, Wolverton won the L. Ron Hubbard Writers of the contest for a science fiction story he submitted. As a result, he obtained a three-book contract with Bantam . His first book ended up on best-seller list. This was followed by numerous other best sellers by Wolverton, who also wrote fan tasy under the name David Farland. When asked why he thought so many Mormon writers write speculative fiction, Wolverton said, "I could name a dozen contributing factors, but in the end I think they're at­ tracted primarily because science fiction and fantasy are that allow you to express themes."8 Numerous other Mormon writers got their start writing for Leading Edge. Science fiction writer M . Shayne Bell (1957- ), who has also won the L. Ron Hubbard contest, started out writing for Leading Edge, and like Wolverton, has been nominated for Hugo and Nebula awards. Other leading edge student writers Mormon Contributions to Young Adult Literature 29 and staff members include writer Dan Wells (1977-) and Writers of the Future winners Russell Asplund, Grant Avery Morgan, and Lee Allred. Leading Edge staff member (1975- ) gained wide recognition when Harriet McDougal (Robert Jordan's widow) asked him to complete the final book in Jordan's fantasy series, The Wheel of Time. McDougal was impressed with Sanderson's Mistborn: The Final (2006), the first of three books in Sanderson's Mist­ born series. Sanderson was twice nominated for the John W. Campbell Award.9 Mormon writers found a nurturing environment in which to write speculative fic­ tion at Brigham Young University (BYU), where writers like Orson Scott Card held workshops and writers like Dave Wolverton taught regular writing classes in specu­ lative fiction. Wolverton's students included Stephenie Meyer, Brandon Sanderson, , , Dan Wells, and Jessica Day George. Many of these writers would blend speculative fiction into another field in which Mormons have a strong presence-young adult literature (see chapter 2 on this topic in this volume). 10 Stephenie Meyer (1973- ) is perhaps one of the best known writers of young adult speculative fiction in the world. Meyer is the author of the romance series Twilight (2005-2008) that is geared toward young adult readers. The series has gained worldwide recognition and sold over one hundred million copies with translations into 37 languages. Meyer was ranked number 49 on Time magazine's list of the "100 Most Influential People of 2008," and she was number 26 on the list of the world's most powerful of 2009. Her annual earnings exceed $50 million. As of 2011 , four novels in the Twilight series had been adapted to films with Kristen Stewart as Bella Swan and Robert Pattinson as Edward Cullen. Meyer made a brief cameo appearance in a diner scene in the first movie. The films have been commercially successful. Meyer has also published an adult sci-fi novel entitled The Host (2008). Like Card, Mormon elements can be found in Meyer's fiction (see the chapter on this topic in this volume).11 Other writers nurtured at BYU have also found success. Brandon Mull (1974- ) is best known as the author of the Fablehaven fantasy series (2006-2010) for young readers, which has made the New York Times best seller list. Jessica Day George (1976- ) is the author of numerous young adult fantasy novels, including Slippers (2007). James Dashner (1972- ) is the author of The 13th Reality (2008- ) series and the Jimmy Fincher Saga (2003). However, not all successful Mormon writers of speculative fiction attended BYU. (1974- ), a graduate, wrote The Goose Girl (2003), an American Library Association Top Ten Books for Young Adults and Josette Frank Award winner. Another of her books, Princess Academy (2005), was a Newbery Honor Book and a New York Times best seller. 12 Mormon author (1955-) is a best selling fantasy author who at­ tended BYU but developed as a writer later in an industry that produced role-playing adventure games. He is perhaps best known for his work on Dragonlance as a game designer and co-author with Margaret Weis while he worked for TSR Inc., the game publisher known for Dungeons & . Since leaving TSR in 1987, Hickman and Weis have published over thirty novels together. Their works include the Darksword ~ - --·

