This documentary, by Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady, follows three children, all of whom attend the "Kids on Fire School of Ministry," an evangelical Christian summer camp. The camp, located in Devils Lake, North Dakota, focuses on raising children to be part of the "army of God."
Levi, the son of a preacher, desires to follow in his dad's footsteps. "Jesus Camp" shows the boy giving sermons at the Rock of Ages Church. Little Rachel spends a lot of her free time passing out pamphlets containing "Christian tracts" to people on the street. Victoria participates in the Christ Triumphant Church's praise dance team, which consists of and is entirely run by children.
The depictions of charismatic Christian life can be surprising to less enthusiastic Christians, and downright horrifying to those who have never stepped inside a church. Being the child of evangelical Christian parents, I was still more than a bit taken aback by what I saw, but I can confirm that the camps I went to weren't entirely different.
I remember being taught creationism, just like Levi, Rachel, and Victoria. I have seen people praying over inanimate objects, like when Rachel prayed over her bowling ball. And the guilt that Victoria feels when she dances to heavy metal Christian music and wonders if she is dancing "for the flesh," like Lindsay Lohan, brings up more than a few memories.
In addition to showing the daily activities of these three kids, "Jesus Camp" filmed several events at the summer camp. These range from disturbing to really disturbing. Among the disturbing are scenes of children speaking in tongues and having seizure-like convulsions. The really disturbing include a shot of the kids crowding around a cardboard cutout of George W. Bush and praying for him to have the strength to end abortion.
The film is quite effective in creating sympathy for the often conflicted children. It's easy to say that the filmmakers were biased, and of course they are, but it doesn't change the fact that a group of kids were sent to the Supreme Court building and made to put tape over their mouths to protest abortion. It's also pretty distressing to see so many of the kids brought to tears when they are compelled by the adults to confess their impure thoughts.
Whether or not you are Christian, it's difficult not to wonder if these tiny children (Rachel is only 9) would be better off playing tag and swimming and doing arts and crafts instead of being burdened by the responsibility of being in an army of God.
The downside of the film is that the shifting between scenes seems erratic and often jarring, which disrupts the emotions that the movie tries to create in its viewers. Some of the scenes are awkward and ineffective, and some of the best scenes were left out of the movie and tacked on to the DVD as extra content. I was hoping for content that would really shock me, but was disappointed.
Overall, "Jesus Camp" evokes the right emotions in its viewers...primarily sympathy and horror...and is well worth watching. Unless you're part of a charismatic Christian church. In that case, don't bother.
Lindsey Weedston
Jesus Camp
This documentary, by Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady, follows three children, all of whom attend the "Kids on Fire School of Ministry," an evangelical Christian summer camp. The camp, located in Devils Lake, North Dakota, focuses on raising children to be part of the "army of God."
Levi, the son of a preacher, desires to follow in his dad's footsteps. "Jesus Camp" shows the boy giving sermons at the Rock of Ages Church. Little Rachel spends a lot of her free time passing out pamphlets containing "Christian tracts" to people on the street. Victoria participates in the Christ Triumphant Church's praise dance team, which consists of and is entirely run by children.
The depictions of charismatic Christian life can be surprising to less enthusiastic Christians, and downright horrifying to those who have never stepped inside a church. Being the child of evangelical Christian parents, I was still more than a bit taken aback by what I saw, but I can confirm that the camps I went to weren't entirely different.
I remember being taught creationism, just like Levi, Rachel, and Victoria. I have seen people praying over inanimate objects, like when Rachel prayed over her bowling ball. And the guilt that Victoria feels when she dances to heavy metal Christian music and wonders if she is dancing "for the flesh," like Lindsay Lohan, brings up more than a few memories.
In addition to showing the daily activities of these three kids, "Jesus Camp" filmed several events at the summer camp. These range from disturbing to really disturbing. Among the disturbing are scenes of children speaking in tongues and having seizure-like convulsions. The really disturbing include a shot of the kids crowding around a cardboard cutout of George W. Bush and praying for him to have the strength to end abortion.
The film is quite effective in creating sympathy for the often conflicted children. It's easy to say that the filmmakers were biased, and of course they are, but it doesn't change the fact that a group of kids were sent to the Supreme Court building and made to put tape over their mouths to protest abortion. It's also pretty distressing to see so many of the kids brought to tears when they are compelled by the adults to confess their impure thoughts.
Whether or not you are Christian, it's difficult not to wonder if these tiny children (Rachel is only 9) would be better off playing tag and swimming and doing arts and crafts instead of being burdened by the responsibility of being in an army of God.
The downside of the film is that the shifting between scenes seems erratic and often jarring, which disrupts the emotions that the movie tries to create in its viewers. Some of the scenes are awkward and ineffective, and some of the best scenes were left out of the movie and tacked on to the DVD as extra content. I was hoping for content that would really shock me, but was disappointed.
Overall, "Jesus Camp" evokes the right emotions in its viewers...primarily sympathy and horror...and is well worth watching. Unless you're part of a charismatic Christian church. In that case, don't bother.
