Jesus Camp

BY: SABRINA CASERTA

After witnessing those 90 minutes of sheer insanity, I felt compelled to write this blog post. I should preface with the fact that I was raised Catholic, went to Catholic school my entire life and was pledged to the school girl's uniform until I graduated and came here, to RWU. 

I also went to 'Jesus Camp,' when I was 15. At least that's what we called it. It was actually a 4 day conference in the cornfields of Michigan where we spent our days talking social justice and global awareness and our nights sneaking around and evading curfew. 

Anyway, this contributes to my overall feeling of repulsion after viewing this piece. This wasn't the Jesus Camp that me and my friends made fun of in high-school. I don't even know if I would associate the word 'camp' with what they were doing. It was nothing more than a training forum to take advantage of the most vulnerable members of society, children, and build and army.

I was disgusted when I watched parent's raise their children's hands, coaxing them into believing something they know nothing about. I heard parent's say that their children are 'on loan,' and they must 'train them.' How can you have already decided a child's fate like that?

The entire time, I saw the brainwashing and I couldn't help but picture Levi in 15 years, Tori in 10, and I saw them, totally radicalized, doing the same things to their kids. Their seclusion, curtsey of home-schooling coupled with jesus camp, is a complete injustice. These kids are robbed of their adolescence. Their freedom of thought. Though they are children, and innocent in nature, there is a point where children become adults and their habits become too ingrained in their being to ever break free from. 

The entire mantra of the Evangelical religion portrayed in the film was, 'We are right, other religions are wrong.' If 15 years of Catholic school taught me anything, it is that no religion is greater than another. Everyone essentially believes in something, even the people who believe in nothing. Having a narrow mind when it comes to religion breeds nothing but hate, and that goes against everything that Catholicism, and I think religion in general, stands for. Spirituality is about love and acceptance. Not control and manipulation. 

Then, you turn to the news and you hear about abortion clinics being shot up, and doctor's lives being threatened. We wonder where this hate comes from. We wonder who would do this in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior? Who would strap a bomb on themselves in the name of Allah? We wonder how so much bloodshed comes from something that preaches the complete opposite. I sometimes think religion causes as many problems as it solves, if not more. 

Triumph of the Will reaction

If there was ever a documentary that could bore someone to death, Triumph of the Will would do the job. I found myself completely distracted and bored within the first ten minutes. I really did try to open my mind to this documentary, knowing it's proven power, and my strong distaste for Adolf Hitler. I was curious to see if it could change my opinion at all. It did not. I saw right past his high and mighty crap and saw the true heartless dictator that he truly was.
Sure this video does not, by any means, show the ruthless acts that he committed toward the Jewish people. No, they chose to leave out that part of the truth and only include the ways that Hitler moved a crowd and the way the children cried of happiness as he walked through the streets of Germany. But with the swastika imprinted on every uniform, I couldn't help but cringe and realize that it wasn't just innocent Jewish people that Hitler and his army were terrorizing, they were also my ancestors. Yet the people of Germany idolized Hitler and thought he was doing a deed. As if he was an angel. People would watch this video and only see the good in Hitler and ignore the terrible things he did. After seeing this video I see how people could have been manipulated back when this was relevant. Now, people wouldn't watch this documentary for more than ten minutes and it wouldn't have nearly the same effect it did back then.

Triumph of the Will and the narratives of history

The timing of this documentary viewing feels quite appropriate given the upcoming release of "Fury", yet another Hollywood WWII film focused on the European front. History shows us that the winning side is the one that gets to tell the story, and the story of American heroism in WWII is a tried and true model for filmmaking. On the other hand, "Triumph of the Will" shows us another possible narrative that was cut short - Hitler's bid to right the wrongs committed to Germany after WWI. From the very title, "Triumph of the Will" this film espouses the values of National Socialist party of Germany, inspiring Aryans everywhere to grit their teeth and buckle down in order to recover in a way that is uniquely German, and specifically Aryan. The most important part of it all, as the film makes quite clear, is the almost divine leadership and direction of Adolph Hitler. Taking a step back, we can see that the film's propaganda relies on a few important characteristics. The speech of Rudolph Hess emphatically states that "The Party is Hitler! Hitler is Germany, as Germany is Hitler!". Hitler is shown in the film as the singular symbol for the German identity emphasized by the Nazi party. Some of the film's images connect Hitler to a sense of deep-rooted German culture such as old architecture or the parade of farmers in traditional dress. On the other hand, Hitler is also shown to have mobilized both boys and adult men in a widespread effort to promote the future of Germany through hard work. The symbol of Hitler and the connections made to a truly German identity carry a narrative from the past into the future, crucial to the ideology of the Nazi party as a restorer of German greatness and promoter of unity. One of the film's other important devices is the scale of choreography involved. To watch this film you would think that 100% of Germany is behind Hitler. This was not so, as the Nazi Party had not achieved majority control of Germany at the time. Yet the images of vast numbers of Germans rallying in a disciplined fashion sent a couple very strong messages: if you're with us, you've made the right choice, if you're not, you should be concerned.

