The Testament of Ann Lee, directed by Mona Fastvold, was released in December 2025.
A World in the Making: The Shakers is on view at the Institute of Contemporary Art Philadelphia through August 9.
LET ME PUT THIS IN PERSPECTIVE There are seven million Mormons in the United States, but mainstream entertainment rarely takes an interest in their way of life, aside from The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City and the occasional raunchy Broadway satire.
There are four hundred thousand Amish Americans. They get less airtime than the Mormons, although for some reason there are lots of oafish Amish side characters in sitcoms.
The Puritans went extinct two centuries ago. Media-wise, they have The Scarlet Letter and The Crucible, thereby ensuring that “puritanical” remains an insult for buzzkills of every kind.
The Jehovah’s Witnesses, all nine million of them, hardly exist as far as pop culture is concerned. Same with the Mennonites, the Methodists, the River Brethren, the Quakers, the Hutterites, and the Seventh Day Adventists.
But the Sha…
