Pop Culture on the Apricot Tree

Do Latter-day Saints have a particular affinity for Pride and Prejudice? Maybe so, maybe not, but we're on the case to find out! Guest Katherine Cowley, author of The Secret Life of Miss Mary Bennet, joins us in discussing various imaginative adaptations of Pride and Prejudice. From Pakistan to spy dramas to crossovers with Mormon culture, explore the diverse and captivating spins on this Jane Austen classic. Discover why this story keeps pulling us in time after time.

Show Notes: https://www.popcultureapricottree.com/post/prideandprejudice

Audio mastering by Carl Cranney & Liz Busby

Associate Links: Links to products may be associate links, which means a small part of your purchase goes to Pop Culture on the Apricot Tree. We appreciate your support.

Grab your hats and archeology tools; it's time to go on an adventure! Guests Matt Bowman and Megan Harris help us unpack the intriguing LDS undertones in the Indiana Jones saga, discuss the clash of science and theology within the series, and evaluate the symbolism behind the famous relics. Don't miss out on these captivating insights – it may permanently alter your view of this iconic series!

Show Notes: https://www.popcultureapricottree.com/post/indianajones

Audio mastering by Carl Cranney

Our first shorter-form episode explores a documentary about missionary work in the evangelical world, The Mission, available on Disney+. What ethical considerations do we need to make when doing missionary work across cultural lines?

Show Notes: https://www.popcultureapricottree.com/post/themission

Who knew that high fashion could teach us how to treat each other? Kjerste Christensen joins us to chat about the charming movie Mrs Harris Goes to Paris. We discuss the lack of a traditional happy ending, the final judgement, French philosophy, and the quiet impact of those who daily do their duty.

Apologies about the video and audio difficulties on this episode. We had a bit of internet trouble, but the final product is still very listenable!

Show Notes: https://www.popcultureapricottree.com/post/mrsharris

Video editing by Liz Busby; Audio mastering by Carl Cranney

Associate Links: Links to products may be associate links, which means a small part of your purchase goes to Pop Culture on the Apricot Tree. We appreciate your support.

Jeffrey Thayne and Mike Barnhill join our intrepid crew for this episode. Our continuing mission? To dissect the moral universe of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds and ask again why Mormons love Star Trek so much. Klingon boy bands, war criminals, time travel, and more!

Show Notes: https://www.popcultureapricottree.com/post/strangenewworldss2

Video editing by Liz Busby; Audio mastering by Carl Cranney

Associate Links: Links to products may be associate links, which means a small part of your purchase goes to Pop Culture on the Apricot Tree. We appreciate your support.

Hi Barbie! It's time for our discussion of all things pink and all things ... Ken? Meagan Kohler and Suzanne Tanner join us to talk about feminism and the feminine, matriarchy and patriarchy, and individualism versus relationships.

Show Notes: https://www.popcultureapricottree.com/post/barbie

Video editing by Liz Busby; Audio mastering by Carl Cranney

Associate Links: Links to products may be associate links, which means a small part of your purchase goes to Pop Culture on the Apricot Tree. We appreciate your support.

We're back from our summer break. Here's what we've been watching this summer and what we're planning to talk about in the second half of this season.

Can the message of a work triumph over poor artistic execution and a lack of understanding of genre? Jim Bennett and Joseph Addington join us to discuss this less-than-successful film version of the classic musical, which is itself an adaptation of Victor Hugo's classic work. Jim tells us about the pull this musical has on the Utah theater community and Joseph shares his love of the novel's classic spiritual journey. In the end, we find a few things to love about the film version in spite of its much criticized live singing style. Show Notes: https://www.popcultureapricottree.com/post/lesmis Video editing by Liz Busby; Audio mastering by Carl Cranney Associate Links: Links to products may be associate links, which means a small part of your purchase goes to Pop Culture on the Apricot Tree. We appreciate your support.

