(vid) Moonbat Friday - Jesus Camp The Movie
Terry Trippany on Sep 15 2006 at 12:40 pm | Filed under: Feature Article, Liberalism Watch, Media Watch
I started receiving e-mails a couple of weeks ago from magnolia pictures about a new September film called Jesus Camp. Thinking it was spam I brushed it off until I was researching the bankruptcy of the wildly popular Air America and an ad popped up for this movie. So I decided to take a look.
I believe this is right along the same lines as Rosie O’Donnell equating radical Christians with radical Islam. The movie may not come right out and say it but I believe they infer it from all that I have read about it.
The trailer of the movie says it all for me. (Video Below)
The opening scene is of a woman teaching children who are obviously being “brainwashed” for God’s army. She shouts at them. “Kids you can change the world.” The next scene in the movie shows the children saying “I pledge allegiance to the Christian flag”.
It seems to me that we are being led to believe that they are saying a modified version of the Pledge of Allegiance when the kids are actually pledging allegiance to an actual Christian flag, i.e. a flag with a cross on it. I haven’t seen the whole segment but let us imagine that perhaps they were saying a modified version of the Pledge of Allegiance with the emphasis on Christian. Is this any different than the people who want to exercise their free speech by not saying God?
Perhaps my reaction should be a call to have the children rounded up now before they can attack the world with their Christian pledge! How dare they exercise their rights to free speech and declare an allegiance to their faith? They must be truly dangerous.
There are also scenes in the trailer showing flashes of children painted up in what looks like army camouflage hitting batons together. The music behind them is very warlike and there is a brief shot of a camouflaged pair of paints. It is hard to make out the whole scene but the message is unmistakable. The end of the trailer looks to be pro-Christian which I believe is simply a ruse.
The film makers obviously want to drum up controversy by finding conservative web sites to steal e-mail addresses from. Hey at least they are reading my site. They are even marketing it as a “controversial film”. I will host the trailer if simply to inform people that this film is out there. I already know what to expect.
There is one clip in another trailer where they show a young girl named Tory dancing to Jesus metal. She is wearing a “My Dad is in the Army” tee-shirt and she talks about how she dances for God. I imagine that this must be some veiled message; you make the call.
One particularly inflammatory scene in the film takes place at a revival meeting at the camp lead by Fischer and her associates, in front of well over 100 children. Fischer takes a life-size standup photo of President Bush to the stage, with a large American flag in the background, and asks the crowd to raise their hands towards him as they begin to chant for him to appoint conservative judges to the Supreme Court. Fischer and her fellow evangelicals view Bush as their primary hope to push their right wing agenda regarding abortion rights, prayer in school, and gay rights, and the film captures the emotional devotion instilled on a new young generation of evangelicals. Many in the mostly liberal New York audience could be overheard saying that the film should be a call to arms for people on the left side of the cultural/political divide. The evangelicals, however, are reveling that their message has become an entrenched and potentially irreversible reality. - indieWire interview with the film maker
Michael Moore is praising the film if that’s any indication of where it is coming from.
Indie Wire said the following in their review:
indieWIRE’s doc columnist Jonny Leahan noted in an article about the film prior to its Tribeca fest world premiere, “The camp becomes almost a side issue here, as a much larger picture is painted in ‘Jesus Camp’ - one about the role of religion in American politics, specifically the fight of the Christian conservatives to win the hearts and minds of the next generation as they prepare to be the governors and senators of tomorrow. It begs the question: what, if anything, are the liberals doing to pass on their values to children in an organized and effective way?”
Here is the e-mail I received from the makers of the film.
Hi there,
In anticipation of tomorrow’s limited release of “Jesus Camp,” Magnolia Pictures has released two clips from the controversial film. The first features Becky Fischer, the Pastor at the “Kids on Fire” summer camp. The second clip features one of Becky’s young disciples, Tory. The film follows children like Tory as they attend an Evangelical summer camp, where they are schooled in how to take back America for Christ.
To download the clips, please visit: http://68.178.158.128/Magnolia/JesusCamp/assets_c/assets.html
Please don’t link directly to the site. If you are unable to host video, you can stream the clips from the following sites:
Becky- http://www.iklipz.com/Movies.aspx?MovieID=5fef62a1-2677-455a-8cb8-9ed9e4110a81 or http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gWhT2PtaD0w
Tory- http://www.iklipz.com/Movies.aspx?MovieID=e9200dcb-a311-4479-a42f-e5e81e705e5b or http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R7VHAGSJMLY
For more information on the film, please see the synopsis below.
Thanks!JESUS CAMP, directed by Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady (The Boys of Baraka), follows Levi, Rachael, and Tory, to Pastor Becky Fischer’s “Kids on Fire” summer camp in Devil’s Lake, North Dakota, where kids as young as 6 years-old are taught to become dedicated Christian soldiers in God’s army. The film follows these children at camp as they hone their prophetic gifts and are schooled in how to take back America for Christ. The film also features a counterpoint, in the form of excerpts from Michael Papantonio’s “Ring of Fire” show on NPR’s Air America. Though he frequently takes aim at the fundamentalist Christian movement, Papantonio is an active Methodist who admits that his moral compass comes from his faith.
The winner of the Grand Jury Award at the AFI/Discovery Silver Docs Festival and Outstanding Achievement in Documentary at its debut at the Tribeca Film Festival, “Jesus Camp” is set for a September theatrical release.