Triumph of the Will is an interesting source for reference for not only its influence in the study of propaganda, but also the way the German people were to perceive Hitler and his "non-militant" followers. Not that this film showed the truth about every German, history proves that to be true, but it does show the passion of those who did follow him. The way they looked at him, listened to him and respected him is scary for us as a future audience to see but not for those watching at the time, looking for some kind of hope. This shows the "truth" that certain people were searching for and the "truth" that Hitler hoped to show the people. It is film making like this- maybe minus the parade scene that puts any watcher to sleep within minutes- that can convince people of something that is not true, or something that they wish were true. it's the passion that matters the most. The passion and the shear numbers of people shown, of all ages.

Triumph of the Will

This documentary showed Hitler and the Nazi party in a light that I have never seen before. Instead of showing the concentration camps or the countless other horrible things that happened during the Nazi era in Germany, they were seen as good people. This propaganda video made it seem like what was happening during Hitler's reign was acceptable. Every scene featured Hitler being portrayed as a God. He was either giving a rally speech to thousands of abiding solders or shaking hands with the public, everyone in the film seemed to LOVE Hitler. He was introduced many times (more than I could remember) and each time there was such a deep admiration for him that you would think Hitler could never do any wrong. In reality we all know it was the exact opposite but to me it is crazy to see how the Nazi's tried to use propaganda film to prove that Hitler was a strong, charismatic leader instead of what he actually was. Obviously we know all about the Nazi's and Hitler but if I were a German during this period this video could have easily swayed my decision about socialism and the Nazi party. Without the constant information that we have access to on a daily basis any German who watched that video could possibly look at Hitler and see him completely differently then others do, in a positive light. Overall the documentary was a little slow for me and repetitive at some points although I have never seen such up-close footage of Hitler before. I also appreciated the commitment it must have taken from thousands of people to create a propaganda video that attempted to brain wash an entire country.            

Waking Sleeping Beauty

The documentary Waking Sleeping Beauty opened me up to whole new side that I have never seen from Disney, and their crazy world of animation. We have all grown up watching and loving Disney animated movies. The documentary showed scenes from all the famous movies they have created over the years and it took me back to the days where I could watch my favorite Disney movies over and over again. What I never thought about was the creation process and just how much time and effort it took to make these classic masterpieces. It was an extremely stressful and competitive atmosphere when the animators were creating characters that they thought children would love and a clever enough idea to draw the audience in. Unsurprisingly the Disney team had to go through a lot of bad ideas before they found one that would become an instant success.

The standard was set very high for animated movies after Walt Disney created classics that resonated with children so much that those movies became apart of their childhood. After he was gone it was up to a new class of young excited kids to follow in Walt's foot steps. This proved to be a harder task then imagined. The team struggled to find that one movie that would bring them back to the glory days where Disney ruled the animation industry. While Disney stock was plummeting, the huge corporation brought in new management to help dig themselves out of a hole. Before watching this documentary I never thought of the struggles this company had to go through to produce the hits that they did, not to mention how they did it.

The fact that they used the process of sketching characters scene by scene and adding the voices in later while all this technology for animation was coming out made me think of it as a much more authentic way of doing things. We saw the process from pitching the idea, to making sketches, adding the sounds and music and everything else that went into making a Disney animated movie. To see the hard work that is put into making Disney what it is today shows just why they are the best at what they do.     

Chris Langone  

Google and the World Brain Response

Google and the World Brain raised many interesting points about privacy, the future of technology and the Monopoly that Google is becoming. The documentary touched on many different aspects of Google and the idea they had to scan every book in the world to make it available digitally. At first many librarians liked the idea of putting all their books online to make it readily available. So Google continued to put as many books on the web as possible before running into legal trouble. Authors around the world confessed their concern that Google was taking their work and putting it online without permission. After a heavy legal battle, Google was forced to stop scanning books and compensate the author's whom books they illegally copyrighted.

Another aspect the documentary talked about was the lack of privacy that we have in today's society and how Google may be responsible for some of it. Every time we type something in on Google it is stored in their memory and then used to advertise to us. This goes to any aspect of technology, our phones included. Everything is saved online and we give out a ton of information openly through popular social media websites like Facebook and Twitter to basically give anyone the right to easily find out who you are. With more advanced technology like Google Glass now we give the right to Google to even see what we are up to on a daily basis. Privacy is getting lost through technology and it's only getting worse.

There was a very eye opening point in the film where a man was talking about the progression of technology and how he is attached to his smart phone. He believes that in the future there will be a chip in your brain that will allow you to do certain things to make you eat better, do things better, and live longer. I think that's a pretty ridiculous concept but the fact that he thinks that will happen makes me worry a little bit. I kept asking the question where will this end? We crossed the barrier of privacy and technology is only getting more advanced, so maybe putting a chip in your brain is the future and maybe Google is already working on a prototype. It's a crazy idea but nobody knows what exactly goes on in Mountain View, California.

