YMMV / Jesus Camp

• Don't Shoot the Message: Many conservative Christian viewers took pains to point out that they considered Fischer's rhetoric and methods way over the top.
• Funny Moment: Using Ken and Barbie dolls as Adam and Eve.
• Hilarious in Hindsight:
  • The segment with Ted Haggard, the pastor of New Life Church in Colorado Springs and the then-head of the National Association of Evangelicals, was filmed before his run-ins with meth and gay sex were documented, something that is acknowledged in the disclaimer at the end. The point where he says "Well, that's fabulous" is particularly funny.
  • At some point, Becky mentions that liberals are all heart and no action, hence the reason why she and her ilk are better, since they are actually doing something. Shortly after the documentary came out, the camp was attacked and vandalized numerous times, giving the impression that nobody attacked them because the camp was too obscure to be known. Alternates as Harsher in Hindsight because... you know, almost any time any property is vandalized is bad.
  • It's either this or Harsher in Hindsight, but with the film discussing about the children spending their summers in some charismatic Christian summer camp learning and practicing their prophetic gifts and being taught that they can "take back America for Christ", Joshua Komisarjevsky comes to mind, even though he had never attended said camp in North Dakota.
• Memetic Mutation:
  • For a while, the gif of a little girl closing her eyes as three tears run down her face was popular.
  • "WARLOCKS ARE ENEMIES OF GOD!"
• Misaimed Fandom:
  • Becky Fischer, the head of the Christian camp featured in the film, not only said that this film portrayed her camp accurately, but thought that it would be a good evangelism tool. This really isn't surprising, though, as the film was produced with her full cooperation and support - it never could have been made in this form if she hadn't supported it.
  • Young Earth creationist, YouTube personality, and now website owner NephilimFree (you know, the guy who thinks that the water from Noah's flood ended up on the moon and that we should find the remains of marine life there) described the film on his site as "a wonderful documentary showing the struggle of our young soldiers of Christ in today's satanic world." (And before you ask, yes, this guy is for real.)
  • There are also those who care more about the fact that it's religious doctrine that the kids are being brainwashed with than the fact that the kids are being brainwashed at all. In the same vein, there are people who use this documentary as proof that all religion is evil brainwashing.
• Nightmare Fuel:
  • If there is a scene in this movie that isn't balls-out terrifying, it's hard to find.
  • Most cases of nightmare fuel have the somewhat mollifying effect of not existing. Becky Fisher is an actual person.
• Squick:
  • Tory, who seems to be just beginning puberty, comments that she has to be careful about "dancing for the flesh". Even if she only meant dancing for the fun of it rather than dedicating her performances to God, that evokes some pretty disturbing mental images.
  • During a sermon about the evils of abortion, a (male) guest minister places red tape over the children's mouths that has "LIFE" written on it, which comes back when they do the demonstration in front of the White House. Becky watches footage of this later, and right before she starts speaking, we can hear the minister tell a child "Oh, yeah...you look really good with that tape over your mouth." Uh...what?
• Tear Jerker: The children see Becky's speeches as this. For the audience, the children crying as a result of Becky's emotional abuse qualify.
  • During the first breakfast, one child says that his mom doesn't let him watch Harry Potter because of the witchcraft, so he watches them at his dad's house. The other boys at the table exchange these looks as if the child had said he kills kittens.
  • At one point, a kid starts talking in front of the entire camp about how he has doubts about Christianity and how he feels like he's a bad person for it. This is a pretty heartrendering moment.
    • Especially since the adults of the camp place such a bizarre amount of pressure of these children. They're expected to comprehend complicated social issues (namely abortion) and to "fix the world" themselves. It's not hard to get the impression that these kids are not allowed much time to just have fun and be kids.
    • The reactions from the kids don't help; one boy looks either saddened or unsure of how he feels about the situation, Levi looks pissed off and the last girl just looks nervous to be in the same room as him.
    • The adults behind him don't look sympathetic in the slightest—they look like they're angry with the kid for having doubts.
  • One particular scene shows the bedroom where all the little boys are sleeping. They end up getting up in the night and playing around, telling ghost stories and playing with flashlights (as children are wont to do). An older counselor from the camp comes to the room and tells them all to go to bed because (and this is a paraphrase) "ghost stories do not honor the Lord." When you see the light and happiness go out of their eyes, you'll get a little misty.

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