The word that comes to mind after watching Jesus Camp is
“appalled.” I am shocked that such a program as “Kids on Fire” exists and even
thrives in today’s progressive society. The perspective from which I saw this
camp is as follows: The camp’s religious leaders brainwash these children into
becoming intolerant fighters “for the lord.” Adults are using children as a crutch and as weapons
to fight their own childish battles. Minister Becky Fischer even admitted it is
a child’s mind that most easily absorbs and accepts new beliefs. She calls children
“usable” in Christianity, another word for exploitable. She manipulates these
helpless children who will never be given the chance to critically think and
decide - for themselves - what they believe. 
I am impressed by the handiwork of documentarians Heidi
Ewing and Rachel Grady. With no narration whatsoever, Jesus Camp shocked me more than Grizzly
Man and Waiting for Superman
combined. Normally, interviewers’ questions are needed to help convince the
audience of a certain bias, and comments by the narrator clarify, convince, and
reinforce and chosen message. But this documentary’s “commentless” nature only
made the chosen argument stronger. There was no need for explanation because
the takes alone were powerful enough to speak for themselves. For example, the absurdity of the situation presented
itself clearly when a fellow, more moderate Christian spoke about the movement
on a radio show: there is “nothing Christian about them.” An early scene records
Becky saying “I want to see them as radically laying down their lives for the
gospel as they are over in Pakistan, Israel, and Palestine…” For me, this scene
punches holes through the evangelicals’ purity.
As radio talk show host Mike Papantonio stresses, an entanglement of politics with religion has evolved. The director’s of Jesus Camp successfully expose this dilemma and reveal its grave seriousness.
This is a video on an interesting way to view the pro-life movement.
I enjoyed reading your blog because I completely agree with all of the opinions you shared. It was also nice to see that you had gone a little bit deeper into the meaning behind the radio show host because it is something that i didn't think a lot about myself. the one recommendation i have for you is that at points your sentences got a bit choppy. maybe try to combine some of them to make it flow easier. Overall though it was a very well written blog!
ReplyDeleteI have found that most in our class seem to share a similar opinion. Our discussions are therefore a little easier - we can quickly jump into the conversation and elaborate on someone else's statement - but maybe less interesting due to the lack of debate. Thanks for the recommendation, I will work on that. It would be great if you could let me know specifics in the future because I often overlook obvious areas needing improvement. Thanks! :-)
DeleteI completely agree about the shock value Jesus Camp presented to its audience. I do wonder though if we strip the movie of this shock value, what messages are we left with? The movie seems to polarize different religions rather than find commonalities among them, which can be very debilitating to the climate of our society. I think it would have been interesting if you could have commented beyond what the movie presented and responded to its purpose as a film. I really enjoyed the read however! Really great job.
ReplyDeleteI think the purpose of the film IS to shock viewers. An "army" is being formed in the U.S., and sensible citizens should be scared of the power this movement is gaining. At one point, the film did in fact point out, whether purposely or not, commonalities between different religions: the Muslim movement also manipulates the open and absorbing minds of children. Ten minutes into the movie, Becky Fischer states: "I'll tell you where our enemies are putting [their focus]. There putting it on the kids...I want to see young people who are as committed to the cause of Jesus Christ as the young people are to the cause of Islam. I want to see them as radically laying down their lives for the Gospel as they are over in Pakistan, Israel, and Iran. Because, excuse me, but we have the truth." So maybe the commonalities you wish have seen in the movie couldn't have been added without contradicting the film purpose: to expose the seriousness and scariness of this situation. If we had only been shown similarities between the evangelical movement and moderate christianity, we would overlook the radicalism of Becky's "cause." I will remember that for my next blog and perhaps add one or two more paragraphs on the topic. Thanks! :-)
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