Review of Jesus Camp (2006) by Dawit R — 24 Jun 2012

I decided to watch Jesus Camp, a 2006 documentary directed by Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady. Jesus Camp documents a summer camp for evangelical Christian kids in Devilâ(TM)s Lake, North Dakota.

The film follows a very charismatic teacher, Becky Fischer. Becky Fischer trains the children to be soldiers in "God's army". Lou Engle (an American charismatic Christian leader who talks to the kids about being pro-life) and Ted Haggard (an American evangelical pastor) are also featured in the film. Ewing and Grady strove to make the film as neutral as they could as they also included the opinions of Mike Papantonio, a liberal-Christian radio host who is critical of the Christian fundamentalists' methods.

Overall I found the documentary very intriguing. One thing I liked about this documentary was that the directors laid archived recordings of news reports and presidential speeches that had a Christian aspect to them over clips of the North Dakotan landscape. They conveyed a sense that slowly the separation between church and state is being blurred. Also, the archived recordings reflect the hopes of the Christian fundamentalists. For example, at one point of the film I heard a recording of George Bush appointing Judge Alito to the Supreme Court and the part that followed was the relief of the Evangelical Christians associated with the camp. Another thing I liked about this documentary was the soundtrack. I felt like the music reflected the essence of each event that was filmed. In addition, transitions from one event to another were very smooth. One thing I thought the directors failed to do was create a neutral viewpoint. I thought at the end of the movie I would have to decide which side I agreed with. However, when I got to the end of the film, I felt like the decision was made for me because the film was very persuasive in portraying the summer camp as a brainwashing facility.

A motif in the film was the separation between church and state. The Christian fundamentalist adults in the film revolved around the idea of "one nation under God"?. From this film, I learned that a separation of state and church is important because things can get very messy. Things that are supposed to be spiritual and religious can easily become political issues and therefore lose their original messages if there isn't a barrier. I also learned how extreme people can get about Christianity. Seeing the kids at the camp break down in tears, chanting, and speaking in tongues really shocked me. I've never watched such intensity in kids, it was almost scary. However, I don't think the camp itself instilled this in them because kids were already displaying such intensity on the first day. I think it came from somewhere else, possibly their parents or their regular church. I think all the camp did was nurture the seed that was already planted in the children's minds.