Review of Jesus Camp (2006) by Daniel K — 21 Nov 2008

There's some frightening stuff here. I'd allege some of what goes on at this camp borders on child abuse, but that's not a very P.C. thing to say in the United States. The mother homeschooling her son to teach him factually inaccurate information about global warming and evolution was particularly sad.

The scenes where the children were giving praise to a cardboard cutout of George W. Bush was both comical and scary. Really, the goings-on at the camp resembled nothing less than a cult, or at the very least, brainwashing a la North Korea or the old U.

S.S.R. This movie was a bit more powerful a few years back; while hardly no longer a force to be reckoned with, the fundamentalist religious right seem to have deflated a bit over the past few years. Pastor Ted Haggard (featured in the movie), after all, was recently caught soliciting homosexual prostitution.

Overall, the movie was just OK as far as film quality. It's unlikely to change anyone's mind about Christian fundamentalism.