TOW #29: Jesus Camp directed by: Rachel Grady and Heidi Ewing

Watching Goals: Same as above (same movie)

Writing Goals: Correctly identify a claim and support with various sources

Jesus Camp, a 2006 documentary following radical Evangelical Christian children, clearly did not set out to just follow these children. The documentary by Rachel Grady and Heidi Ewing set out to make waves and educate people on the under-the-radar presence of this growing religious power. Radical Evangelicalism has a cult-like following in many areas, and they believe in a different type of Christianity than the norm. Many followers pledge that they would “die for Christ,” in a similar fashion to terrorism. Throughout the documentary, Jesus Camp, makes the claim that radical Evangelical Christianity is a movement that, although its aim is to uplift American ideals in a twisted way, it challenges the fundamentals of American society. Rightfully so, radical Evangelical Christianity does threaten the fundamentals of American society because of the growing political pull a religion has, and the fundamental differences between their teachings and the Constitution.

The Evangelical radicals are in fact threatening the American way of life as we know it because of their immense political pull. As Jesus Camp specified, the lead pastor of the National Association of Evangelicals, Ted Haggard, spent every Monday with President Bush in his early presidency. Not only does this show how close the men were, but obviously if Bush and Haggard spent that much time together, their political agendas were entangled. This, along with the fact that Bush backed many Evangelical focal points like the war on abortion. This challenges American ideals because for essentially the entirety of the United States’ history, the separation of church and state has been a fundamental pillar of our society. This re-intertwining of church and political motives are an injustice to that American belief. In addition to threatening the belief that separation of church and state is essential, radical Evangelicalism challenges the Constitution.

The Constitution indoctrinates all citizens of the United States with the rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. However, Evangelicals teach that all other religions but their faith are in the wrong. They say they have a duty to right the wrongdoings of this country and “save” others by converting them. These radicals do not believe that citizens should have the right to practice whatever religion they choose (or no religion, for that matter), but they support the view that you’re either with them or against them. And, if you are against the Evangelicals, there will be war to pay. Thus, this radical sect of Christianity challenges the fundamental American belief that each person is born with natural rights, and in our country they are able to exercise those rights.

Evangelical Christian radicals are, by innate fact, a threat to American values. They disregard the importance of separation of church and state with their movement to change countless abortion laws and other laws in the name of the lord, and they do not agree that every person is entitled to their own beliefs. However, this does not mean that Evangelical Christians cannot co-exist with the rest of our nation. As long as they do not take over our country politically, and do not bother others so much as the occasional pamphlet here and there, they can go on their own way like any other American born citizens.

TOW #28: Jesus Camp directed by: Rachel Grady and Heidi Ewin

Watching Goals: Correctly identify the director’s purpose in making the documentary, and pinpoint the two most used devices.

Writing Goals: Correctly apply the relevant devices to their rhetorical effects

The main way to tell if a documentary was a good one is if it leaves you thinking. Jesus Camp, directed by Rachel Grady and Heidi Ewing, was one of those films. I found myself almost paralyzed in shock as the credits rolled with “Spirit In The Sky,” a Christian rock song playing. Jesus Camp is not about mainstream Christianity, rather, it followed Radical Evangelical Christians. It focused mainly on their tactics for “training” their youth for the “war” of faith. Then, it touched upon the enormous political pull that this group has today in America. There is no doubt that Grady and Ewing achieved their purpose in alerting non-radicals of the growing radical movement, and striking fear into the average citizen through interviews with the children, and suspense.

Interviews with children helped the directors to achieve their purpose because they flushed out the insanity of the movement and created shock value. Kids throughout the film would say things like: “when I meet a non-Christian, my soul feels icky” and, “I think Galileo made the right choice by giving up science for Christ.” Statements like these create shock value within the audience because they’re so blatantly radical and seemingly uneducated. As the film goes on however, and more and more of these statements are present, the viewer learns that this was their education, and that is the very nature of this radical movement. Statements like these exemplify the ideas radical Evangelicals instate in their kids, and thus shed light on the movement, inciting fear in the viewer because of how different and seemingly misguided this school of thought is.

Quotes from children strike a sense of fear into the audience, while suspense is discomforting and emotional. In the scenes where the pastors are preaching to the children, suspense builds. First, the camera focuses on the sermon and cuts to a few listening children with no music in the background; but as the sermon heats up, and the kids start screaming, music starts and the camera angle changes more rapidly. This creates a sense of discomfort in the viewer for a similar reason the interviews do. The radical ideas and practices are foreign to most of the audience and the whole belief system seems misguided, and on multiple occasions the people in the film threaten American life as we know it. Suspense builds to the highest points at places where they declare their war on all other faiths and small children declare they would die for christ in a fashion all too similar to terrorism.

With the interviews of the children, and the building of suspense, Grady and Ewing craft Jesus Camp to strike a sense of urgency into the audience, that this radical Evangelical Christian movement could have more effect on us than we had anticipated. With these devices, the film shouts to its audience: pay attention, they are stronger than we think.  

TOW #27: TOW Reflection

     My TOWs throughout the year have gone through a huge metamorphosis that I can only attribute to APELC. In the beginning of the year, I could tell that my TOWs were a little formulaic. I had just been taught to write an analysis essay, and I was sticking to the basics. An intro, a short thesis, at least two devices to analyze the piece, and a short conclusion. In the middle of the year, I was branching out a bit, using various sources, using different and new devices, and I could tell that my analysis of what the devices did for the piece was really maturing. By the end of the year, I was doing all this and more; I even dared to write a few TOWs on how the authors did not achieve their purpose through their devices. I also thing my general tone has evolved throughout the year in that I can pinpoint when an academic vs a casual tone may be used.
     I think overall, I've really mastered telling which devices are utilized in the piece. I think towards the middle and end of the year, all of the devices I said were in the passage really were there, and not only that, they were used in abundance. In the beginning of the year, I wasn't as familiar with all of the different devices I could use to analyze a piece and I was new to the writing. As I progressed and learned the devices, I was able to use this wide variety to describe pieces with better accuracy.
   However, not all is perfect in my writing (and I know it will never be). I still strive to improve analyzing the effect that the devices had on the piece. Sometimes, my analysis is completely on point with what effect they have, but others, I can find the devices, but can't figure out what they actually do for the author. Thus, my analysis of the devices has its good days and bad days, so I'm still working to make that even stronger.
   Overall, I think these TOWs benefitted me in that it gave me a way to constantly practice, or rather, made me constantly practice (lets be real, no kid wants to practice analysis essays on their free time). It helped me keep up my analysis skills into the argument and synthesis portions of the year. Not only that, the TOWs made it easy to see where I was clearly improving and where I still needed work. I think occasionally, I would get lax on my TOWs, and those weeks the TOW wasn't necessarily benefitting me. Of course, it added stress to my weekly load, and if I forgot about them Sunday night, and had a bunch due on Monday, taking the time to do the TOW could be infuriating. However, I think overall there is no doubt that the TOWs were helpful and my writing matured through them. So, thank you TOWs!