Don't tell me none of you watched this????? It's a new HBO series on Sundays at 10 pm. It's about a Mormon offshoot group, complete with a commune, child brides, and polygamy. The main characters left the commune but still engage in polygamy. The husband has 3 wives and 3 houses that share a common back yard. 7 kids. It was pretty interesting.
Big Love: Polygamy Loves Company
by rebel8 47 Replies latest social entertainment
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Will Power
I don't get HBO.
but last night....
A&E did a 2hour spot on Polygamy. If I were a JW I'd be thinking hmmmmmmm when the marks of a cult were mentioned.
And they didn't just list them - they gave the examples. Big hmmmmmm s
There has been quite a few stories in the last five years - I think the public is waking up??? and might stand behind people who are trying to help these young kids - without having to work around this "freedom of religion thing". Abuse is a CRIME no matter where or by whom.
Wonder which one is next to be exposed???
We can only hope eh?
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unclebruce
There are a number of angles to the polygamy issue™. One of the saddest most shameful jobs I was assigned™ as a JW pioneer was to inform a polygamous family that they must decide to 'let one wife go' before the remaining couple could be baptised. For several weeks prior to this I had noticed the happy triple smiling and enjoying the fine spiritual feast at 3 mile kingdom hall™ Port Moresby.
The special pioneer™ brother studying with this family lost his nerve and passed the job of splitting this happy arrangement on to me a, wet behind the ears, 16 year old boy. The remaining two came to the next meeting looking sad and miserable and stayed that way for the following weeks and didn't smile even whilst being baptised.
What right has any foreign religion to interfere in the ancient and time honoured cultures of native peoples. -
rebel8
Did the elder say which wife was the one that had to go or was the husband allowed to choose?
I don't personally understand how polygamy would result in happiness, but to each, his own. However, I do believe child marriage is wrong, and the commune depicted in the show was an unhealthy living situation.
(sorry--highlighter is stuck on again)
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Nathan Natas
I watched it because it followed The Sopranos and because I was mildly curious about the show.
It didn't grab me. Polygamy is simply not that interesting to me.
Maybe they could arrange for Steven Segal to do a Halo drop in and beat everybody up...
otherwise, viewership will decrement by 1 next week.
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unclebruce
Did the elder say which wife was the one that had to go or was the husband allowed to choose?
I don't personally understand how polygamy would result in happiness, but to each, his own. However, I do believe child marriage is wrong, and the commune depicted in the show was an unhealthy living situation
I was instructed to leave the decision for the three of them to work out. It was very cruel and many of us felt uneasy at the time about dominating a native culture that way .. but hey armageddon was comming ..wasn't it?
No its not my cup of tea either rebel8 and is certainly an unhealthy aberration in the likes of the Utah cult and isolated hillbilly folk.
A thread relating my experiences with polygamy was once deleted on H20 forum as “non JW related” lol In Australia polygamy has been part of some sections of our culture for tens of thousands of years and it exists here amounst migrants from the middle east (though officially classed as one wife and three concubines). I generally restrict my modern Anglo judgements to modern Anglo people.
unclebruce
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Swan
I don't get the Mormons complaining about this show when they are usually the most vocal in complaining there aren't enough religious shows on TV.
I was intrigued by the parallels between them and JWs.
"Nobody will love you like your family." -- Gee, where have I heard that lie before?
Their distrust of hospitals and medical treatment was also very similar to the JW experience.
There were several buzzwords that reminded me of the buzzwords that JWs use. "Oh, you're inactive."
And then there was the whole entrapment thing. You got the impression that everybody in the family was trapped, and acting out their frustration in various ways. They were being subtly pressured to conform, whether it was handing over a paycheck to the common houshold fund, or the pressure put upon the husband by his father-in-law (or is that father-out-law?) to turn over 15% of his new store to the "compound." You got the impression that they were in the process of extricating themselves as much as possible, but kept getting sucked back in. What about the father-in-law showing up unexpectedly to confront the husband? That sure was and elder-like thing to do.
I found the characters to be very likable and really hope that the family is successful in going stealth.
And they say they aren't cults!
Tammy
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mkr32208
My wife and I have discussed Polygamy before we've even got another wife picked out...
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morwen
My wife and I have discussed Polygamy before we've even got another wife picked out
Oh wow really! I'm curious as to the reason why your interested in getting another wife. Is it because of sex,companionship,or raising children?? I would let my husband have another wife too,IF we could find another wife that we both agree on.We've also had many discussions on this issue recently. It's hard enough finding ONE good mate let alone two! I (and hubby) would like to do it for family reasons.We've had 5 childern and life can get a bit crazy at times and it would be really nice to have another person around to help out.And I also would like to have a friend around that would be more like a family member.Especially since ALL my family and JW friends have told me they will have nothing to do with me unless I go back to the meetings(their all a bunch of brats!).But anyway,the sex part I know my hubby would LOVE,LOL! But that wouldn't be our main reason for doing something like that. I'd definatly be willing to share my husband if I could get some help with raising the kids/household duties and getting a break here and there to be free to go do a few fun things too, instead of being the one that always stays to care for the kids.And if we had another "wife" to help out I could continue to have childern and it would be far easier.And she could have a few too,if she wanted.
Does this other wife you have picked out know about what your thinking,how did you ask? What did she think of it?
Morwen
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Swan
This week's episode showed some more interesting parallels.
Margie seems to be the one who wants the security of a family. She wants to be around other people and feel loved. She wants to belong. That explains why she married Bill and his family. She also has issues with not having a good grasp of boundaries. She wears revealing clothes, plays with her teen step son by playing piggyback with him, and has a voracious sexual appetite. She is easily offended when she perceives her boundaries have been violated. And, her reaction, when confronted with a difficult situation, is to "tuck in" under a table or desk, a regressive behavior that indicates possible post-traumatic stress disorder. Could she have been abused as a child?
The eldest daughter is getting a lot of proselytizing from her co-worker, because she is "inactive" and also because she is tolerant of other life-styles. The eldest daughter doesn't believe in polygamy, however.
The family they play cards with has two of the wives possibly up to some hanky-panky with each other. This isn't necessarily a JW parallel, but it is interesting. When these two family's were together, you could see even better how the men ruled the roost, and that is a very JW thing. Gender roles are well established in the JWs and if any man tells you something, you better do it, even if you aren't married to him.
The Bruce Dern character, knowing that someone has been poisoning him with arsenic, willingly drinks Brother Roman's (the compound's leader) concoction and even praises him. He takes the side of Brother Roman instead of his son, even though his son was the one concerned enough about his health that he drove all of the way to the compound, took him to the hospital, and was then taking him home. His father didn't tell Bill about what Brother Roman had said, so that there would be a confrontation.
The elders (or whatever they are called) who were sitting and watching who came into the compound, and then practically running Bill off of the road. Bill at first was indignant about this treatment, later on the drive home he almost becomes remorseful about this punishment and the other conflicts in his life. Bill's prayer indicates that in some way God has taken his blessing away because he feels lost and overwhelmed by so many pressures.
Also, the compound is a very interesting parallel to me. In congregations I've attended, I've seen clusters of JWs living as neighbors very often (edited to add, especially near a Kingdom Hall).
Tammy