Blog #5: "Jesus Camp" and Blankets

        

          The documentary “Jesus Camp” and Blankets are similar in many ways.  The first way is how Craig and the children in “Jesus Camp” are treated by adults.  Many of these kids in the documentary are too young to really understand what is going on, which shows that their “beliefs” are forced upon them by their parents.  There are instances where the parents of the child make them raise their hands or not watch things because they’re “evil” (i.e. Harry Potter).    Much of the same thing happens in Blankets, where Craig’s mother is the one who basically forces Craig to follow the Christian path.  This can be seen in a few different panels.  For example, on page 28, the teacher says that Crag’s mother would be disappointed in his work because she is a “[…] good Christian lady,” which puts a lot of pressure on the Craig to feel like he has to follow the rules because who wants to disappoint their parents at that age. Craig’s parents’ religion can even be seen in the décor of the house because there are posters with Christian sayings (pages 30 and 38) and crosses and other Christian memorabilia around the house such as a cross (page 44) and Jesus’ picture (pages 201-208).  In addition to this, Craig’s mother does not allow them to stay out and play a little bit longer because they have church early the next morning.   Lastly, during the camp scene on pages 80 and 81, one of the boys specifically says “You reading the Bible? Aren’t we forced to read that thing enough here?” This shows that it is not all of the kids’ chose to be at this camp and to believe in Christianity.  These all show how their parents force their religion on the children, instead of letting them explore the world on their own.

            Another way “Jesus Camp” and Blankets are very similar is what happens at camp when there is not a counselor or someone with a lot of power around.  In “Jesus Camp,” when the kids are to be in bed, you learn what they really do.  These kids often goof off and act like monkeys and do not act in ways that would make “Jesus” happy, according to the counselor that comes in and clams them down.  It’s interesting to note that during the day, when there is someone with power around, the children act like perfect little angels and do what “Jesus” would want them to do by singing and praising God.  This same exact thing happens in Blankets.  On pages 80 and 81, it is an hour past lights out and the boys are chatting about things like girls’ chests and feeling them up.  Later, on pages 105 to 107, we see what happens when these, now older, children do at camp when there is a counselor around.  In these panels, we see how they sing and praise God and act like they are Christians through and through, even though that is not the case as shown on page 117.  This shows that both, Blankets and “Jesus Camp” are relatively accurate in how these people are represented and how they act when there is or is not an adult around.  There are more similarities between Blankets and “Jesus Camp,” but these were the two most prominent similarities that I noticed.