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Directed by Heidi Ewing, Rachel Grady
Starring Becky Fischer, Ted Haggard, Mike Papantonio
PG-13 • 2006 • 87 minutes
Not being raised in a particularly religious household, much of what is depicted in Jesus Camp was entirely foreign to me. When the evangelical family pledged allegiance to their little Christian flag, I was surprised. I didn't know Christians had their own flag. “Huh. Good for them,” I thought.
I can understand why parents would want to send their kids away to camp for a few weeks during the summer. What I can’t fathom is how any kid would willingly show up at the Kids on Fire camp in South Dakota. Kids on Fire doesn't seem a particularly fun place, what with all the crying that goes on (shame is a big deal here) and the life-size cut out of G.W. Bush they're required to pray to.
It’s brainwashing, I guess. Or so the film would have us believe. Unfortunately, directors Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady deliver a film with such a pervasive slant, it's hard to trust anything they show us. Using "spooky" music and sly editing techniques, the kids at Jesus Camp are portrayed as a scary and deluded lot.
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Vote Jesus. |
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Which I am sure they are. There is no group I trust less than modern evangelicals. I am quite sure they're completely insane. That being said, the audience would have been better served had the directors let the insanity ooze forth naturally, rather than resorting to cheap tricks.
All we see of the camp is kids being lectured about the evils of Harry Potter and abortion, their laying of hands upon the Bush poster, the prayers to end liberal influence in politics. Certainly, there's more to the camp than this. Is there no bible study or signing of hymns? Maybe. Probably. But we never see it.
I really wanted to like this movie. Too bad I couldn’t.
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