The Mormon Giant
Thursday April 9, 2026
6:00pm
Guerry Hall
The Mormon Giant explores the relationship between religion and professional wrestling in the twentieth century. Focusing on wrestlers with Mormon “gimmicks,” the film shows how they presented as “heels” (villains) or “faces” (heroes) in auditoriums throughout North America and abroad, and how such representations proved usable (or not) to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints writ large. The Mormon Giant narrates the “face-turn” of Mormonism in twentieth-century American popular culture, while showing also how religion and wrestling generally work together—how they shape and reflect each other—in the modern world. This event will feature live narration by David Walker and live soundtracking by Timothy Albro. David Walker (writer, narrator) is J. F. Rowny Chair of Religion and Society at UC Santa Barbara. Timothy Albro (soundtrack) is an experimental musician based in Jacksonville, FL. If you plan to attend and need an accommodation, please email kacurts@sewanee.edu.
