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By
WAYNE KLEIN
Thought provoking and
alarming in many respects, "Jesus Camp" presents
its story with amazing fair balance; we see the
Christian camps where science is questioned, the
values of the secular world are challenged and
Christian Soldiers are created and we also hear
from (all too infrequently) radio talk host Mike
Papantonio (who is a Christian himself but a
liberal as opposed to the conservatives presented
that run and attend the Jesus camps portrayed in
the film) who questions this uncomfortable
intermingling of politics, anti-science and
religion. As the filmmakers point out we all live
in our own little box--cutting us off from more
extreme viewpoints. Despite preacher Becky
Fisher's good qualities, "Jesus Camp" presents a
place where children are as brain washed as if in
a Communist re-education camp. The values that are
taught about honesty are laudable but much of this
goes frighteningly over the edge. The scenes of
the children at camp remind me of the brainwashing
that occurs with the Nazis and other extremist
groups. The film director's present it all without
judging the movement but just about anyone would
be disturbed the some of the comments and content.
The scenes where the home-schooled children are
taught that global warming doesn't exist (using
rhetoric vs. deductive logic) and where the line
is blurred between science and faith (the
creationist arguments) and where the family
performs a "pledge of allegiance" to a flag with a
white cross on it is indeed disturbing moving
beyond the bounds of saying grace or giving thanks
to fanaticism.
The DVD presents deleted scenes (some of which are
as alarming and strange as those presented in the
film) along with a commentary track by the
filmmakers Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady. Like
Grady, I was raised as a Catholic so seeing this
extremism was scary to me in many respects. Their
comments are often insightful and fascinating.
While both women clearly admired Becky Fischer's
ability as a speaker, amazingly they were able to
restrain themselves from discussing their personal
viewpoint on what she is doing.
It's also frightening to me how George Bush and
the many political leaders are made out to be
soldiers on the march for God--it brings us one
step closer to the madness of a holy war and also
deifies people who have manipulated the belief
system that drives (according to the filmmakers)
at least 80 million Americans. While the secular
values that Hollywood and the mainstream media
often sells may be vapid, this extreme reaction
isn't the key to creating a world of tolerance
without violence towards others and is just as
vapid, manipulative and empty in its own, perverse
way.
As the filmmakers point out we clearly live in a
diverse world where we insulate ourselves from the
diversity around us. That is exactly the type of
environment that allows Fascism, Nazism and
Holocaust-like events to come into being and even
flourish with the support of the people. Isolation
doesn't solve the world's problem nor does the
often extreme views presented from the evangelical
Christians presented in this film. In many
respects, "Jesus Camp" taught me that I really
know a lot less about my fellow Americans than I
thought and that some of them are really
frightening. I'm concerned about these individuals
"taking back America." I suspect that they would
take us back to a time of simplicity at the cost
of tolerance, intelligence and creativity pushing
us into a mental stone age.
Ultimately how you feel about "Jesus Camp" will be
informed by your beliefs. I'm a strong believer in
the separation of Church and State (and feel that
the line has been crossed too often) so the idea
that we might be moving from a more democratic
type of government to a theocracy (as Fischer
wants) is frightening. As with all things it will
lead to further intolerance and a less just world
than we already have. |
