“I Ain’t So Sure but What the Lord Done Put These Folks in Our Path for a Reason”: Latter-day Saints Building Communities Through Dancing in John Ford’s Wagon Master

One of Ford’s lesser known works, Wagon Master (1950), utilizes Mormonism’s affinity for dancing to build bonds between diverse groups, thus epitomizing the director’s optimistic vision of a united and progressive America. Through the development of the narrative and Wagon Master’s mise-en-scène, Fo...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Pettigrew, Ian Dwayne (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Published: [publisher not identified] 2015
In: The journal of religion and film
Year: 2015, Volume: 19, Issue: 2, Pages: 1-28
Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains:B Wagon Master / Mormon Church / Religiosity / Dance / Social acceptance
RelBib Classification:AG Religious life; material religion
CB Christian life; spirituality
CC Christianity and Non-Christian religion; Inter-religious relations
CH Christianity and Society
KDH Christian sects
Further subjects:B Mormonism John Ford Western film Dancing
Online Access: Volltext (Verlag)
Description
Summary:One of Ford’s lesser known works, Wagon Master (1950), utilizes Mormonism’s affinity for dancing to build bonds between diverse groups, thus epitomizing the director’s optimistic vision of a united and progressive America. Through the development of the narrative and Wagon Master’s mise-en-scène, Ford displays a keen awareness of Mormon culture and the reasons dancing still holds such significance to members of the religion. Surprisingly, the film also captures a core tension of LDS culture: the desire to receive the inclusion of the rest of society whilst remaining a distinct and faithful people. For the Saints in the film, dancing navigates a path for them to temporarily resolve this conflict.
ISSN:1092-1311
Contains:Enthalten in: The journal of religion and film