Why Utah is So Weird

Writing by Sam Denby and Tristan Purdy
Editing by Alexander Williard
Animation led by Max Moser
Sound by Graham Haerther
Thumbnail by Simon Buckmaster

References

[godnah]

I said "Mormons" as I was clicking the video, and then Johnny Utah confirmed: "Mormons."

[Gkowi]

Utah resident, ex mormon here. I usually dont like hearing about Utah and the Mormon church online because people get a lot of things wrong.
This was one of the most fair videos ive seen on the topics. Good and bad, it was accurate.

[noahbrown]

I really respect creators who don't make you wait for the answer to the question in their title, but Wendover takes the cake here by giving us the answer as the first word of the video.

[TheMonicaAlison]

For everyone wondering, yes even East High where High School Musical was filmed has an LDS Seminary across the street.

[mkl_dvd]

As a Wisconsinite, I take pride in the occasional news story about Wisconsin sports fans traveling to Utah for away games and drinking entire bars dry.

[starofthestorm]

as someone from Utah, I can confirm we are weird

[emilymabey]

Great video! Thank you. As an attorney who practiced in Utah and now practices in Illinois, I would add expungement as one of Utah’s uniquely progressive areas of law. Utah has been one of the leading states in the nation in pioneering ways for those with criminal records to clean, expunge, or overcome their records. Utah’s law is still ahead of Illinois’s in this way.

[DroseraNara]

Here's the thing that no one talks about: We have a STRONG, decades long, multi-generational alternative community, and it's kind of growing. I work at the same goth nightclub my dad went to when he was my age (he still goes he's just not my age anymore), and I'm not the first nor the only kid of someone who regularly attend for most of their life currently working there. There's a goth club, multiple goth nights a month in various locations, multiple alternative themed thrift stores, goth community events (monday we're all seeing Abigail), goth camping trips, group migrations to out of state music festivals, post concert meetups.. It's a close knit, long lived community and It's so rarely talked about outside of maybe SLC Punk.

Here's another thing I never see talked about: Do you know what Utah has disproportionately more of than most states, aside from children? Haunted house attractions. You have Nightmare on 13th, Fear Factory, Strangling Brothers Circus, Castle of Chaos, Shadows of Fear, Haunted Forest, Asylum 49, Haunted Kay's Cross, Dark Nightmare, Haunted Hollow, SO MANY DAMN CORN MAZES, and our local amusement park hosts at least 5-6 haunted houses on its property every fall. The thing that's always cracked me up about the premise of Five Nights At Freddy's 3 is that all of the games canonly take place in Hurricane, Utah, and Utah is no stranger to making haunted houses out of locations with confirmed deaths. I've named three already.

I think these two factors are related. I think haunted houses, and fan conventions, and places like Evermore park (I know its closed at the moment but it's coming back as something similar to the original premise, just hopefully better funded) are the neutral middle ground where the least strict mormons and those who feel alienated by mormonism can meet and have a good time together. Halloween is a big holiday in this state because of that, too. For every family with 3 toddlers waddling from car to car in a church parking lot wearing massive coats over their costumes, there's a group of adults going to Nightmare on 13th and then going to eat at that horror movie themed burger resturaunt.

[crosswordwithsara]

One important caveat for the high percent of Republican voters in Utah is the caucus/primary system. Because Democratic candidates are less likely to win, many voters with left-leaning values will register as Republican in order to participate in the Republican primary and elect more moderate candidates.

[doggedout]

I have been in and through Utah many times..
The strangest had to when I spent two weeks in SLC in the 90's for work.
At some point I remember telling a friend ..."I have to go to a good burger and beer place!"
I was on the road all over the country at the time and was basically living at places like Chili's and Applebees.
They took me to what appeared to be an Italian bar / restaurant.
We sat down at the bar and I ordered a burger and beer. I could clearly see liquor bottles in the back with beer taps.
The waiter said: "You have to have a membership and a sponsor for the beer."
I had no idea what this meant. "Membership?" "Spenser?"....for a beer?
An older Italian man (like New York / Jersey Italian ..think Tony Soprano) sitting in the middle of the bar said: "I'll sponsor him."....like it was soothing he said 100 times a day and...
The waiter brought my burger and beer.
Easily the oddest meal experience ever.

[boccci]

For the record, the beers are no longer watered down. Beer companies got together and told the Government that they would no longer be brewing, packaging, and shipping special 3% beers for a single state. 5%ish is the standard and available at gas stations and grocery stores, but if you want a highpoint you will need to go to a place with a liquor license

[narial]

Imagine having a political spectrum that isn't just red or blue. Yknow. AS IT SHOULD BE WITH POLITICAL DIVERSITY.

[peturf]

Moved from New York backcountry to Salt Lake City for my masters degree. You wouldn’t think Utah is weird until you leave the state and go somewhere else. I loved my time in Utah, people are friendly and outgoing, and the temples, while not my thing, are some of the most beautiful structures you’ll see.

