American Primeval

I found out about American Primeval through Kimara Tso, a University of Arizona student turned fitness influencer and model. She's Native American herself, and she caught my eye when she showed off her role in the film.

As an LDS member, I was also interested because American Primeval is closely tied to Mormon history. Since I want to start writing film critiques and blogs about religion and theology, I think reviewing American Primeval is the perfect way to begin. Actually, this will be my second film review—my first was Exodus: Gods and Kings.

American Primeval is written by Mark L. Smith and directed by Peter Berg. Berg runs a film production company, Grand Electric / Film 44, which is dedicated to authentic storytelling.

While doing some light research on Grand Electric / Film 44, I learned that they work closely with Mark Wahlberg on various film projects. I also discovered that they produced one of my old Netflix binge-addiction TV series, Friday Night Lights—something I used to watch while living in my car between 2015 and 2016.

I watched the first episode but haven't watched the second episode and beyond yet, though I'll be writing a review for each episode. The first episode was about stressed pioneers, a mother and son, and later the mother turned out to be a fugitive. The Utah Wars serve as the story's background.

To fully understand the nature of the story in the film, you need to be familiar with American West history, particularly the Utah Wars, President James Buchanan, and the early Latter-day Saints movement. The Utah Wars aren’t as well-known as the American Revolutionary War or the U.S. Civil War. While there are similarities between the U.S. Civil War and the Utah Wars, the key difference is that both parties didn’t directly attack or defend against each other. Instead, they tried to win influence and control through political and somewhat military structures.

To make the Utah Wars story short:

The Latter-day Saints community, under Brigham Young, settled in isolated communities in the West, far from the influence of the East Coast, allowing them to continue practicing their beliefs and way of life without outside pressure. But there were distractions that continued to affect the Latter-day Saints settlements in the West: California gold seekers, westward pioneers, American Indians, and, of course, politicians on the East Coast seeking to expand their power westward. 

Speaking of politics, slavery was the main issue on the East Coast. One party, the Republican Party, opposed slavery, while the other party, the Democratic Party, endorsed it. Most Republicans believed that slavery was morally wrong, while most Democrats believed that slavery should be left to the states or local governments. The expansion of slavery into the West became a hotly debated topic during the presidential elections in the 1850s. Polygamy also raised concerns in the political climate, as many early Latter-day Saints members, including Brigham Young himself, practiced polygamy and owned slaves, which triggered reactions from East Coast politicians.

Interesting. Brigham Young himself was a Democrat. He was even a Democratic governor of the Utah Territory under both administrations, those of Millard Fillmore, the 14th president, and James Buchanan, the 15th president. Democrats in the pre-Civil War era endorsed slavery and polygamy as states' rights, even if they morally disagreed with them. So it makes sense why Brigham Young was a Democrat.

Polygamy wasn’t the issue on President Buchanan’s mind; it was Brigham Young’s resistance to federal authority. That was the real issue. President Buchanan didn't send troops to end the practice of polygamy in the West. They were deployed to ensure that federal authority remained stable—in other words, to make sure that citizens, including Latter-day Saints members, obeyed federal authority. Brigham Young didn't like to answer to anyone but the higher cause above him—God. So, the "Mormon troops" under Brigham Young's orders began slowing down the federal enforcement efforts, such as sabotaging railroads, denying livestock feed for federal troops' horses, and other tactics. However, some Mormon troops (also known as militias, troublemakers, or rebels) went so far as to directly attack federal troops, murder pioneers who crossed their path, and blame Native Americans for the troubles that the Mormon rebels actually caused. Those actions weren't directly ordered by Brigham Young, but they made him appear to be a greater threat to federal authority, which in turn led to a more aggressive federal response. 

So, this is the basic story of the Utah War.

About the first episode:

Sara and Devin Rowell, a mother and son, were traveling to California to meet Sara's husband, who was waiting for them. Sara couldn't travel alone, so she needed an experienced guide. She found one in Jim Bridger, but he only guided them halfway. Due to the harsh conditions, no one else wanted to guide Sara to her final destination. Sara and Devin eventually joined a Mormon polygamous family within the group of pioneers. While at a rest area, they unexpectedly received visitors who turned out to be Mormon militias. Later, after the militias left, they were attacked by another mob that was searching for a fugitive. It turned out that Sara was the fugitive they were looking for, as she had been wanted for murder!

This is the introduction part of my American Primeval review. In the next review, I'll discuss the details of the first episode, from the characters to the cinematography, English subtitles, and how I felt about the episode as a new viewer myself.