8: The Mormon Proposition is not an excellent be-all-end-all look at the saga of the passing of Proposition 8 (what ended same-sex marriage) in California. The direction of the film isn't always in the most... I won't say professional, but that the filmmakers don't use the budget to the best of their abilities. There is music that sounds grafted on from a poor-man's synthesizer, and some of the editing and visual effects is done for lessor effect. On this count only is the previous poster on IMDb correct.
But the film is about something important- or maybe many things crammed into 80 minutes (this, too, is something of a flaw, but not a major one)- which is that the rights of people were taken away from them because a largely select group (over 70% of funds donated to get Prop 8 passed were from Mormons or groups affiliated with them somehow) see that gays and lesbians don't choose to be gay, and are unholy and so on and so on. That or, of course, the 'sanctity' of marriage and how that affects their beliefs. It should be more complex, but in reality it just comes down to money, and an effective (hateful) ad campaign.
Contrary to what the previous poster said, I don't think the film actively sets out to paint all Mormons as hateful, or that the film itself is hateful. The filmmakers basically let the interviewees and the subject matter speak for itself. I don't even think, after seeing the film, that every single Mormon out there is bad or intends harm. But the organization itself, clearly, is corrupted by its top brass, who definitely feel the need to base their belief structure based on the old axiom "God Told Me So", specifically their 'direct line' to the Holy Lord. That this was such a passionate deal to have so much money funneled into the campaign is an insult to the masses of people who just want to marry, for love or (in other cases) for the same protections and rights that marriage affords.
Again, sometimes the documentary can go off a little from its primary subject, albeit for not all ill-intentions or bad results. There's a large chunk of the film, for example, that delves into the suicide rate of Mormons, and the horror for someone who is Gay and a Mormon (specifically a few are interviewed whose parents donated for Prop 8), and those who are homeless or on the streets as teens who are gay and rejected from their homes. This ultimately worked for me because the film is as much about the people and the high emotions running through the issue for all involved (those who are reasonable about it and those who are, well, Senator Buttars and his foaming-at-the-mouth ilk), but the film definitely works best when it tells this story of Prop 8. How did it get passed and what was the outcome.
But the film is about something important- or maybe many things crammed into 80 minutes (this, too, is something of a flaw, but not a major one)- which is that the rights of people were taken away from them because a largely select group (over 70% of funds donated to get Prop 8 passed were from Mormons or groups affiliated with them somehow) see that gays and lesbians don't choose to be gay, and are unholy and so on and so on. That or, of course, the 'sanctity' of marriage and how that affects their beliefs. It should be more complex, but in reality it just comes down to money, and an effective (hateful) ad campaign.
Contrary to what the previous poster said, I don't think the film actively sets out to paint all Mormons as hateful, or that the film itself is hateful. The filmmakers basically let the interviewees and the subject matter speak for itself. I don't even think, after seeing the film, that every single Mormon out there is bad or intends harm. But the organization itself, clearly, is corrupted by its top brass, who definitely feel the need to base their belief structure based on the old axiom "God Told Me So", specifically their 'direct line' to the Holy Lord. That this was such a passionate deal to have so much money funneled into the campaign is an insult to the masses of people who just want to marry, for love or (in other cases) for the same protections and rights that marriage affords.
Again, sometimes the documentary can go off a little from its primary subject, albeit for not all ill-intentions or bad results. There's a large chunk of the film, for example, that delves into the suicide rate of Mormons, and the horror for someone who is Gay and a Mormon (specifically a few are interviewed whose parents donated for Prop 8), and those who are homeless or on the streets as teens who are gay and rejected from their homes. This ultimately worked for me because the film is as much about the people and the high emotions running through the issue for all involved (those who are reasonable about it and those who are, well, Senator Buttars and his foaming-at-the-mouth ilk), but the film definitely works best when it tells this story of Prop 8. How did it get passed and what was the outcome.