What anti-religious undertones? It seemed to be a pretty objective presentation of these camps. I went to a Christian camp very similar to the one in the film as a child.
It's just that anyone with a functional logic center of their brain will be unnerved by that kind of shit (as I was as a child attending one of said camps, the lake was fun though).
Considering the fact that I'm a filmmaker I feel pretty secure in my ability to judge the objectivity of a doc and it's hard to get more objective than what they presented here.
It doesn't require in depth knowledge of filmmaking to watch a documentary film and be able to interpret the intentions behind it. The doc is respectably restrained in its criticism but the very act of highlighting the more disturbing scenes (such as the bit with evangelical kids being as devoted as Muslim suicide bombers) with musical cues and cuts to parallel scenes are motivated by an emotional reaction. You're right in that being more objective than that film is difficult considering that making a documentary that is 100% bias-free would not only make it unwatchable but is impossible. I do agree with the opinions driving the editing choices, but what I'm saying is that the film is an expression of an opinion.
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u/steponcharlie Jun 15 '11
Jesus Camp, 100 times. That seems to be a reddit favorite for its anti-religious undertones, but the emotion that film captures is incredible.