Finally the idea of the Google monopoly was the main idea of this documentary in my mind. Google books was ultimately shut down because they would control the online book market leaving other competitors behind due to their vast selection. Besides Google books they have a piece of almost everything else. They revolutionized the search engine as people almost always refer to "google it" if there is a question that needs an answer. They now have phones, GPS, social applications, education applications, you name it Google has it or are probably going to have it. The future is endless for this billion dollar company, it seems that nothing can stop them from controlling the market of almost anything they want.      

The film the triumph of the will was a film that I will only watch once in my life time. While this film was very important in terms of what it did propaganda it is an extremely difficult film to watch. Back in the 1930's around when this film was released it must of had a huge influence on the counties that did allow its people to view it. To me this film was almost comical to points. A scene that stood out to me was the scene when the war camp in Germany was preparing and serving soup for all of its soldiers. The camp looked more like a summer camp for little boys it looked like a place that I wanted to be. Everyone was having a good time and just laughing and enjoying each other's company. I thought this was amazing how Germany perceived their camps. As I am sure that this is not what they were like. Another part of the film that stood out to me was the constant scenes of marching. I thought this was a great use of propaganda on Germany's part. Most of these scenes would make me want to be a part of this new German force. This made me realize just how influential propaganda was during the time of the world wars and how it can still impact our way of life today.

Triumph of the Will

This film was shocking to me from the start. It was obviously in favor of Hitler to prove that he was a good person in the interest of the people. Throughout the film you saw lots of repetition and no emotion from the large marching army. The music was the only reason I stayed interested because all I saw was the large group of SS marching in a formation that could not happen unless they had been practicing for months. When watching I was amazing that not one person was out of line or step. By the end you could tell when they were going to walk, when they would salute Hitler and when they would chant. It is amazing to me that people actually believed this but I guess if I didn’t know the truth and was in there places I would have believed it as well. Just like in today’s society you can never tell what they are using to get you to believe what they are saying. The propaganda in this film truly stuck out, I will have to look into other films and see if it is this obvious.

-Hayley Johnson

Triumph of the Will

        I do not recall the last time I watched a film that was as difficult to get through asTriumph of the Will was. However, we must remember that this film was not made for pure entertainment purposes, rather to portray the Nazi party as a powerful and wonderful thing. Triumph of the Will is one of the most famous propaganda films that has ever been created. But that does not mean it was easy to watch. I understand that an effective tactic in propaganda films is repetition but I do not know how Leni Riefenstahl was able to watch the Nazi troops march by so many times. It was difficult to see this scene as many times as it was in the film. I can’t imagine how many times Riefenstahl saw the Nazi troops march while filming. In class we discussed how her career never recovered, I almost don’t feel bad regarding that fact. Whether this was just a gig for Riefenstahl or she believed in what the Nazi party preached, it still helped a society fall in line with the execution of millions of people.        

       Although I understand what Riefenstahl was trying to accomplish with this film it was hard to watch it with everything I know today. At the time the citizens viewing this piece didn’t know exactly what Hitlers plans for power were. It was difficult to remove what I know today from my head and try to see the film as they did in 1935. It’s easy to say I wouldn’t have been persuaded by the film because I know Hitler was a terrible person. However, its impossible to know whether I would have been swept away with the trend as so many were. 

Triumph of the Will Reaction

This film was incredibly difficult to watch, not only for the subject matter, but also because it was incredibly dense and far too long.  With that being said, the film was incredibly informative.  Whenever I have studied the Holocaust and WWII I have always wondered how Hitler could rally so many people and influence them to go along with his heinous plans.  Actually seeing the propaganda first hand makes it much easier to understand.  Not only is this telling but also the film makes you think more about what information we are being fed today, and what is or isn't propaganda.  Leni Riefenstahl  really was an incredible filmmaker and it clearly shows in this film.  Every shot showed the extensive amount of people that Hitler had at his disposal, and really showed just how powerful he was becoming.  Anyone seeing this film when it first came out must have been scared stiff, to know what Hitler was building and to see it with their own eyes.  Many times throughout the film I admit I almost fell asleep, the repetition bored me immensely, but afterwards I could see how the repetition of the words and experiences that were being shown on screen could influence so many people.  Overall the film was incredibly interesting to see from a historic perspective, as well as to learn about propaganda, but otherwise very dry and tedious.

Triumph of the Will

BY: SABRINA CASERTA
This film was particularly tedious for me. After the first five minutes of just being incredulous that they were making such an obvious piece of propaganda, I started getting annoyed. Did people really believe this? How many times do you have to showcase a swastika to convince the people that the Nazis are A-OK?
The entire film was just repeating a few simple scenes. Hitler smiling, looking regal as ever, waving to the crowds that clearly loved him so very dearly. Images of the youth, their military, having fun. Finally, speeches upon speeches from Hitler on why Germany must be taken back, and of course, Hitler's supporters regurgitating the same nonsense. The entire film to me was totally obvious- the manipulation was not subtle in the least. It made me wonder how I would have reacted to it then. How people react to it now. Also makes me wonder how people react to the propaganda in today's films. Do they even know it's manipulating them? Maybe today we have more 'media literacy,' or perhaps filmmakers have better tactics to infuse propaganda into films? I tend to think the latter.