Under the Great White Throne

Someone once wrote that Southern Utah is a land of beauty and wonder "... equal to the myths of our imaginations." But it's likely that that person never really explored the modern-day myths that dominate the imaginations of some of the area's more interesting characters. In his latest documentary "Under the Great White Throne," Utah journalist and filmmaker Ken Fall does that and more as he takes viewers on a journey around the fringe of Western America on the eve of the new millennium.

The fascinating documentary first aired as part of KUED's Late Night Independent series.

"There is something about this place," says Fall. "Like much of world it's a bit out of whack. Somewhere up above there's probably a Protestant minister, and a Mormon pioneer, smiling about the myths of our imagination. And they may have just been wishing they named it the Pretty Canyon or the Grand Canyon."

Hooking up with filmmaker friend Trent Harris, Fall unveils often amusing, sometimes scary and always revealing local perceptions about Indians, space aliens, Nazis, Jesus, the U.S. Government and the place that has brought them all together -- Zion National Park with its most famous landmark, The Great White Throne.

It's the Anasazi meet the X-Files, where religious extremists, conspiracy theorists lost cultures and unexplained phenomenon finally find a home. Rich with unforgettable characters and employing a storytelling style that would please both Wallace Stegner and Hunter S. Thompson, Fall artfully illuminates the natural, cultural and spiritual complexities of the region. The Utah Film and Video Center called it "one of the most inventive and endearing documentaries ever made in Utah about Utah."

In his film, he visits with Ross LaBaron, a nephew of polygamist cult leader Ervil LaBaron, who has one wife and 12 children and believes that God lives in the mountains of the park, which is where he says Adam and Eve lived. He also claims to have found the Holy Grail in the park. Another woman looks at the park as a "womb with a view," and uses it as a setting to teach lovemaking. Her followers describe it as "a very sexy part of the earth." Johnnie Bangerter, a neo-Nazi now in jail, sees Zion as the site of the next Armageddon. He also claims the Anasazi Indians were white men. Then there are motorcyclists on their Harley Davidsons who believe that aliens come into the park via a secret landing spot. The blame the government for a massive cover-up. Other people are drawn to the park's special energy.