30 Mormons and Popular Culture (1988), the Death Cate Cycle series (1990-1994), and the Sovereign Stone trilogy (2000-2003). Hickman is also known for his game designs such as Advanced Dungeons & Dragons Raven/oft Module (1983). 13 Even some non-genre best sellers by Mormon authors contain elements of the supernatural. The Christmas Box (1994), a novel by Mormon author Richard Paul Evans, features a named Rick, who begins to have or visions of angelic beings accompanied by soft strains of music- music that he traces to a music box in the attic of the old Victorian mansion in which he is staying. Evans self­ published the and distributed it to local bookstores in Salt Lake City in 1993, where it became a local best seller. This resulted in national publishers bidding for rights to the story, resulting in Evans receiving a $4.2 million advance from Simon & Schuster. Released in hardcover in 1995, The Christmas Box became the first book to simultaneously reach the number-one position on the New York Times best seller list for both paperback and hardcover editions. That same year, the book was made into a television movie of the same title, starring Richard Thomas and Maureen O'Hara. Evans went on to write eleven nationally best-selling books. Timepiece (1996) was adapted into a television movie, featuring James Earl Jones and Ellen Burstyn. The Locket (1998) was also made into a television movie starring Vanessa Redgrave, as was A Perfect Day (2003), the movie version in which starred Rob Lowe and Chris­ topher Lloyd.14 Mormon author Jason F. Wright is known for his New York Times best sellers, The Wednesday Letters (2007) and Christmas Jars (2005). His first novel, The James Miracle (2004), revolves around the themes of faith and miracles. 15 In addition to a nurturing writing environment and a culture open to the fan­ tastic, science fiction and fantasy writer Dave Wolverton believes that missionary work may be another factor adding to the success of Mormon authors in the field of speculative fiction. Many successful Mormon authors in the field have served as Mor­ mon missionaries in countries far removed from where these authors were born and raised, areas were these individuals had to experience worlds alien to them. Exam­ ples of these foreign missions include: Orson Scott Card (Brazil), Brandon Sanderson (Korea), Brandon Mull (), James Dashner Uapan), and Tracy Hickman (Java) .16 The attraction that Mormons have for speculative fiction is reciprocated by some segments of that broad community-science fiction. Literary scholar Terry! L. Givens explains that there is a "demonstrable affinity between the genre and the faith." 17 The Adherents.com website states:

In a literary survey of novels which have won the highest awards in science fiction, the Hugo or , twenty-five percent (25%) had Latter-day Saint characters or Utah/Latter-day Saint references. These include books by Robert Heinlein, Philip K. Dick, Orson Scott Card, Arthur C. Clarke and . 18

Preston Hunter, the man who created Adherents.com, said, "Mormon theology does dovetail with science fiction quite nicely. They have similar outlooks on God Mormon Contributions to Young Adult Literature 31 and the universe that other Ch ri stian churches do not."19 Givens points out that spec­ ulative fiction attempts to establ ish an intellectual basis for supernaturalism, as does Mormonism, which makes for a "fruitful alliance."20

