How I Know Napoleon Dynamite is an LDS Movie

I just recently watched "Napoleon Dynamite" with my family. It is a film so inane, vacuous, and downright offensive in its vapidity that I vowed long ago never to watch it again. Yet there it was at the yard sale last summer, staring at my then-six-year-old son who, transfixed, was somehow unable to resist the siren call of "fifty cents." He promptly purchased the monstrosity and proudly displayed it to me when he got home.
Watching this film again and ignoring, this time, the multitude of wanting elements liberated me from the chains of my own prejudice and helped me to look at this non-tour de force in a new light. What if I counted the LDS elements in the film? There are many:

1) No swearing. No violation of the seventh commandment. Chaste. And not in the "this film has no sex in it even though sex permeates the entire production" kind of way that the Twilight series is "chaste."

2) Speaking of chastity, there is a Jane Austen-like scene where Napoleon's and Deb's hands inadvertently touch each other. It is the only hint of chemistry throughout the film and is charmingly innocent, in a Jane Austen sort of way. And let's not ignore the Jane Austen-Mormon link. Mormon women like Jane Austen. They make you watch it with them. There was even a Mormon version of "Pride and Prejudice: A Latter-Day Tale," which made youth road shows look like they were stacked with talent. And Jane Austen's work was done at the same time that Wilford Woodruff did the work for the Founding Fathers and "other eminent men and women."

3) Creative dating. This one is not so much Mormon as it is Jello Belt Mormon specifically. Pedro has to bake Summer a whole cake to ask her to the dance? Napoleon has to draw Trish a picture before he can ask her to the dance? That is intense. I remember a program on the Faith and Values channel back in high school that was done by some LDS folks that was targeted at high school kids. One episode talked about how you could have fun in a group date by going to the local public library and having a scavenger hunt to find the smallest book, fattest book, oldest book, etc. I remember trying to envision what it would be like if I actually asked a girl to go do that with me. My social standing was frail enough without "creative dating" making it worse.

4) And speaking of social standing, Summer Wheatley, who is supposed to be the coolest girl in school, works a part-time job at DI. I have great respect for people who work while in school and believe it is a good thing, and something that taught me good values and so forth. But cool kids in my school definitely didn't work, especially at a thrift store. Except maybe in the summer, but not during the school year. I think the Mormon work ethic still allows for coolness in this case, however.

5) The dance. Everyone was dancing like at a church dance. No hands at the waist stuff. Only gentlemanly clasped hands, with one hand awkwardly placed around the girl's back. No booty shaking. Good distances between partners. Clean music.

6) A veritable profusion of self-employed people. Uncle Rico and Kip sell tupperware-type stuff as part of their own business. Rex opens a Rex Kwon Do studio to make some money. Deb sells trinkets and takes glamour shots to pay for college. I think I read somewhere that Utah has the highest number of women who are self-employed. There's a wiff of Jello Belt culture in all this self-employment.

7) Sign Language. The Happy Hands club sings in sign language. The only places in my life where sign language has been prominent are in Primary and the MTC. There's a Mormon-sign language link that is strong.

8) References to Boy Scouts. Nuff said.

9) Hospitality for the Lamanite. The (vice?)principal is a bit mean and condescending to Pedro when he first arrives at the school, but it is Napoleon who is kind to Pedro. We also are brought to feel sympathy when Pedro gets in trouble for making a pinata of Summer Wheatley and having people beat it with a stick. He says that it was simply something that people do back in Mexico and that he didn't mean anything by it. The script clearly creates sympathy for Pedro, who wins the school election at the end. Similar hospitality can be found in the Twilight series, The Other Side of Heaven, Baptists at our Barbecue, The RM, Johnny Lingo, and others.

10) Jokes about soul mates. Kip is absurd when he talks about his "soul mate" Lawfanduh, and Uncle Rico, also an absurd character, likewise dreams about his "soul mate." The context for both of these mentions of a "soul mate" makes clear that the notion is to be mocked. As Presidet Kimball said, "Soul mates are fiction and an illusion."

11) Napoleon wears a Ricks College t-shirt.

12) Trish's mom makes her go to the dance with Napoleon because it's the right thing to do. This is so like what a Mormon mom would do.

13)Deb really stands up for herself. She lets Napoleon have it, telling him he is a very shallow friend. This kind of self-confidence and letting the guy have it is something I've seen over and over again in Mormon girls.

14) In the brief sequel at the end, the person performing the marriage ceremony tells a much watered-down version of a story I've heard in church and in General Conference.

So there you have it. MTV picked up a bona fide Mormon cinematic masterpiece (not) and probably didn't even realize it!