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Verfasser: Sappho

Datum: Samstag, den 15. August 2009, um 0:32 Uhr

Betrifft: Vernichtendes Urteil Ã¼ber "Johnny Lingo"

Eine amerikanische Autorin gab auf dem Sunstone Symphosium, so die Salt Lake Tribune (http://www.sltrib.com/ci_13064972?source=most_viewed), ein vernichtendes Urteil Ã¼ber den beliebten Film ab. Hier der Artikel:

If the Mormon cult classic film "Johnny Lingo" is about fostering a woman’s self-esteem, why is it named after the male character? How would our sense of "Cinderella" be different if the tale were called "Prince Charming?"
Feminist writer Holly Welker posed these and other questions about the film and its hidden messages Thursday at the annual Sunstone Symposium, a three-day conference discussing issues and aspects of Mormonism.
"Johnny Lingo" tells the story of a charismatic young trader on an idyllic Pacific island whose wealth and good looks make him a real catch. Known for his ability to get a bargain, he shocks the villagers by offering a father the unheard-of sum of eight cows as the price for Mahana, a homely, shy woman no one else wants. But Johnny’s shrewdness becomes clear when the couple returns to the island later to reveal Mahana has been transformed into a poised beauty by the knowledge that she commanded the highest price of any bride on the island.
Welker said the film often is cited "as a wise, compassionate story of male sensitivity to female identity, a positive demonstration of how to foster female self-worth."
But Welker argues it instead is about male identity and power, "the power to assess and determine female worth, the power to claim or create a desirable mate, the power to see what others do not, the power to manipulate less insightful people around you, and the power to acquire what one truly desires." Mahana has no say in the marriage. She cannot refuse the husband who has bought her, even if she doesn’t like him or believes that his price is too low. The bridal bargain is a contest of wills between two men: Mahana’s father and her future husband. "Johnny Lingo" is about its active and powerful hero, not the passive heroine.
Indeed, Mahana’s transformation is "not because someone loves her, or because she loves someone, or because she is treated with respect and kindness, but because she knows she is the most expensive commodity on the island," said Welker, who earned a doctorate in English at the University of Iowa. "The fact that women are bought and sold in this culture, their thorough objectification, is not open to scrutiny, only the damaging effects of being sold cheaply."
The 24-minute film never mentions Mormonism, but Brigham Young University produced it in 1969 and it since has been used repeatedly in Mormon seminaries, Institutes of Religion and Sunday school classes. LDS Church-owned Deseret Book distributes it on a DVD featuring four short LDS films.
Welker said Mormon society advocates active, self-possessed, worldly men and passive, dependent, domestic women. "It does not view the buying and selling of women as property as essentially or inherently wrong. Instead, it’s cute -- as long as women are not direct beneficiaries of any transaction, and the price is appropriate."
Many contemporary women see their value in terms of how expensive their engagement ring is or how much the wedding reception cost, said Ellen DeCoo, a junior at Brigham Young University, who first saw "Johnny Lingo" in her seminary class at Provo High School. "It is an archetypal narrative... and commonplace in Mormonism." (Hervorhebungen von mir)

Die meisten von uns, denke ich, kennen diesen Film. Haben wir ihn einmal aus diesem soeben beschriebenen Blickwinkel betrachtet? Als Mann UND/ODER als Frau?
Uns gefragt, in wieweit wir uns von der romantischen Geschichte und den exozischen naturaufnahmen haben ablenken lassen von der eigendlichen Botschaft des Films? Seien wir ehrlich zu uns selbst und zu anderen!