00:00:00 Intro 00:01:59 Best Books 00:10:34 Main Discussion 00:11:15 Les Mis in Utah Theater 00:13:49 The Book was Better 00:20:30 Failure as a Movie Musical 00:33:04 A Digression About Schmigadoon 00:36:30 Solutions to Poverty in Les Mis 00:44:33 Justice and Mercy 00:50:14 The Thenadiers and the Villain Problem 00:53:49 Our Ratings 01:05:19 Wrap Up & Summer Break

Join us as we delve into season three of Disney's The Mandalorian and Din Djarin's quest to be redeemed from his apostacy. Jacob Hess and Jared Esselman join us to discuss the latest and most religious season of the Star Wars spin-off show. We start with the overall unsatisfying religious arc of Star Wars up to this point and how this season turned that around by using a Jewish template for the Mandalorian culture. The show is a great example of how members of the same religious tradition with different practices and beliefs can get along. And Jared shares with us the story of his excommunication and rebaptism into the church and how Din Djarin's journey paralleled his experience.

Show Notes: https://www.popcultureapricottree.com/post/mandalorian

00:00:00 Introduction
00:01:34 Best Books
00:09:37 Main Discussion
00:10:18 Religion in the Star Wars Universe
00:20:43 Mandalorian Sects & Religious Tolerance
00:29:18 Bo-Katan and the Return
00:35:47 Excommunication as a Journey of Growth
00:47:28 Positive Masculinity
00:49:02 Can Satan Be Redeemed?
00:50:11 Institutions and Boundary Maintenance
00:53:01 A Few Artistic Points
00:56:48 Our Ratings

Video editing by Liz Busby; Audio mastering by Liz Busby

Associate Links: Links to products may be associate links, which means a small part of your purchase goes to Pop Culture on the Apricot Tree. We appreciate your support.

Join us as we dive into Bluey, the super popular children's television show from Australia. Bluey superfan Cassandra Hedelius explains why she loves this show's realistic portrayal of the special brand of humor that comes with raising kids. And BYU-Idaho education professor Ben Pacini tells us how he uses the show to teach his students about educational psychology. We talk about the positive and negative aspects of the educational and parenting philosophies inherent in the show. Finally, we ask the question everyone is asking: does Bandit make us all look like bad parents?

Show Notes: https://www.popcultureapricottree.com/post/bluey

In this episode, we delve into the many ways mothers are portrayed in the pop culture. Our guests Carol Rice and Tiffany Hales help us explore the complexity and variety of moms in television, from Tami Taylor in Friday Night Lights, juggling motherhood with her career as a principal, to Marge Simpson's tireless commitment to her family's well-being. Of course, non-biological mother figures like Kala from Tarzan and Leanne Tuohy from The Blindside show that the strengths of motherhood transcend genetic relationship.From Regina's infamous 'cool mom' to the powerhouse Mrs. Incredible, negative maternal figures like Mother Gothel to motherhood in reality TV, join us as we uncover the triumphs, challenges, and the often-unseen facets of motherhood as portrayed by movies.

Show Notes: https://www.popcultureapricottree.com/post/ep-28-mothers-in-the-media

Video editing by Liz Busby; Audio mastering by Carl Cranney

Associate Links: Links to products may be associate links, which means a small part of your purchase goes to Pop Culture on the Apricot Tree. We appreciate your support.

Dungeons and Dragons is a popular hobby among Latter-day Saints, so we rounded up some dungeon masters for this episode. Shannon Oler and Parker Sappington join us to discuss D&D: Honor Among Thieves, the new movie starring Chris Pine and Michelle Rodriguez. This fantasy adventure comedy has us asking how similar are paladin oaths to temple covenants. We also talk about how D&D can be used to build empathy and community among people. And of course, the chubby dragon makes an appearance! Show Notes: https://www.popcultureapricottree.com/post/honoramongthieves Video editing by Liz Busby; Audio mastering by Carl Cranney

Join us as we get our feet wet in the North Carolina marshes to discuss this adaptation of the popular novel. Guests Jamie Lewis Holt and Shelby Thayne help us discuss how we might use Kya's experiences with Tate and Chase to talk about warning signs of dating violence with our teenagers and young adults. Is Kya justified in seeking justice outside the system when there's little hope it will protect her? Plus Jamie turns our rating system into a hilarious extended analogy that you won't want to miss.