We also have a trailer, photo gallery, production notes, and a one sheet available on our assets page:http://68.178.158.128/Magnolia/JesusCamp/assets_c/assets.html.
For more information on the movie, please visit the official site, at:
http://www.jesuscampthemovie.comPlease let me know if you can feature this thought-provoking film on your site.
Thanks!
Jesus Camp Release Schedule
Liberals have increasingly become the party of intolerance. From my point of view it is an attempt to paint Evangelical Christians as dangerous radicals. if you want to see a fillm on true radicals I suggest Obessession The Movie.
I personally have not had any negative experiences with Evangelical Christians. In fact mine has been quite the contrary; they are not attempting to proselytize or shove Jesus down my throat. These acts are left for liberals who increasingly view Christians as the enemy.
I haven’t seen the movie but the tone and the hype is quite clear to me. This appears to be another example of the party of tolerance and diversity proving they are anything but.
Others Bloggin on this Issue:
Libertas: Even Michael Moore Goes to Jesus Camp
magnolia pictures, Jesus Camp, Rosie O’Donnell, Christians, radical Islam, Jesus Camp the Movie
5 Responses to “(vid) Moonbat Friday - Jesus Camp The Movie”
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The trailer paints a very interesting picture of the movie and it looks like a fantastic cinematic work that will draw discussions from many different groups of people.
I’m curious myself why these “radical” religious preachers seem to evoke the image of a “war” in their rhetoric. I’ve always thought that the teachings of the Bible speak of calm, peace, and fairness as opposed to conflict and bloodshed (at least in the New Testament). It’s interesting that for all the support of Jesus and His teachings, there resides an overtone of camouflage, drills, and marching. Why would one wish to associate the the markings of a trained fighter with the words of a believed savior?
In my opinion it would make more sense to have these children taught lessons of forgiveness, equality, and care towards others. Why do we see these seemingly anger filled mentality towards views outside of their own? It’s almost as if they need to battle the “foreign invaders” of opposing arguements. Are we to believe that people need to take arms against any thought outside of their own beliefs?
Maybe this is just the product of radical behavior, regardless of the theological background. I would be much happier seeing children building homes and collecting charity for those in need instead of parading around with painted faces and marching sticks.
Hi Chris,
I agree with your statements in general. I haven’t seen the movie so I can not really ascertain if the kids are acting in a play or being taught to take up weapons in preparation for an upcoming “holy war”. If it is the latter than that would certainly be wrong and would be the exception rather than the rule.
However I think there is something deeper going on here with the film makers. Over the last week we have seen a theme become public that I believe has been brewing for some time and that is the attempt to equate radical Islam with radical Christianity.
Most of the examples I see do this from a historical context which I believe has validity. However Christians for the most part have evolved beyond the current state of the Islamofascism that we are up against today. Keep in mind that I am talking about the theocratic form of fascism that is very real.
I believe that the attempt is rooted in a sense of anger that the left has toward the election of President Bush and the perception that it was primarily at the hands of religious types who are now considered fanatical.
Another theme that is popping up all over the internet is that Hitler was a massive Christian. Mein Kampf is being used as an example which is erroneous. Yes, Hitler did make reference to his views as being an extension of the Lord’s message (paraphrase). However Hitler rejected Christianity in general. The Christianity he agreed with was selectively chosen for validation and to some extent to win over European Christians. There is much recorded record that Hitler was anti-Christian, most notably by Goebbels in his diary.
Finally I cam upon this edited Jesus camp trailer from my You Tube. It demonstrates what I believe will be a common way this particular movie will be interpreted by the fringe element on the left.
In the end this is not good for the left. The United States is overwhelmingly populated by people who practice religion of some sort. I think movies like this backfire because they are not viewed as a platform of discussion; rather they are seen as a tool of derision. I believe that time will tell on this one.
Finally got to see the moive this weekend. I thought it was really intense, but lets viewers come away with thier own conclusion instead of having ideas jammed down their throat. You can find more about the movie and watch some new clips here: myspace.com/jesuscampmovie
I definitely agree with having people see the movie and decide for themselves. Rather than thinking that I am shoving ideas down someone throats I would prefer to frame it as discussion and research. I am not forcing anybody to buy into my arguments.
I have posted follow ups that show how this is being used by some on the left. I would also like to point out that I have had many responses on here and on youtube that simply are not appropriate for discussion. I even got one “Fuck You” video response.
I am surprised at the amount of venom being thrown at Christians when they simply defend their faith.
Webloggin member Bookworm also wrote a great article discussing this topic. Ghasties and Ghoulies and Things that Pray to Christ in the Night. It is a good read. Her point is that only the very paranoid could equate mainstream Christians with one small summer camp in North Dakota and really only the very mean-spirited or morally confused could, I think, take a small summer camp and equate it to Mao’s reign of terror, which was responsible for the deaths of 20 to 70 million people. (which is exactly what the New York Times did in the Jesus Camp review).
[...] But that isn’t the real story here. The real story is that it has become acceptable to discriminate against Christians with bigoted characterizations that portray them as gun wielding psycho killers. Such bigotry is a common occurrence in film, on TV and the internet, in schools and in city halls across America. Newspapers cover such stories with zest and a certain sense of shoulder shrugging normalcy. [...]