Moroni Jessop's "Official" Review of "Dawn Porter: The Polygamist's Wife"

Yeah, you knew this was coming, didn’t you? I couldn’t watch the episode and then NOT comment on it. I downloaded it, and then Martha, Temple and I huddled around my laptop and watched it.

How was? Generally, I think it was pretty good. A dear friend of mine overseas watched it first and wrote me about it:

“I have just finished watching it. While ultimately Dawn decided polygamy was not for her, no surprises there... it was the most positive realistic documentary i have ever seen on polygamy. I think you are going to be really pleased! :)

“Nothing embarrassing was mentioned at all. I think you came across as very genuine my only disappointment was not hearing more from Temple and Martha.

“BTW...your kids are absolutely adorable!!!!!”

I agree. It was pretty positive, and I think that Dawn dealt with us pretty fairly. I do have a few points that I will criticize, however:

1. Centennial Park –

a. I really enjoyed this segment. I really don’t know that much about Centennial Park, only having been there a couple of times. I have had a few acquaintances from this town.

b. I found myself feeling a little bit jealous. They have such a nice home. I wish that I had a house like that, complete with my own “man cave”. LOL Their kids were so well-groomed and well-behaved. What an awesome family.

c. I really admired Ruth’s attitude and the fact that she was not afraid to express her opinions. She did not come across overly-zealous or kooky, either.

d. Come on, Boyd! You should have gone on air. Are ya chicken?? Did I have any less to risk? LOL

e. I was not aware that “gratisfy” was a word. That is kind of like the words “flustrated” or “ignernt”. They exist in the Utah vernacular, and nowhere else in the world.

2. Airtime –

a. The family in Centennial Park received much more airtime than my family.

b. That is because they are they are more what people envision when people imagine polygamists. They fit the stereotype, whereas there is nothing typical about my family.

c. My family, according to the producers, was more “standard”. In other words, if you took away the fact that we live plural marriage, there would be nothing remarkable about my family.

3. Chronology –

a. When Temple watched the episode, she was confused. “So they went to Centennial Park before they came here?” she asked. “They didn’t tell us that.”

b. “No,” I answered. “They came here before they went to Centennial Park. That is just something that they did for the storyline.”

c. The events at the YFZ/ FLDS compound took place AFTER our interview with Dawn. In fact, the raid in Texas happened the day after Dawn left our home.

4. Dawn went out to the “middle of nowhere” and had to “wait an hour” for me to pick her up –

a. Maybe it is in the middle of nowhere, but it is not THAT remote. We have gas stations, movie theaters and restaurant within driving distance, like everywhere else.

b. Dawn DID wait an hour while the producers made me wait in my car down the road, waiting for a cue to drive up.

c. The scene where I drive up, introduce myself and help her into the car – we did that in, like, five takes. It was all totally choreographed.

d. But the whole scene looks great – Joel is an excellent cameraman. I am glad, as he put it in his blog, that he got paid great. I, on the other hand, got paid hardly anything at all.

5. The Condition of the Trailer –

a. This is something that we were very self-conscious about. In fact, we almost didn’t do the shoot because of our living conditions.

b. I feel that this one deserves special mention, so I am composing a post about just this that I will post this weekend.

c. Dawn talks about how dirty our home is, and then they focus in on a pile of laundry in the kids’ room. The producers put that pile of laundry there.

d. The trailer is in bad condition, but it is very clean.

6. Sophie – I couldn’t have been more proud of my daughter and the way she handled her interview with Dawn.

7. My Interview with Dawn: Adultery –

a. Just imagine two days of filming, and the stupidest thing you said in those two days becomes the centerpiece of your interview.

b. Dawn asked me if I hadn’t become a polygamist and stayed married to only Martha – would I have strayed?

c. “That’s a good question,” I answer. “I’ve wondered that myself. I probably would have strayed. I’m a polygamist at heart.”

d. I intended this statement to be commentary on the natural polygamist inclinations of most men, but it really just sounded stupid and made me look like a philanderer.

e. I was married to Martha for 7 years before Temple ever came into our lives. I never cheated once. And I had the chance to many, many times. As a male social worker, many of my clients were single moms. I had women make passes at me on a couple of occasions, and once I was even propositioned. Adultery is a very serious thing to me, and something I never considered.

8. My Interview with Dawn: Sex as a Chore –

a. In an admission that goes against my latino machismo, I admit that trying to satisfy two women can sometimes seem like a chore.

b. I was in the doghouse for a while with one of my wives when she watched this.

9. My Interview with Dawn: Overall –

a. I gave a multifaceted view of why I am a polygamist including sex, the philosophy of sex, history of polygamy in Mormonism, social reasons, etc.

b. They cut out everything and left only the sex questions.

c. Which kind of makes me – and all polygamous men – look like lechers and very one-dimensional.

10. My Children – the part where my children are playing at the fire and getting ready for bed is my favorite part. I am so proud of my kids.

11. The Trailer Shaking – Dawn, you don’t know how true this is, much to my chagrin.

But still, it is largely a positive show, and it was largely a positive experience for me and my family. I have no regrets and would do it all over again. I also think Dawn is way better than Louis Theroux, whoever he is. And she is way better looking than Lilly Allen. (Although, before we met Dawn, Temple did ask me what Dawn looked like, and I said, “Kind of like Lilly Allen.” LOL)

Here is a final email that I received from Dawn yesterday:

Moroni, you have no idea how happy this makes me. I never set out to hurt you guys, and although i wanted to be really really honest in places, I always expected that you might not like the odd comment. But I set out to be honest, and I think I was. i am so glad you appreciate that.

Tell the girls that there were a MILLION things I wish made it to the cut, but you are right, editing makes it impossible, and I cant tell you how frustrating having to be so brutal with the footage is...

I care about you all, and I am glad the experience was positive for you...PHWEW!!!

There were things about your sitiuation that I think we could have slammed you on. We could have depicted you in all sorts of ways. But you didnt deserve to be slammed, and we thought you were a really good man. Which you are!

Please always keep in touch

Much love and many many thanks for your openness and honesty

Dawn x x