[appa]

I love videos that answer the title question in the first second. Anti clickbait.

[flibbidyx]

Also, there is a town called Wendover, which is on the border of Utah and Nevada. West Wendover, NV is the go-to place for people to drink, gamble, visit the dispensary, etc. Basically all the sins that are restricted in Utah.

[alexvaughn]

Regarding the Church's relationship with LGBT people:
The morality of the LDS majority tends toward the concept that Church doctrine is a path that should be followed to reach happiness (often called the Iron Rod), and that a part of this is the conscious rejection of sin. They idolize that pattern of behavior, and consider it particularly admirable for someone to "struggle" with, for example, same-sex attraction yet still choose to marry heterosexually and have children. One might struggle with alcoholism or chastity, but that personal failing can always be amended with proper dedication to the Church. Meaning that those who have let go of the "Iron Rod" and wandered from the path need only be guided back like lost children.
This creates a rather infantalizing view of any non-member, but especially of apostate ex-mormons. Namely, the ever-increasing number of people raised in the church who have come to realize their own queerness and left to live the life they want. These people are the children and siblings and friends of Mormon Utahns, and those same Mormons see them as lost and wandering more than abominable or evil. "Hate the sin, love the sinner" may be patronizing as hell, but they sure don't want us dead. They can't reconvert us if we're dead.
-Sincerely, an ex-Mormon queer woman

[austinknighton]

Native Utahn here, served a mission, married in the temple, the whole 9, this was one of the most well done, unbiased, and informative video essays I’ve ever seen, I was worried that it would just be 25 minutes of you lambasting the dominant religion, but you did a great job giving an accurate view of the state, it’s origins, and its values! I served my mission in Oklahoma speaking Spanish, and it definitely softened my view on ilegal immigration! I learned a lot about what drives people to leave, and gain the sense of compassion that I had lacked otherwise

[witwicky]

As a Missourian, the stories of the church BEFORE Utah are amazing. The only violence order ever given by a governor in US history against its own people (Boggs). Its a pretty amazing gap in our history that people do not know.

[Hrafnskald]

Thank you for being willing to go in depth and not just stopping with "Mormons = Weird". I lived for many years in that part of the country, and saw first hand how, for many people, the church played a positive role in their lives, organizing community events, encouraging family time, and building public institutions that helped the community. I'm not a member, but I respect what they have accomplished.

[MikeP]

Well done, Wendover Productions. This video kept cropping up in my YouTube feed, but as a lifelong Utahn I was very hesitant to click on it. I couldn't help but think, "We've heard it all before, trust me." But tonight, after a little celebratory session after a trip to the dispensary up the street (You heard that right, folks. It's 4/20/24 and Utah has medicinal dispensaries.) and a few beers from the Utah State Liquor Store, I finally clicked play.

Utah IS weird . . . and that's why I love it so, so much! I'm not gonna go through the video point by point because aside from some minor tweaks and pronunciation corrections (I swear you were mispronouncing "Brigham" on purpose, haha! There is no N in Brigham, my guy), you pretty much nailed it. I especially appreciated your occasional use of the word "nuance." As is the case with so many overviews and summaries, it's nearly impossible to emphasize the multitude of nuance surrounding us every day. Making broad, generalized assertions without mention of nuance is just poor journalism, in my opinion. I feel like you did a very good job of describing Utah in such a short amount of time without resorting to GIANT blanket statements. Others will surely disagree, but I think you did a helluva job.

I grew up in SLC, then moved to St. George at age 15. I moved back to Salt Lake at 26 and have been here ever since, although I still consider St. Geezy and Las Vegas my other two "hometowns." I've also spent a lot of time in Massachusetts, LA, San Francisco, Denver, and Texas. I only bring this up because I want to mention how wonderful the people of Utah are. Not that people in those other places aren't wonderful as well, but there's a very unique spirit to Utah that I don't see or feel in other states. It's probably just my own biases, but I swear it's noticeable. I can only think of one way to explain what I mean; I've been to hundreds of concerts and comedy clubs all across the country and there is nothing like seeing a band or comedian in SLC for the first time. Without fail, every time, they're like, "HOLY SHIT! You guys are awesome!" Now, that could easily be low expectations on their part, but I've seen it from repeat visitors as well. Utahns have an extra-weird sparkle in their eye, haha.

There are definitely militant Mormons and far-right lunatics here (a couple of my friends' parents spring to mind), but it has been my experience that most Utahns are fairly reasonable centrists with a lot of love in their hearts. Especially as the old timers age out, a younger generation of Utahns---people such as myself, in their mid-40s---are taking to leadership roles and dialing back some of the more outdated and outlandish quirks.

Anyhoozle, this comment completely got away from me. Sorry for the essay.
Utah's a weird, wacky, wonderful place. ✌️❤️