Jesus Camp, Yes we can

When dealing with video protests, its always interesting to see how effective they are or what strategies it seems they go for. In class, the Will.I.am-Obama video stuck out to me because you usually don't see music videos like that during presidential campaigns. It wasn't a parody, and it wasn't taking shots. The diversity of the celebrities was also really appealing because you understand how different people, that you wouldn't normally see together, unite for a single cause. The video seemed to have a goal of gaining support for Obama and highlighting Obama's own personal ideas. The main idea was of course, 'yes we can'.
In contrast to the Obama video, I was less enthusiastic about the Jesus Camp film. For starters, I had a little trouble determining what the video was trying to do. Did the makers want Jesus Camp to be viewed negatively or positively? There were times when it seemed they were intentionally depicted as bad, and then at other times it seemed the depiction was aimed to gain support. Nonetheless, I can understand why people would be against the individuals portrayed in the film. They make some bold claims and present some pretty extreme ways of thinking. For me, I don't agree with alot of what they teach and practice, but I don't have anything negative to say about the people themselves. They believe what they believe, and many were taught the same thing their whole lives. It's really weird for me to see the smallest of children being conditioned to these beliefs at such an early age. Kids are very impressionable and will believe what their parents or other adults tell them. Many of them were crying, speaking in tongues, etc. Its just hard for me to believe that all of them fully understood what was going on. In fact, I could tell by some of the blank stares and wandering eyes during various 'sermons' and 'religious occurrences'. They should be given the chance to develop more and grow. Overall, I'm looking forward to seeing how the film ends.
(shout out to Churches of Christ everywhere) ; )