MovieChat Forums > Charly (2002) Discussion > Did not have universal appeal.

Did not have universal appeal.

posted 18 years ago by brett-219
12 replies | jump to latest

I read through a couple of posts and thought it might be appropriate to state the view of other people.

I took a film class from a local college in UT and watched this film. Both were by choice, the film and the class, but the teacher, who also helped produce this film, wanted constructive feedback.

That being said, during the course a term used to describe a film that most people would find attraction to was universal appeal. This film did not posses this attribute. In fact, I found it less than average due to the religious content. Personally, it would be a better story without the overtones.

Living in UT and not being part of the dominating religious party has proved to be rather challenging. Because I don't belong to this denomination, or any for that matter, I find the pornography of images relating to this religion overwhelming.

This religion needs to know not everyone is accepting of this religion.

My two cents.

[–] somebuddy25 18 years ago

Actually I think they are against pornography :)

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[–] hellotrouble 18 years ago

They are NOT trying to force anybody to join in this movie, they're just celebrating what they believe. Maybe someone who doesn't understand LDS beliefs will find it confusing, but someone truly interested in film and the humanities would at least take an interest in different view points, unlike you.

[–] brett-219 17 years ago

hellotrouble,

I disagree with your statement. I did not state in my original post that this movie caused the person watching it to convert. I was simply stating that it did not have universal appeal. Think of the "universal appeal" statement with the definition that can be best described with "most" people will watch the film. An example of this would be Titanic. Although, I personally didn't care for this film, it did have universal appeal. Most people took the time to watch it, and the box office demonstrated that.

You are correct, however, by stating I do not understand the LDS culture. I never will. I have lived in UT for my entire life and have yet to figure this place out.

I do try to view all points of a statement or a commentary to be judge the outcome. I turn your own comment back on to you and say, maybe you should accept other people's viewpoints.

[–] hellotrouble 17 years ago

brett-219, like someone said what movie really is universally appealing? For that to happen, the storyline would have to be pretty narrow...If you really accept other people's viewpoints, then don't attack me.

[–] brett-219 17 years ago

In this particular example, the word pornography meant something completely different. Direct from www.m-w.com -

The depiction of acts in a sensational manner so as to arouse a quick intense emotional reaction <the pornography of violence>

I was using this example to describe the "amount" of LDS content I endured while watching the film.

[–] ChaosFire360 18 years ago

Ok, first of all, it is impossible to have a movie that is universally appealing. It's just not possible, because not everyone is the same and has the same likes, dislikes, morals, ethics, beliefs, etc...

I am LDS, and I find demonic or extreamly violent or pornographic movies offensive and completely unnappealing. But just because I don't like them doesn't mean that they will stop producing those movies, or that other people do not like them.

All movies are geared toward a specific crowd. This one happens to be toward Mormons, and people who aren't so closed minded as to be offended by religion. I personally loved this movie. As you yourself said, no one forced you to see this movie. If you don't like movies that have religion, it's simple... DON'T GO SEE THEM!!!!

[–] brett-219 17 years ago

ChaosFire360,

You bring up some interesting points. I would like a chance to respond. The term "universal appeal" is a used to describe a movie that "most" of the population would see. The movie will have great success at the theater because of this. My point was only to state that this movie did not have universal appeal. It did not possess the attributes of a movie that "most" of the people would see.

You mention that just because you personally don't like a specific type of movie, they should still be made. From the surface, this sounds pretty accommodating. However, growing up my entire life in SLC, I know that the dominating religion does prevent certain movies from being shown or distributed. I recall a certain incident that cast a negative shadow on the state of Utah because a local businessman would not show a film because he "thought the content was objectionable." Although, at this same theater a film titled "Hostel" was being shown. To compare the two, I would personally find the "Hostel" more offensive. I would like to also note, the person who owns this theater IS LDS. Hypocrite comes to mind.

And lastly, the point of me posting this article was to provide feedback. I would expect feedback personally, if I created a film. To be absolutely clear on this, I saw this film as part of a class. The class was in a non-religious school. I did not search it out nor do I search out any LDS film. Because of the particular circumstance, I felt I could provide feedback and actually have it taken constructively.

You might be oversimplifying the fact that there is no separation from the LDS religion when living in UT.

[–] jackmuley 17 years ago

Brett,
You unfortunately make some good points about Mormons in Utah. I'm LDS, but grew up in Canada. Now that I live in Utah, I see a lot of hypocrisy in the Church, but I think a great deal of it has to do with people who are LDS for social reasons as opposed to a sincere faith.
The movie had tons of Mormon jargon that I thought people of other religions (or no religion) would find confusing. The story however, especially the dealing with grief segments were very well done. I don't think it's overly preachy either. Obviously pro-mormon, and people should know that by looking at the cover, but Sam's doubting at the ending shows a non-perfection that other LDS movies often overlook.
Brett, I'm sure that living in SLC you know mormons who really live it and others who are an embarrassment to their beliefs.

[–] hn-sitton 17 years ago

jackmuley,

I totally agree with you.

And, being a mormon coming from a different state than Utah, I was totally surprised. Mormons here are truly different than those elsewhere. I don't necessarily mean that in a bad way, but I can understand why someone who isn't Mormon would feel uncomfortable in this state.

[–] darth_gollum-1 17 years ago

I wish to quote here what I put in the accidental second copy of the same post, since this is the more lively of the two:

"I don't think your comments will offend a soul, but I believe that there isn't a Mormon alive who believes that everyone is accepting of our religion. No secret is made of the fact that we are regarded as heretical, overly-zealous, off the wall, and a number of other less than flattering things by most other Christian faiths. You have a point, there isn't a whole lot of universal appeal, but I doubt that was ever the aim."

Some movies are targeted to specific audiences. I don't believe there is a thing wrong with that.

[–] heidih_123 17 years ago

In my oppinion think that Charly was specifically directed to a Mormon audience, and that's who it's suppose to appeal to. It's a good wholesome movie with strong values laid thoughout it. There may be a fair amount of Mormon "jargon" but that's because it's directed to memebers of the LDS faith. And also, at one time or another, aren't we all hypocritical, Mormon or not? This was a movie made for Mormons not any other group.

[–] jaydengreenleaf 15 years ago

I agree with the last two posts and not really the others.

You are right, the movie does not have universal appeal...and that was because it was created for an LDS audience. Most LDS movies are made for and LDS audience (though not all ex: Saint and Soldiers).

Your professor showed this movie in a class? A religious class or just a movie class? I would understand it being in those...but any others seems kinda silly, even in Mormonville, Utah. Sorry if you already answered that in your post...I should have read it more carefully before I responded.