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Deseret

Name: Deseret
Director: James Benning
Released: 1996
Duration: 82 min

Representation Score

1.5/10

Minimal

1996

Director

James Benning

Runtime

82 minutes

Average Rating

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New Showbiz Analysis

James Benning’s *Deseret* is a formalist, structuralist meditation on the Utah landscape rather than a character-driven narrative. Because the film relies on static cinematography and narrated news snippets from 1852 to 1992, it lacks the human ability to act necessary for traditional diversity metrics. The work functions as a postmodern critique of history, using the term 'Deseret' to highlight tensions between institutional records and the physical territory. It avoids a singular, celebratory narrative of Western expansion, opting instead for a detached, observational stance on systemic change. Ultimately, the film's diversity is found in its refusal to provide a unified story. It prioritizes the intersection of archival text and geological time over the representation of specific social identities or diverse human populations.

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Category Breakdown

Does Deseret have LGBTQ+ representation?

Minimal

The film contains no characters, dialogue, or interpersonal relationships. There is no presence of LGBTQ+ identities or narratives about gender non-conformity.

How does Deseret portray gender?

Minimal

As a non-narrative work focused on landscape and archival text, there are no depictions of gendered ability to act or social roles. The film does not engage with gendered clichés.

How racially and ethnically diverse is Deseret?

Limited

The score reflects a focus on geological and institutional time rather than human diversity. While it deconstructs the American West, it lacks active character's ability to drive the story or explicit visual representation.

How does Deseret represent religion and culture?

Fair

Benning uses news snippets to present a fragmented, dissonant view of history. This approach critiques how religious and state institutions shape the environment rather than promoting an idealized Western morality.

Does Deseret include disability representation?

Minimal

The film does not feature characters or depictions of neurodivergence, physical disability, or mental health conditions.

Present on Screen

Disrupts conventional, celebratory narratives of American expansion through a fragmented, postmodern lens.
Uses archival news snippets to provide a critical, non-singular view of historical development.
Challenges authoritative histories by juxtaposing serene landscapes with turbulent historical records.

Limited or Absent

Lacks character-based ability to act and human diversity required for higher social representation scores.
Provides no visual or narrative representation of specific racial, gender, or LGBTQ+ identities.
Focuses on institutional and geological time rather than the lived experiences of diverse populations.

Official Synopsis

This is multifaceted look at the landscape and history of Utah (or Deseret, as the Mormon Church prefers to call it). Benning condenses 93 news stories from the New York Times from 1852 to 1992 (read offscreen by Fred Gardner) and sets them against contemporary Utah landscapes, the shots changing with each sentence.

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