Show Notes: https://www.popcultureapricottree.com/post/crawdads

Video editing by Liz Busby; Audio mastering by Carl Cranney

Can you atone for years of hurt after a major breach of trust by asking forgiveness? And are people inherently awful to each other or are they unable to help caring for each other? We welcome Glen Nelson of the Center for Latter-day Saint Arts and David Sandhu onto the podcast to discuss The Whale, Darren Aronofsky's latest film. Watch Carl's perspective change over the course of the episode as we discuss compassion and what obligations we have to care for those with self-destructive behaviors.

Show Notes: https://www.popcultureapricottree.com/post/thewhale

Video editing by Liz Busby; Audio mastering by Carl Cranney

Associate Links: Links to products may be associate links, which means a small part of your purchase goes to Pop Culture on the Apricot Tree. We appreciate your support.

Two Pinocchio films, one clear winner? Come compare these two 2022 adaptations of the classic story as we discover that you can buy anything in this world with money except good CGI effects. Our guests Adam Stokes and Rachel Helps get us into some deep discussions about the Mormon doctrine of the resurrection and the materiality of the spirit. And we look at how the two films portray the obligations of parenting in very different lights and what they have to say about the relational nature of the atonement. In the end, both films give us a very moral worldview of how we can grow and improve as imperfect human beings.  

Show Notes: https://www.popcultureapricottree.com/post/pinocchios  

Video editing by Liz Busby; Audio mastering by Carl Cranney

In this episode, we dive into everyone's favorite show starring Jesus, The Chosen. With guests Dallin Crump and poet Merrijane Rice, we give a Latter-day Saint perspective on the multi-season New Testament adaptation phenomenon. What does Drew Barrymore's Cinderella adaptation Ever After have to do with The Chosen? What scenes were the most moving to us as Latter-day Saints? What's it like to produce creative work based on scripture? And how do Mormons feel about the evangelical controversy about LDS doctrine supposedly sneaking into the show?  

Show Notes: https://www.popcultureapricottree.com/post/thechosen

Video editing by Liz Busby; Audio mastering by Carl Cranney

Just a quick announcement to let you know that season 2 will be starting on January 26th. We'll let you know what we're going to be discussing so you can follow along from home.

Show Notes: https://www.popcultureapricottree.com/post/season2preview

Rounding out our first season is our discussion of Amazon's Rings of Power series. We do some buy-or-sell discussion on the various plotlines that are crammed into this eight-episode, billion-dollar series: Galadriel, the Southlanders, Elrond and Durin, and more. We talk about some of the ways that the series fails to capture the pre-modern worldview that's characteristic of Tolkien's writing and how the series (perhaps accidentally) aligns Sauron with a more LDS conception of Satan.  

Show Notes: https://www.popcultureapricottree.com/post/rings-of-power

For our Christmas episode, we discuss the perennial favorite Charles Dickens novella A Christmas Carol, and why it has been made and re-made so many times in TV and film. We discuss the themes of repentance and re-integration, why the story is so Christian and yet barely mentions Christ. Our lively discussion compares and contrasts many incarnations of the story, from the 1935 black and white version to the Apple TV+ Spirited that was released just last month.

Show Notes: https://www.popcultureapricottree.com/post/christmas-carol

A conversation about Mormonism in Brandon Sanderson's Mistborn series, live from Dragonsteel 2022. Our panel digs into the LDS symbolism and theology in the Wax & Wayne series. Crack open your Book of Mormon as we discuss the problem of theodicy when God is someone you know (and might be someday!). We also talk about how agency is more complex than we think. Was the shattering a fortunate fall? And how does Brandon's obsession with arranged marriages relate to Mormon dating culture? Time to Listen And Find Out!  

Show Notes: https://www.popcultureapricottree.com/post/mormonism-in-mistborn

Join us for a discussion about the weirdness that is Hayao Miyazaki's Howl's Moving Castle with William Morris, author of The Darkest Abyss: Strange Mormon Stories, and Ivan Wolfe, who throws trees for fun. We talk about the contrast between the book and the movie and why this movie's weirdness makes it a great anti-war film. We also talk about the uniqueness of a movie that focuses on housework as heroism, losing yourself in service, and the importance of commitment. Fry up some bacon on your local fire demon and listen to this great discussion.

