This was my second time watching “Jesus Camp”.
The film left me just as shocked and frightened as when I first saw
it. The directors, Rachel Grady and
Heidi Ewing cover a single Evangelical congregation. Their worship seems extreme, focusing on the
manipulation of young children as God’s warriors. In further investigation of the children who
are featured in the film I came across this website:
This site gives statements from the children of “Jesus Camp”
five years after the filming. Rachel’s
statement was particularly interesting to me because she says “As for Jesus Camp, it was funny because for
the first several years after it was released, I didn’t understand all the
controversy surrounding it. For me I was watching great memories in high
definition. Camp with Becky was fun.” The film was clear slander of the Evangelical
church from my point of view, but to Rachel it was just fun memories. In Tory’s interview she tells the story of a
boy who approached her to say how much he admired her faith in the Documentary.
Unlike Herzog, the directors of “Jesus Camp” do not voice over their opinion in
the film, leaving the interpretation of the footage up to the viewer. As
surprising as it is to me, other audiences may find this documentary positive.
The site provided above also has a link to photos of events that were not covered in the film.
It was interesting to hear about Rachel five years after the filming of the documentary. I wonder she feels about it now, after many years? I agree with your perspective on the film, it was left up to the viewer to decide... which could have gone either way. I do not think it was the worst thing that could have been done to these children but I also don't agree with the way the children were being taught about their religion. It was a new experience learning about this camp, but also a scary peek into the reality of so many.
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