NOTES 1. See Scott R. Parkin, "A New Mormon Battalion: Th e Rise of Speculative Fiction Among Mormon Writers," in Association for Mormon Letters Annual (Sa lt Lake City: Association for Mormon Letters, 1998), 44-47; Todd, P.K., "Mormons Cre­ ate Other Worlds," Suns 13 :2 (Apri I 1 989): 50-51; and "Mormon Mafias and Children's Literature," Life of the Bard, http://www.adam-meyers.com/2011/02/ mormon-mafias-and-chilrens-literature.html (8 December 2011 ). 2. Michael R. Collings, "The Rational and Revelatory in the Science Fiction of Orson Scott Card," Sunstone 11 :3 (May 1 987): 7-11; Orson Scott Card, A Storyteller in Zion (Salt Lake City: , 1993), 14; "Who is Orson Scott Card?" Hatrack River, http://hatrack.com/osc/about-more. htm I. 3. Terry\ L. Givens, People of Paradox: A History of Mormon Culture (New York: Oxford University Press, 2007), 320. 4. "Utahns Devour and Write a Ga laxy of Fantasy Fiction," redOrbit, August 23, 2 003, http://www.redorbit.com/news/space/1 7 63 9/utah ns_devou r_and_ write_a _ga laxy_of_fantasy _fiction/ (accessed January 5, 2011 ). 5. Kimberly Winston, "Fantastic Journeys: Mormon Authors Say Faith Informs Their Science Fiction," lrreantum (Winter 2000-2001 ): 34. 6. "Mainstream Science Fiction and Fantasy with Latter-day Saint (Mormon) Char­ acters and References," Adherents.com, http://www.adherents.com/\it/sf_lds.html (accessed January 5, 2011 ). 7. Ibid. 8. " Interview: Dave Wolverton," lrreantum (Winter 2000-2001 ): 10-24; "David Farland Biography," Fantasy Book Review, http://www.fantasybookreview.co.uk/ David-Farland/biography.html; "About David Farland/Wolverton," Th e Runelords, http://www. ru nelords.com/about/. 9. " Dan Wells," http://www.fearfulsymmetry.net/?page_id=2; Russell William Asp­ lund's House of Speculative Fiction, http://www.sff.net/peop\e/russell.asplund/; "B YU Student Wins Science Fiction Award," http://www.deseretnews.com/ articl e/3 99 5 7 6/BYU-STU DENT-WI NS-SCI EN CE-F ICTION-AWARD. htm I; "About Lee," http://www.leeallred.com/about_lee.htm; Brandon Sanderson's of­ ficial website, http://www.brandonsanderson.com/about. 10. Joe Vasicek, "The Class That Wouldn't Die," Mormon Artist, December 2010/ January 2011, vi-xi, http://mormonartist.net/issue-13/the-class-that-wouldnt -die/; Parkin, "A New Mormon Battalion," 45; Email from Dave Wolverton to J. Michael Hunter, November 1, 2011. 11. Claudia Parsons, '"Twilight' Publisher Sees Film Boosting Book Sales," Reuters, http://www.reuters.com/article/2 008/11 /21 /us-twi I ight-books-idUSTRE4 AK03620081121; "The 2008 Time 100 Finalist," Time, http://www.time.com/ time/specia \s/2007/a rtic\e/0,28804,1725112_1726934_1 726935,00.html; Gil -- - ~

32 Mormons and Popular Culture

Kaufman, ", Oprah, Top Forbes 100," MTV, http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1 613253/angel i na-jol ie-tops-forbes-celeb rity-1 GO .html. 12. See Shannon's official site, http://www.squeetus.com/stage/s hannon_bio.html. 13. See Tracy Hickman's official website, http://www.trhickman.com/. 14. See Richard Paul Evans's official website, http://www.richardpaulevans.com/. 15. See Jason F. Wright's official website, http://www.jasonfwright.com/. 16. Email from Dave Wolverton to J. Michael Hunter, November 1, 2011; informa­ tion about the specific missions was obtained from the author's official websites. 17. Givens, People of Paradox, 320. 18. "Sampling of Latter-day Saint/Utah Demographics and Social Statistics from Na­ tiona I Sources," http://www.adherents.com/largecom/lds_dem. htm I. 19. Winston, "Fantastic Journeys," 34. 20. Givens, People of Paradox, 322. Another Mormon scholar has argued that "sci­ ence fiction-and Mormonism in particular- seem essentially incompatible" because Mormonism "has also replaced, perhaps more than any other major denomination, a scientifically postulated future with an age built upon revela­ tion and restoration of true religion ." Arguing that the '"scientific marvelous' that characterizes science fiction is subordinate to revelation," he states that since "Mormonism is a revelatory religion, it reduces science fiction itself to the level of cliche and stereotype, and subordinates the open speculation- the "cognitive estrangement"-essential to science fiction" (see Michael R. Collings, "Refracted Visions and Future Worlds: Mormonism and Science Fiction," Dialogue 1 7:3 [Autumn 1984]: 115-116). About the Editor and Contributors

EDITOR

J. Michael Hunter is Mormon Studies Librarian and Chair of the Religion/ Family History Department at the Harold B. Lee Library, Brigham Young Uni­ versity. He has BA, MLIS, and MPA degrees from Brigham Young University and an MA degree from California State University, Dominguez Hills. He is a former librarian at the Historical Department of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Salt Lake City, Utah. He has published two novels, numerous articles in the field of Mormon Studies, and a book about Mormon and urban .

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