Show Notes: https://www.popcultureapricottree.com/post/howls-moving-castle

If you're ready for some spooky watching, Midnight Mass will fit the bill. Join us for our Halloween special as we discuss horror director Mike Flanagan's 7-part miniseries about the small fishing town of Crockett Island and its Catholic priest. We'll cover portrayals of religion in Hollywood, moral choices for vampires, life after death, forgiveness and judgment, along with other supernatural happenings.

Show Notes: https://www.popcultureapricottree.com/post/midnight-mass

Sure, Top Gun Maverick is a near perfect summer blockbuster, but what moral lessons can we draw from it? We talk about the difficulty of forgiveness, the nature of teamwork, and Ben Pacini returns to sell us on heroic masculinity. We also get a glimpse behind the scenes from Brad Wilson of Keslow Camera, who provided the specialized gear to shoot the fighter jet footage in the film.  

Show Notes: https://www.popcultureapricottree.com/post/top-gun-maverick  

Video editing by Liz Busby; Audio mastering by Carl Cranney  

Associate Links: Links to products may be associate links, which means a small part of your purchase goes to Pop Culture on the Apricot Tree. We appreciate your support.

Fire up your warp drive and order some Postum from the replicator! It's time for a super nerdy, super Mormon discussion of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. We talk about the return to episodic storytelling, the theme of sacrifice, and which episode was based on a classic science fiction short story by Ursula LeGuin. Find out which episode disappointed us and which returning villain freaked us out. As one of our guests said, Star Trek is back!

Show Notes: https://www.popcultureapricottree.com/post/strange-new-worlds

Join us for a cozy discussion of the delightful Japanese film Mirai. We talk about how this film compares to other depictions of family dynamics and how the film is unique in highlighting a stay-at-home dad (or househusband, if you will). Is this film the best way to motivate yourself to do family history? Listen and find out!  

Show Notes: http://www.popcultureapricottree.com/post/mirai

This movie may be so-so as a science fiction property, but we think it's excellent as a film about family relationships, grief, and raising teenagers. This episode has a lot of callouts to other time travel films and tv shows as well as some disagreement about the appropriateness of young Adam's questions for his older self. We also reveal that Liz mixes up Tom Cruise and Tom Hanks (oops!). Join us for a fun discussion of this sci-fi family drama.

Show Notes: https://www.popcultureapricottree.com/post/the-adam-project

Carl and I will be taking a summer break for the month of July to spend some time traveling with our families. So we won’t be appearing in your podcast feed for the next few weeks, but we will be back soon!

Surprisingly few movies exist about the revolutionary period of American history, but a huge exception is the musical phenomenon known as Hamilton. We discuss the various receptions of the musical, both in the Obama era when it premiered and in 2020 when the Disney+ recording was released. We also look at the significance of the constitutional era of American history for Latter-day Saints and how that impacts our reception of the musical. Can we learn anything about how to treat difficulties in our own history from the musical?  

Our Ratings:
Content: Telestial
Artistic Merit: 5 popcorn balls
Gospel Connections: 5 apricots

Show Notes: https://www.popcultureapricottree.com/post/hamilton

A faith crisis can be a difficult experience to talk about with your family or friends, especially if they haven't experienced one. Using Chris Wei's essay from Mormonism and the Movies, we use popular movies to describe three approaches to resolving a faith crisis and weigh the positive and negative aspects of each. We're biased, but this may be our best episode yet!  

Show notes: https://www.popcultureapricottree.com/post/ep-8-films-for-a-faith-crisis

We use the unexpectedly delightful movie Free Guy as a jumping off point to discuss all things video games. How do video games differ from other media and how can we make moral choices in the games we choose to play? We also hit some good points in LDS theology like the idea of life as a test and living in a fallen world.  

Check out the show notes on our website: https://www.popcultureapricottree.com/post/ep-7-free-guy

We dive into Martin Scorsese's 2016 film Silence, an adaptation of the novel by Shusaku Endo. The story explores the story of Jesuit missionaries in Japan which resonates with the LDS mission experience. Joining us is special guest Van Gessel, a retired BYU professor who translated Endo's works into English and was a consultant on the film. We talk about his experience working on the film and the differences between the film and the book. Don't miss the debate on the morality of Father Rodrigues's final decision. Is this film about a failure of faith or the necessity of the atonement? Whichever you way you lean, it's certain that this film will make you think. 

