Yeah, I know, this is not a "Mormon film." It wasn't on the syllabus and I really didn't even watch it for class. BUT after watching it I am convinced that it has EVERYTHING to do with Mormons and film.
A quick summary from Netflix: This riveting Oscar-nominated documentary offers an unfiltered look at a revivalist subculture where devout Christian youngsters are being primed to deliver the fundamentalist community's religious and political messages. Building an evangelical army of tomorrow, the Kids on Fire summer camp in Devil's Lake, N.D., is dedicated to deepening the preteens' spirituality and sowing the seeds of political activism as they're exhorted to "take back America for Christ."
First, this movie is about religion. It shows a religion and its effect on people. It is an expose of sorts and has a decided slant against religion. Or at least this particular religion... I was struck by the surface similarities and fundamental differences between my own faith and the evangelical religion portrayed in the documentary. While the rhetoric is similar (talk of the fight against Satan, the resistance to evil, the need for repentance) the overarching feel is quite different. The theology of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is characterized by a positive and constructive sentiment. The focus is on building people up. The doctrine of exhaltation has, at its core, the fundamental idea that mankind can continue to improve unto perfection. I did not see this in "Jesus Camp." In their righteous cause (which, all "scariness" aside, I am convinced is largely the same cause for which we're fighting) their focus seems to be destructive, belittling and cruel. To see the teachings of Christ bastardized in such a way was quite disturbing. It was intersting, though, to see how close we come to this alternative that we admitedly see as frightening.
More importantly, though, the film dealt with the role of Christianity in America today. This is certainly an issue with which Mormon Film is concerned. The people in this film spoke at length of the need to "take back America for Christ." Can we do this? How do we do this? Does it have anything to do with the destructive demonstartions I saw in this movie? I hope not. And, quite honestly, I hope this is not the state of Christianity in America. If so, we've got a lot of work to do.
2 comments:
I just watched this several weeks ago--actually the same evening I watched "Nobody Knows"--and it was quite the comparison. I have to admit that I wasn't too keen on it. One of the reasons is probably that growing up in a pretty liberal city, I saw these kinds of characterizations about religion all the time, and it kind of bothered me. While I do think it's important to recognize extremism where it's a problem, I wonder if the people and the religion were being accurately portrayed. The irresponsible use of statistics bothered me a lot. I felt that the film was doing a lot more to reinforce and affirm preexisting stereotypes than it was to increase understanding. I know exactly what people from back home would say upon seeing such a film, "Oh, yeah, the religious right: they're war-mongering, anti-intellectual, extremist bigots." Highlighting homeschooling, anti-abortion, and the war was remarkably cliche.
Your mentioning that these evangelicals looked similar on the surface to Mormons makes me wonder if a very similar film about Mormons could be made--with careful editing and taking only a superficial look. Which, of course makes me wonder if the view we were given of evangelicals in "Jesus Camp" was more obscuring than it was illuminating.
I agree. I didn't want it to sound like I think the church is very similar to the religion portrayed in this film. I just found it interesting to see the portrayal of religion in America. For the record, while I acknowledge the filmmaker's hand in forwarding his "liberal" agenda, I do think the religious practices in this film are destructive and dangerous (and, from a religious standpoint, are a significant "sign of the times"). That said, I obviously don't want all Christians to be seen this way. Films like this have been made about Mormons too and, yes, it's pretty frightening. Film is a powerful thing.
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