Am I an asshole if I say this is one of the scariest movies I've ever seen? At the very least it wins the award for Most Disturbing.
The thing I can't get past is that these are CHILDREN. Kids look to adults for guidance and approval, and a lot of them don't have the ability when they're young to think critically and question the world around them. To see these little kids - one only 9 years old - happily declare that they are excited to be warriors in "God's Army" and that they're not afraid to die because of indoctrination fed to them by a zealot? That is fucked up, full stop. That wasn't even the youngest child there at the camp.
It honestly terrifies me that Becky Fischer, the Evangelical most prominent in the film, actively seeks out children and cites them as being "useful tools" in this crusade she has going on in her head against people who follow Islam. It's horrible that certain sects of Islam are teaching their children how to become suicide bombers, nobody will argue that. But that does not make it appropriate (or sane) for you to convince little kids you have scared half to death to "lay down their lives for the Gospel" to somehow show Islam that you're morally superior. And then to wrap all of this hate and ignorance up in the name of Jesus Christ? I'm not even a Christian and I find that offensive on every level possible.
I realize that the "blame" (can you blame somebody for teaching their child their own beliefs?) ultimately lies with their parents for hooking these kids up with people like Fischer. I understand that a lot of people want to raise their children to share their beliefs. It's just so sad and disturbing to me that these people are so wound up and paranoid that they think this brand of faith - where propaganda and a distinct hive-mind mentality rule - is okay, even lauded. The vast majority of humanity has progressed so that people of all faiths can live together in relative harmony. Why are they so hell-bent on dragging us back into the Dark Ages?
The thing I can't get past is that these are CHILDREN. Kids look to adults for guidance and approval, and a lot of them don't have the ability when they're young to think critically and question the world around them. To see these little kids - one only 9 years old - happily declare that they are excited to be warriors in "God's Army" and that they're not afraid to die because of indoctrination fed to them by a zealot? That is fucked up, full stop. That wasn't even the youngest child there at the camp.
It honestly terrifies me that Becky Fischer, the Evangelical most prominent in the film, actively seeks out children and cites them as being "useful tools" in this crusade she has going on in her head against people who follow Islam. It's horrible that certain sects of Islam are teaching their children how to become suicide bombers, nobody will argue that. But that does not make it appropriate (or sane) for you to convince little kids you have scared half to death to "lay down their lives for the Gospel" to somehow show Islam that you're morally superior. And then to wrap all of this hate and ignorance up in the name of Jesus Christ? I'm not even a Christian and I find that offensive on every level possible.
I realize that the "blame" (can you blame somebody for teaching their child their own beliefs?) ultimately lies with their parents for hooking these kids up with people like Fischer. I understand that a lot of people want to raise their children to share their beliefs. It's just so sad and disturbing to me that these people are so wound up and paranoid that they think this brand of faith - where propaganda and a distinct hive-mind mentality rule - is okay, even lauded. The vast majority of humanity has progressed so that people of all faiths can live together in relative harmony. Why are they so hell-bent on dragging us back into the Dark Ages?