Our Ratings:
Content: Celestial-
Artistic Merit: 5 popcorn balls
Gospel Connections: 4 apricots 

Best Books:
Liz - Dendo: One Year and One Half in Tokyo by Brittany Long Olsen - https://amzn.to/3j0SBPK
Daniel - Shtisel (Netflix - https://www.netflix.com/title/81004164?source=35) and Srugim (Amazon Prime - https://amzn.to/3qRFNj1); The Farewell (https://amzn.to/38mZNUz)
Jeff - Artifact Space by Miles Cameron (https://amzn.to/36LAaw9); Five Kingdoms series by Brandon Mull (https://amzn.to/3LxDfyt); Book of Enoch (https://amzn.to/376ri4a); The Lost Symbol (series on Peacock not recommended - https://www.peacocktv.com/watch/asset/tv/dan-browns-the-lost-symbol/5952493920723809112; book recommended - https://amzn.to/36LTc5y)
Van - Crash Landing on You (https://www.netflix.com/title/81159258); Departures (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V97h623Zqqk) 

Links:
Shinya Tsukamoto - Japanese filmmaker who was cast as Mokichi - https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shinya_Tsukamoto
Alma and Amulek watch their converts being martyred in Alma 14 - https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/bofm/alma/14?lang=eng Alma 1-29: A Brief Theological Introduction by Kylie Nielson Turley - https://amzn.to/3qVLZqk
Hesiod's Theogany - https://amzn.to/3J0VydX
"Do the thing that we would not do" - a paraphrase of Romans 7:15 - https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/nt/rom/7.15?lang=eng
When You Can't Come Back: A Story of Courage and Grace by Dave and Jan Daravecky - https://amzn.to/3uQSgEP
"How often would I have gathered thee as a hen gathereth her chicks" - paraphrase of Matt 23:37 (https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/nt/matt/23.37?lang=eng) and 3 Nephi 10:4-6 (https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/bofm/3-ne/10?lang=eng&id=4-6#p4)
"Sooner would a nursing mother forget her child" - paraphrase of Isaiah 49:15 - https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/ot/isa/49.15?lang=eng
Earlier Japanese film of Silence - Chinmoku - https://amzn.to/3K15Rjy 

Films with similar themes:
Heartbreak Ridge (1986) - https://amzn.to/35xqNQ9
The Mission (1986)- https://amzn.to/3NHt1xt
A Hidden Life (2019)- https://amzn.to/3J2Li4W 

Find Us:
Liz - lizbusby.com
Daniel - Nauvoo Neighbor (https://nauvooneighbor.org/)
Jeff - Twitter: @JeffSBennion; Public Square Magazine (https://publicsquaremag.org/)
Van - translations of Endo's works (https://amzn.to/3DwTTLW); Wikipedia page (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Van_C._Gessel); BYU devotional on pop culture (https://speeches.byu.edu/talks/van-c-gessel/welding-link-culture/)

Video editing by Robert Hill - https://roberthillw.wixsite.com/robert-hill 

Associate Links: Links to products may be associate links, which means a small part of your purchase goes to Pop Culture on the Apricot Tree. We appreciate your support.

Pixar's 2022 coming-of-age film Turning Red has proved controversial, to say the least. It's a step away from the studio's usual all-ages content, but is it appropriate for your LDS family? We examine what the film says about parenting teenagers and how to have a good relationship with kids, along with the movie's questionable attempts to be sex-positive.  

Our Ratings:
Content: Telestial
Artistic Merit: 3.5 popcorn balls
Gospel Connections: 2 apricots  

Best Books:
Liz - Beyond the Mapped Stars by Rosalyn Eves - https://amzn.to/3wpexw9  
Carl - Star Trek: Prodigy - https://amzn.to/3wtl1tG  
Daniel - Hollow Knight - https://amzn.to/3IyfKDw  
Amanda - Anne of Green Gables - https://amzn.to/3IyfKDw 

Links:
Movies with similar themes that we liked better:
Encanto - https://amzn.to/355dUN0
Inside Out - https://amzn.to/36cYzdW
Brave - https://amzn.to/3Lng5Lt  
Ron's Gone Wrong - https://amzn.to/3D2RHM0 

