Tara Ward reviews the first episode of Three’s new documentary series and asks, when will it be enough?
The opening moments of Devotion: The Gloriavale Story capture how isolated Gloriavale really is. It begins with some stunning South Island scenery, all snow-capped mountains, wide stony riverbeds and steep hills covered in lush native forest – and at the bottom of those hills sits Gloriavale, the religious community that is the subject of this new three-part docuseries. Made by NHNZ Worldwide, Devotion: The Gloriavale Story explores the contrasts between the deeply held religious beliefs of the people living at the bottom of those hills, and the external societal scrutiny about what’s really going on at Gloriavale.
“In a remote part of the South island, there is a religious community under siege,” the documentary begins.
Gloriavale’s right to exist has been questioned for some time, but “under siege” feels like a bit of a stretch – unless the documentary is referring to the government’s recent decision to close Gloriavale School due to safety concerns (a judicial review has since kept the school open). Or perhaps they’re referring to reports of overcrowding and restricted access to drinking water, or former residents taking legal action to receive back pay in a work environment that was akin to a sweatshop, or the attempts to suppress information about a teen who choked to death in an isolation room, or the decade of abuse investigations that involved 22 offenders and 80 victims.
The docuseries doesn’t shy away from some of the many allegations against Gloriavale, laying them out in the opening minutes of episode one, titled “In Search of Truth”. In quick succession, it mentions the modest blue dresses that inspired The Handmaid’s Tale television series costumes, allegations of sexual abuse, families torn apart, women submitting to their husbands and becoming “breeding machines”, leaders controlling the Gloriavale population. “Tear it down,” one voice says. “I need to destroy them,” says another.
But Devotion: The Gloriavale Story offers a rare chance to go beyond those allegations and hear directly from some of the people who still live inside the controversial community. Executive producer Julie Christie is renowned for her ability to gain access to areas where others have failed. Her most recent production about Tom Phillips has come under intense scrutiny after it was revealed police gave the company exclusive access throughout the investigation, and attempted to keep Netflix’s involvement a secret. Phillips’ family have said they’re “disturbed” the documentary is being made.
It’s been 10 years since Gloriavale allowed television cameras inside, and Peter Righteous said they did so for Christie and her team “because we came to trust the people and the process”. We first meet 15-year-old Cheerful Stedfast, who’s one of a family of 12 and says Gloriavale offers her “truth, and a wholesome life”. Rachel Stedfast talks of fighting multiple forces that want to destroy the community, and says there’s a whole other side to Gloriavale that hasn’t been seen. “It’s a little bit arrogant to say that because problems have occurred there, it needs to shut down,” Luke Valor tells us.
“Things happened,” he continues. “It was rare, but it wasn’t us.”
Devotion: The Gloriavale Story doesn’t use a narrator, but instead builds a contrasting picture of Gloriavale by letting the interviewees speak for themselves. Current members say they’re just normal people trying to live quiet lives, and believe they should be free to observe God the way they want. Former residents say they escaped Gloriavale to prevent their children from experiencing the same abuse they did. Women bake bread in the Gloriavale kitchen and talk proudly about continuing the work of their parents and grandparents, moments before former resident Gideon reveals that “it was one of the hardest things of my life to call my father a pedophile”.
Obviously, there are huge tensions between these vastly different perspectives, and the current Gloriavale members never waver: they’re there to serve God. The docuseries was given access to footage from Gloriavale’s archives, most of which hasn’t been seen publicly before, which offers an insight into what life in Gloriavale was originally like in the 1960s and 1970s, while incidentally showing how fundamentalist it has become. But it’s the compelling accounts of family separation that strike the deepest in episode one, particularly when journalist John Hudson and Phil Cooper – son of Glorivale founder Neville Cooper – each recall Phil Cooper’s 1991 abduction of his wife and five children from Gloriavale, and the devastating fallout that followed.
The never-before-seen archival footage will satiate some people’s curiosity about what it’s really like inside Gloriavale – but New Zealanders already familiar with its controversial history or those who have watched Escaping Utopia will find few revelations in episode one. What it will do, however, is introduce international audiences to Gloriavale. The docuseries premiered earlier this month in America on Paramount+ (under the title Devotion: Obedience or Betrayal) and has been promoted on CBS Mornings and in People magazine.
It’s clear that Devotion: The Gloriavale Story has been made with a global audience in mind, rather than just for New Zealanders who might be seeking change in how Gloriavale operates. In a press release promoting the series, Christie promised the people of Gloriavale will confront their past (episode two follows Gloriavale’s unravelling after police investigate claims of abuse, while the final episode covers further allegations and increased scrutiny following Neville Cooper’s death).
Rather than providing New Zealanders with answers in this new series, Christie wants viewers to make up their own minds about Gloriavale – but is this “neutral” approach for the sake of a commercially successful TV show fair, given Gloriavale victims have already experienced so much abuse and trauma? As journalist Michael Morrah says of Gloriavale in episode one, “There’s been investigation after investigation. It appears like something might be happening, it appears like the government might be doing something – and then it all fades away.” How many more documentaries do we need about Gloriavale before something actually changes?
Devotion: The Gloriavale Story streams on ThreeNow, and continues on Three on Monday June 29 and Tuesday June 30 at 8.30pm.