I had my very first job interview ever last December for a summer camp I attended for six years as a child; it was a Christian camp, but that was nowhere near the main focus- I was there to be with friends, to play dodgeball, and to sing a few songs during chapel, if I wanted to. It was tolerant, fun, and peaceful. The first question in my interview, however, was, "what would I say to God if I found myself standing before him this instant?" The follow-up was, "do you interpret the Bible literally?" Needless to say, the interview went downhill from there.
I found out later (after I took a job at a non-religious summer camp), that the camp I had known was gone- it had been bought out and turned into a "Jesus Camp," much like the camp "Kids on Fire" in the documentary, where children are sent away for the summer by their fundamentalist parents (who, ironically, homeschool their children because they believe they should be the ones teaching them and not some stranger) to become self-proclaimed "Warriors of Christ." I'm reminded of George Carlin's line in Dogma about how he wishes the church could "hook 'em while they're young" as well as the tobacco industry.
Directors Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady obviously wanted to make these people look maladjusted, but they didn't have to swing their bias too far to do so. They capture several cringe-worthy moments both at and away from the camp, such as children watching an informational video in which an animated dinosaur tells that it's silly to believe in evolution or global warming. Later, they are shown models of fetuses and told that they could have had a lot more friends if only the evil women of the world didn't get abortions. And as for Harry Potter? Well, let's just say the kids tend to shy away from a kid at the camp who looks like him.
The camp is led by Becky Fischer, and yes, it is scary to hear her talk. When we're alone with her, she tells us how she wants the same mentality in her "warriors" as Muslims have when they're given hand grenades and told to die for God. She claims that the children love the camp and her, but the red, tear-stained faces of the children during many of her sermons tell a different story: these kids are scared to death, afraid of being cast away and condemned, and not given any option except to listen to someone tell them that unless they completely and totally devote themselves to this they will burn in hellfire forever. At first it may just be an act so that the grown-ups won't get mad, but soon the ideas of the likes of Fischer and Ted Haggard, who makes a frightening guest appearance, start making sense. There's a word for this: brainwashing.
The downside to the film comes in Ewing and Grady's lack of a counterpoint, as they contrast the fanaticism of Fischer's camp with only about five minutes of liberal radio host Mike Papantonio's tirades against such organizations. While he berates the religious right and the lack of separation between church and state, the "Kids on Fire," bow to a cardboard cutout of George W. Bush for being so openly Christian. The film climaxes with a conversation between Fischer and Papantonio, but it doesn't amount to much more than an exchange of a little mild language- personally, I would've loved to see her protesting outside an abortion clinic or a Democratic rally with her army of zombie-children cheering her on.
We learn that born-agains and evangelicals make up a significant voting block and definitely have the ability to swing an election; we hear the kids being taught how the earth is only 6,000 years old and that anyone who disagrees hates Jesus; and we watch in horror as children have their mouths taped shut to somehow teach them a lesson about life. The film has gotten what it came for: we hate the adults and feel sorry for the kids. But there is hope: IMDb.com says that the response to the film led to an angry outcry against Fischer and her ilk, and the eventual shut-down of the camp for an indefinite period of time. Hallelujah.
I found out later (after I took a job at a non-religious summer camp), that the camp I had known was gone- it had been bought out and turned into a "Jesus Camp," much like the camp "Kids on Fire" in the documentary, where children are sent away for the summer by their fundamentalist parents (who, ironically, homeschool their children because they believe they should be the ones teaching them and not some stranger) to become self-proclaimed "Warriors of Christ." I'm reminded of George Carlin's line in Dogma about how he wishes the church could "hook 'em while they're young" as well as the tobacco industry.
Directors Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady obviously wanted to make these people look maladjusted, but they didn't have to swing their bias too far to do so. They capture several cringe-worthy moments both at and away from the camp, such as children watching an informational video in which an animated dinosaur tells that it's silly to believe in evolution or global warming. Later, they are shown models of fetuses and told that they could have had a lot more friends if only the evil women of the world didn't get abortions. And as for Harry Potter? Well, let's just say the kids tend to shy away from a kid at the camp who looks like him.
The camp is led by Becky Fischer, and yes, it is scary to hear her talk. When we're alone with her, she tells us how she wants the same mentality in her "warriors" as Muslims have when they're given hand grenades and told to die for God. She claims that the children love the camp and her, but the red, tear-stained faces of the children during many of her sermons tell a different story: these kids are scared to death, afraid of being cast away and condemned, and not given any option except to listen to someone tell them that unless they completely and totally devote themselves to this they will burn in hellfire forever. At first it may just be an act so that the grown-ups won't get mad, but soon the ideas of the likes of Fischer and Ted Haggard, who makes a frightening guest appearance, start making sense. There's a word for this: brainwashing.
The downside to the film comes in Ewing and Grady's lack of a counterpoint, as they contrast the fanaticism of Fischer's camp with only about five minutes of liberal radio host Mike Papantonio's tirades against such organizations. While he berates the religious right and the lack of separation between church and state, the "Kids on Fire," bow to a cardboard cutout of George W. Bush for being so openly Christian. The film climaxes with a conversation between Fischer and Papantonio, but it doesn't amount to much more than an exchange of a little mild language- personally, I would've loved to see her protesting outside an abortion clinic or a Democratic rally with her army of zombie-children cheering her on.
We learn that born-agains and evangelicals make up a significant voting block and definitely have the ability to swing an election; we hear the kids being taught how the earth is only 6,000 years old and that anyone who disagrees hates Jesus; and we watch in horror as children have their mouths taped shut to somehow teach them a lesson about life. The film has gotten what it came for: we hate the adults and feel sorry for the kids. But there is hope: IMDb.com says that the response to the film led to an angry outcry against Fischer and her ilk, and the eventual shut-down of the camp for an indefinite period of time. Hallelujah.