Embrace the Panda - Documentary about the making of this film, found on Disney+ - https://www.disneyplus.com/  
Cuties - controversial film with social commentary on the sexualization of teenagers - https://www.netflix.com/title/81111198  
What is the Bechdel Test? - https://filmlifestyle.com/what-is-the-bechdel-test/  
The quote about a grandfather in heaven comes from CS Lewis' The Problem of Pain - https://amzn.to/3itlFiP
'Turning Red' is a turning point for Asians in film. Why is it seen as unrelatable? - NPR article on controversy surrounding the film - https://www.npr.org/2022/03/12/1086040083/turning-red-controversy  
Plugged In's Review - makes a comparison between Turning Red and Brave - https://www.pluggedin.com/movie-reviews/turning-red-2022/ 

Find Us:
Liz - lizbusby.com  
Carl - FB: Carl Cranney - https://www.facebook.com/carl.cranney
Daniel - Nauvoo Neighbor (https://nauvooneighbor.org/), Public Square (https://publicsquaremag.org/)
Amanda - Twitter: @FreebairnAmanda (https://twitter.com/FreebairnAmanda), Nauvoo Neighbor (https://nauvooneighbor.org/), Public Square (https://publicsquaremag.org/)  

Video editing by Robert Hill - https://roberthillw.wixsite.com/robert-hill 

Associate Links: Links to products may be associate links, which means a small part of your purchase goes to Pop Culture on the Apricot Tree. We appreciate your support.

Did rock monsters really help Noah build the ark? How about Methuselah wielding the flaming sword? We discuss the 2014 film Noah, the many extra Biblical sources it draws upon, and whether the movie is a failure of scriptural storytelling or an interesting interpretation that makes us think. (Spoilers: a little bit of both.) Apologies to Ivan, whose video was somehow corrupted and gummed up the editing works, but we hope you enjoy his animated replacement.

Our Ratings:

Content: Celestial- or Terrestrial+

Artistic Merit: 5 popcorn balls

Gospel Connections: 4 apricots

Best Books:

Liz - The Cunning Man by DJ Butler and Aaron Michael Richey - https://amzn.to/3sUKnhV 

Carl - Critical Role (D&D improv show - https://critrole.com/); The Legend of Vox Machina (animated show, not recommended - https://amzn.to/364aXMT); Critical Role: Vox Machina Origins (graphic novel - https://amzn.to/3IabN8d) 

Ivan - Hagakure: The Secret Wisdom of the Samurai - https://amzn.to/3IYAqG1 

Links:

The Princess Bride and Philosophy: Inconceivable! - the collection with Ivan's essay about that moron, Aristotle - https://amzn.to/3vS7cot 

The Ten Commandments - https://amzn.to/3vS7cot 

The Chosen - https://amzn.to/3HVlnvl 

Book of Enoch - an apocryphal source of some non-Biblical elements in the film - https://www.globalgreyebooks.com/book-of-enoch-ebook.html

"Strange Ships and Shining Stones" - the Hugh Nibley essay about the parallels between the Jaredite barges and Noah's ark, also found in An Approach to the Book of Mormon - https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?filename=28&article=1011&context=mi&type=additional 

The Legends of the Jews - contains story about Methuselah using the flaming sword from Eden - https://amzn.to/3Kv6RvV 

Articles on the film from an LDS perspective:

Deseret News - https://www.deseret.com/2014/4/3/20538777/a-noah-like-no-other-before-a-look-at-the-latest-biblical-film-from-an-lds-perspective 

By Common Consent - https://bycommonconsent.com/2014/04/07/noah-the-man-the-myth-the-movie/ 

LDS365 - https://lds365.com/2014/04/09/noah-skip-the-movie-read-the-book/ 

Articles on the film from a Christian perspective:

Why I’m Recommending Christians See the Movie Noah - https://www.philcooke.com/christians-should-see-noah/ 

Why People of Faith Can Embrace the 'Noah' Movie - https://www.christianpost.com/news/why-people-of-faith-can-embrace-the-noah-movie-115276/ 

Find Us:

Liz - lizbusby.com 

Carl - FB: Carl Cranney - https://www.facebook.com/carl.cranney 

Ivan - ASU English Department - https://english.asu.edu/content/ivan-wolfe 

Video editing by Robert Hill - https://roberthillw.wixsite.com/robert-hill 

Associate Links: Links to products may be associate links, which means a small part of your purchase goes to Pop Culture on the Apricot Tree. We appreciate your support.

