Kurt Gerron

I found the story about Kurt Gerron fascinating. I cannot begin to imagine the pain he must have felt going from one of the most prolific actors / directors of his era to becoming a prisoner of the Nazis. Gerron had accomplished so much in his career and was so beloved by his people and renowned across Europe and then the same people that loved him locked him away knowing he was not coming back. This just goes to show how powerful and frightening the Nazi party was that they could imprison a national treasure without remorse. I think it was the right choice for Gerron to direct the propaganda film about Theresienstadt. At that point his fate was already sealed and the Nazis were already realizing their fate as well. For Gerron this was his final chance to do what he loved and leave a new legacy that we still talk about today. His film about his concentration camp may seem like a heinous cover up by the Nazis but it can also be seen as a work of art by one of the victims of the war. We now know the truth about Gerron and Theresienstadt and the fact that looking at that film covers up all of the pain and suffering going on in the camp is a compliment to Gerron. He gave all of those people a chance to be happy or at least look happy which is more to say than most of the victims of the war.

Jesus Camp

I come from a different society where the majority of the people believe in Islam rather than Christianity. However, when I first came to America I was impressed by the kindness of the people. They all treat me for what I am, not where I come from. I have come to believe that Christianity as well as Islam are religions of peace. Both provide guidelines to help people live better, act better, and behave better. From watching Jesus Camp, it was a heartbreaking seen what all the children have gone through. Extremist religious believers are in every religion, and it sad how very minority can misrepresent an entire religion and it’s followers. They way children were behaving was impressive and unexplained, they were very young but still crying and breaking down. The film did a good job showing a different side of religion followers that we see everyday. It was subjective but the purpose was to inform the public rather than insulting the people that were involved in the story.

Jesus Camp

After watching Jesus Camp, I started to think about all the various scandals that involve Evangelical ministries. Even going back as far as the 70's and 80's there have been a litany of Evangelical ministries who have been either accused or found guilty of preaching for profit. The ministers often preach a gospel of "seed faith" which is the belief that sending money to the minister is like planting a seed that will eventually grow and become a fortune. The ministers often don't have to pay taxes on this money because as a religious organization they are exempt. As we saw with the preacher that was shown in the documentary these con artists draw huge followings thanks to their charisma and messages of prosperity. Although there has been scandal after scandal these groups are still able to draw massive congregations that allow them to continue their lavish lifestyles. I feel that this documentary is a good way to look at how the youth of these ministries are indoctrinated and taught to try and convert their friends. 

For a good explanation of these Televangelists, I recommend this John Oliver video. 

 

Jesus Camp

Jesus Camp was both frightening and for some reason intriguing at the same time. I had always known there were extremist religious groups even in the United States but I have never really experienced them first hand or seen an inside look into what makes them so threatening to society. I think this film is a great insight into the evangelical Christians in the United States and captured their true nature and beliefs without over-dramatizing their story through the documentary format. The film did a great job of telling their story through the members of the religious group and only having one contrasting character to their beliefs in the form of a radio show host. I found this to be a good contrasting character to the group because he was not trying to act as if he was an expert in in politics of religious studies, he was merely speaking for society as a whole and questioning the acts and beliefs of a group not many people understand and that many people find dangerous. I found many of the members of the church very compelling as well. The kids all had very interesting personalities and motivations. I felt bad for them in a way because their parents or role models were pushing this religious belief system on them subconsciously against their will. The follow-up article detailing what happened to many of the characters was not as surprising or insightful as I would have thought. I assumed that most of the people involved in the film would end up worse off in the future and maybe have some kind of crisis due to the impact of the religion. The article did not go into as much detail as I would have liked but it played out similar to how I would have thought, one of the kids broke away from the group, one kid ended up continuing to be a part of the group, and the leader of the camp is still involved although has faced many hardships. I expected more dramatic outcomes for these people but their stories still do not surprise me. As far as Becky Fischer, the leader of the camp, is concerned, her story is still slightly tragic and I almost feel pity for her. She did not follow up with reporters after the film but it was revealed that due to the success of the film, her camp was vandalized and she could no longer rent the camp grounds. I almost feel pity because this was her life goal but then I think about what she was doing there and the destruction was inevitable. I think the best way to sum up the story is a quote made by one of the directors of the film: "it made me realize the far left and far right have a lot in common". I guess in a way there is just as dangerous of a group acting on the other side of the coin as well.