What do you think of the film "Jesus Camp"?

Question

" On this subject - See the film "Jesus Camp" now on video. This amazing documentary chronicles the recruiting of young children to be "Soldiers in God's Army". Pastor Becky Fischer runs the Kids on Fire Summer Camp in which children smash symbols of the United States Government with a baseball bat and speak in tongues in front of a cardboard cutout of George Bush. The young evangelists also get tips on how to "use the cute kid thing" to get what they want from the notorious Ted Haggard.... Is this God's way or has Pastor Becky just flipped out? You decide. "

http://www.jesuscampthemovie.com/

Barbara - I think you misunderstand:
The movie is not propaganda made by the people who run the camp - it in fact, is quite the opposite... i think you should really give it a try - if only to better understand why you feel the way you do.

Answer 1

I think Jesus camp was an amazing documentary. They did a great job at showing an unbiased look at the activities while also implying that the directors themselves do not necessarily believe in their ways. It shows merit of actual interest, not propaganda, but an actual curiosity to know how these people think. The only bias that you might say the directors had was an actual interest in filming what seemed to them to be a little off. In their words, "a typical American lifestyle, with a twist."

I especially liked the artistry at the end, where Becky is in the car wash listening to right-wing radio, and it gives a great feeling of complete and utter unconsciousness towards others beliefs while maintaining an unbreakable belief of her own.

Answer 2

I just watched Jesus Camp a couple nights ago (thank you, Netflix). I'm still thinking a lot about it, so I guess it succeeded in that sense. But something about it bothered me. I'll try to articulate my feelings here.

For an ostensibly unbiased documentary (although I challenge anyone to find a truly unbiased documentary), it seems like a lot of people are having powerfully negative reactions to the content of the film. In the Netflix user reviews... "This movie will scare the crap out of you"... "These people are sick"... "These people in the documentary...they are monsters". Some of these comments sound like something that might be taught in this Jesus Camp... grouping other people together and writing them off as crazy or inferior.

Which makes me question what exactly the filmmakers were after. Like in their previous movie, Boys of Baraka, the directors are attempting to show how much children are affected by their environment... how susceptible they are to "brainwashing." This part of the movie works, and works brilliantly. The three kids that the movie focused on were incredibly precocious, articulate and passionate; I was actually happy to see that they were so EXCITED about something (unlike many children who are riddled with apathy). Of course, then you see Levi preaching fairly eloquently, but ultimately he's only regurgitating what the camp leader said only hours earlier. And you hear little Rachel say that God only comes to charismatic churches, where people are dancing up and down, praising the Lord. Before, she hadn't expressed any sort of intolerance whatsoever; here, a hint of it shines through, and it is deeply unsettling.

But while it succeeds in this domain, it fails in that it has a fairly overt political agenda that compromises the truth of the film. The filmmakers wear it on their sleeve, splicing in totally unnecessary commentary from a radio announcer in between shots of the evangelists. Not content to allow the evangelist material to speak for itself, the filmmakers include this "voice of reason" to offset what the evangelists are saying, as if they are afraid that people might actually be convinced by this evangelist stuff.

It's likely they also put in only the most exceptional dialogue/ events that happened at the camp. I'm sure the filmmakers got excited thinking about how their audience would react in horror to the Harry Potter quote. Horrendous though it was, I have a feeling that stuff like that (e.g., the Dubya cutout) was overrepresented in the film, relative to other, less sensational footage. Which makes sense, I guess. Entertainment? Certainly. Truth? Not so sure.

What doesn't make sense is that the filmmakers actually arranged for the trip to Washington D.C. They tried too hard to make a political point... to create this impression that 25% of the country is "training" a "military" to fight in this "culture war."

What they don't realize is that this film only exacerbates the culture war, causing moderates and liberals to become disgusted with the evangelists. Treating intolerance with more intolerance has never solved anything.

The movie is interesting from a psychological perspective. I just wish the filmmakers had left their political beliefs at the door.

Answer 3

Do you know the scriptwriter was Paul, and the film was first 'shot' in 325AD in the 'Nicea Council'.? Do you also know that there was no eye 'witness' to the 'Resurrection' found in the Bible? The stone was 'removed'. No one knew who removed the stone. No body was found in the 'Tomb'. First to see Jesus after the conspiracy was Mary Magdalene, and Jesus was standing behind her. No one saw Jesus 'Resurrecting'.

Answer 4

Great freak show value! I think I saw all the key signs of desperation in that particular group... like they know their flavor of religion is on the downslope!

Answer 5

It's in my Netflix queue and I can't wait to see it. I grew up with stuff like that and it scares the bejesus (literally) out of me!

Answer 6

I refuse to lower myself to see that movie. It is nothing but fundamentalist propaganda of the worst sort.

Answer 7

It is totaly scary. How can such child abuse be tolerated and even encouraged...

Answer 8

I'll have a shotgun handy when they reach my backyard.

Answer 9

I think the way she is teaching Christianity is way too extreme for children. Check these out.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=07WX3F7UQWA&mode=related&search=

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6PUQATCcQ0A

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U_TzXliYDvk&mode=related&search=

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nWnCtxFgUnI&mode=related&search=

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zqNLMuijRyU&NR

Answer 10

you mean brainwash camp