In this episode, we discuss the first season of Amazon's Wheel of Time series, including some narrative missteps in the show, the thread of pacifism versus fighting evil, and how the series treats the religious beliefs of its characters. We also talk about how some LDS viewers may be turned off by the nudity, casual relationships, and homosexuality in the series and how we grapple with this content as viewers.  

Our Ratings: 

Content: Terrestrial 

Artistic Merit: 3 popcorn balls 

Gospel Connections: 3 apricots 

Best Books: 

Liz - Rejiggering the Thingamajigger by Eric James Stone (includes the Hugo award winning story "That Leviathan, Whom Thou Hast Made") - https://amzn.to/3tPBtDf

Carl - The Crystal Cave by Mary Stewart - https://amzn.to/3HBDNC7

Spencer - Robert Alter's Hebrew Bible translation and commentary  - https://amzn.to/3tPBtDf 

Links: 

Brandon Sanderson & Dan Wells discussing the adaptation process - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dnbmku3lFmg 

Find Us: 

Liz - www.lizbusby.com  

Carl - FB: Carl Cranney - https://www.facebook.com/carl.cranney

Spencer - Latter-day Light and Truth (http://latterdaylightandtruth.blogspot.com), FB: Spencer Kraus (https://www.facebook.com/Merry.Krausmas), IG: kraus_in_dahouse (https://www.instagram.com/kraus_in_dahouse/)  

Video editing by Robert Hill - https://roberthillw.wixsite.com/robert-hill 

Associate Links: Links to products may be associate links, which means a small part of your purchase goes to Pop Culture on the Apricot Tree. We appreciate your support.

We open our podcast with an episode on Disney's 2021 family musical, Encanto.  And we actually mostly don't talk about Bruno. Listen for our thoughts about the portrayal of families in film, psychology and trauma, and whether this film has too much expressive individualism.

Our Ratings:
Content: Celestial
Artistic Merit: 4 Popcorn Balls
Gospel Connections: 4 Apricots  

Best Books:
Liz - Irreversible Things by Lisa Van Orman Hadley (novelized memoir) - https://amzn.to/3FKLnZt
Daniel - It Takes Two (video game) - https://amzn.to/3FFVgaB
Nathan - The Brehon Laws course by Kevin Flanagan, about the ancient Irish law system - https://www.udemy.com/course/brehon-laws-of-early-ireland/
Ben - The Knowledge Gap by Natalie Wexler (nonfiction book) - https://amzn.to/3ruazOJ
Carl - Lost in Space (Netflix series) - https://www.netflix.com/title/80104198 

Links:
Great "making of" featurettes on Youtube:
Behind the Lyrics - about the Columbian influences on the film - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OQf3RRQuSxE
A Journey Through Music - each character has a different musical style - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SInRhMepICw
Let’s Talk About Bruno - specifically about the song - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o0hWu5NBSTY&t=284s

LDS Geeks - How Encanto Destroys the Mean Girl Trope - https://www.latterdaysaintgeeks.com/2022/01/encanto.html
For more on expressive individualism, see “Worldview Apologetics: Revealing the Waters in Which We Swim,” Jeffrey Thayne, 2021 FAIR Conference - https://www.fairlatterdaysaints.org/conference/august-2021/worldview-apologetics
Camille N. Johnson, "Invite Christ to Author Your Life," Oct 2021 General Conference - https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2021/10/42johnson?lang=ase 

Find Us:
Liz - https://www.lizbusby.com  
Daniel - https://nauvooneighbor.org/, https://publicsquaremag.org/
Nathan - https://www.nathanrichardson.com  
Ben - Radical Civility podcast (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCiVblqPv8HIAJxe-qDdXvDQ), https://publicsquaremag.org/
Carl - https://www.facebook.com/carl.cranney 

Video editing by Robert Hill (https://roberthillw.wixsite.com/robert-hill)

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