Movie Night

These are my three favorite documentaries of all time, all available for online viewing (free!) in their entirety.

Let's start out with For the Bible Tells Me So (2007), in which we meet five fundamentalist/evangelical Christian families, each with a gay or lesbian child. They talk about their initial reactions and the changing family relationships. One family learns to question Focus on the Family and James Dobson's teachings. This is a film that is at turns heartbreaking, touching, and uplifting. You can watch the film here if you have DivX Plus web player (the site will prompt you for a quick installation if you don't) or you can at least watch part 2/9 - part 9/9 here in the youtube playlist.

Next is Jesus Camp (2006), which follows the children of fundamentalist Christian families (at summer camp and in their daily lives) and a pentecostal children's ministry pastor, Becky Fischer. You can find humor in this movie at some points, but all in all, it is a truly disturbing film and a very unsettling look at how Christian fundamentalists manipulate their children. You can watch the full movie here and it can easily be found on youtube, as well.

Finally, Deliver Us From Evil (2006), is a film about child abuse in the Catholic church. TRIGGER WARNING! This movie is disturbing and extremely difficult to watch. At some points it is narrated by a rapist priest who is living free in Scotland. There are also harrowing interviews with the victims and family members. I wasn't able to watch it in its entirety in one sitting. However, I still feel that it is an extremely important film because it shows the corruption of the modern Catholic church in a harsh, unflinching light. It is also a reminder that there is true evil in the world and it exists comfortably within religion. I believe that every Catholic and every Christian needs to see this movie. Watch it here.

UPDATE 9/8/10: I recently finished watching 8: The Mormon Proposition (2010) and I was completely blown away (and not to mention appalled). Not only does it trace the routes and origins of Prop 8 in California, but it also exposes a history of overt homophobia and hatred within the LDS Church. This film is important if you want to understand how personal religious beliefs (specifically about the "afterlife") have the power to destroy loving families, and create hatred within communities. You can watch it at alluc.org, just beware of pop-up ads and any sites asking you to install something.