Brian Andelin, creative force

Brian Andelin, Executive Director of the Renaissance Society and Fascinating Womanhood.

An influential force behind the Fascinating Womanhood Documentary is Brian Andelin, the current Executive Director of the Renaissance Society. He manages the website and day-to-day operations of Fascinating Womanhood. He has made arrangements for interviews and introduced us to key people in the unfolding development of the film.  We interviewed Brian several weeks ago at the beautiful Salt Lake City Library downtown. Its always a pleasure visiting with Brian and we have appreciated his encouragement and creativity. Last time we talked he said, "if Beethoven and Handel had access to all the technology we have today they would be amazed because they were writing music with a bird feather!"

Brian Andelin, Executive Director of Renaissance Society and Erin Fox, film director.

Helen's Ideas on Love

From Fascinating Womanhood, 2007 edition...

"Celestial love is what every woman has longed for since the world began. Even in childhood little girls have tender dreams of romance in which they are the beautiful princess sought after by the handsome prince. Snow White and Cinderella are favorites of little girls. During youth, uppermost in a young girl’s mind is finding a man who will love and cherish her. This tender love has long been the theme of great operas, novels, and songs. Romantic love, one of the most moving forces in life, rightfully deserves our study and consideration."

Helen's ideas on love are influenced by her Mormon background, hence the term celestial, which for Mormons represents an exalted heavenly sphere. But they are also influenced by her extensive reading of 19th century European literature (Hugo and Austen come to mind) and popular culture (the Disney films Snow White (1939) and Cinderella (1950) were incredibly popular).

And her ideas bring up questions. Is romantic love truly something we should associate with heaven? Should our wants and needs when we are teenagers dictate the rest of our lives, or should we expect our wants and needs to change and mature as we (and our relationships) mature? What does it mean to love, and which responsibilities does it entail?