Has anyone else seen the movie "confessions of a teenage Jesus jerk"?
Im still processing it, and trying to work out my thoughts....
I would be interested in others thoughts.
"Confessions of a teenage Jesus jerk"
by stuckinarut2 19 Replies latest social entertainment
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Wake Me Up Before You Jo-Ho
I felt shattered after watching it. It almost made me withdraw completely from all things ex-JW because I just wanted to shove that cult as far back into the recesses of my mind as possible. But I guess suppressing it will only cause it to come out at a later time.
The raw scenes of teenage humiliation at the hands of some Watchtower parents struck close to home. Natural, normal development turned into a rage-filled, devastating ordeal... The realistic depiction of a title-hungry parent more concerned about his status in the congregation than over the healthy functioning of his child... The trauma of four angry elders interrogating an impressionable mind, pulling every dirty trick to try and trip him up... And finally, the hanging...
The hanging.
That would have been me after waking up had I not been a mother.
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stuckinarut2
Thanks for your thoughts @Wake me!
It certainly was raw and confronting. As I say, I'm still trying to process some of it.
From a production and writing point of view, I felt that the movie was more relevant and suited to an awakened ex Jw rather than a still in Jw.
There were aspects that were "in house" for us "apostates" such as references to the Malawi scandal, and the references to Ray Franz's book "crisis of conscience". These points were not fully explained, and really would only mean something to someone who already knows about it.
Other aspects were not quite spot on.
BUT having said all of that, I am appreciative and thankful that someone has devoted such efforts to creating yet another crashing wave of momentum against the Society.
This film, as well as the British film "Apostasy" both came out in 2017... and I hope they are just the start of many more to come!
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stuckinarut2
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kaoYYCbLflo
Here is a preview
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dubstepped
Interesting. I just added it to my "watch list" on my phone, otherwise known as "the things I will likely never find time to watch". If I write it on a list it makes me feel like I did something though. So there's that. I'll report back if I get around to it. Thanks for the recommendation.
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barry
Just watched the movie seems the JW religion os obsessed with sex. I mean a married couple confessing about sodemy who hasn't put it isn the wrong place by mistake and who would want to talk about it when it happened.
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dubstepped
*****SPOILERS BELOW******* READ AT YOUR OWN RISK********
Well, thanks to Joho above my wife and I just watched it. I'm not sure how I feel, so I'll work it out here. Well, I know how I feel about Joho sharing it, she's the freaking best. :)
First, my wife heard the creator of this movie on a podcast recently. He doesn't like the ex-JW community and that we're too bitter. He looked into it a bit and peaced out on it and wanted to go on with his life.
I feel that it's reflected in this movie. He paints and ugly picture of life both in and out of the cult. It seems to me like the creator of this movie hasn't worked through his own stuff yet and still paints an ugly picture of life outside. It's like he still sees "worldly" people like the JWs teach. They were all fucking anything that moves, drunks, really none of them seemed to have many good qualities. I think he paints a narrow and maybe JW driven perspective of life outside.
The sex stuff was spot on. So much goes on. My wife believes that the creator was disfellowshipped for "loose conduct" and maybe something similar to the movie. She wasn't sure. But there is so much stuff that goes on in the cult. Some gets brushed under the rug, other things get blown up to rape status, it's all so confusing. The cousin fucking was just a really odd thing to throw in. The movie had an old school grimy feel to it. That cousin stuff didn't help things. Though with the confusion instilled in a kid like that, you can see how anything could happen.
Somehow despite the ugly portrayal I felt like there was some sort of sympathy toward the cult. I can't put my finger on it, maybe it was some of the cutaways, particularly the one old man.
Like Joho said, the stuff about the parents being so concerned about their precious congregational position was triggering. That was my dad.
The hanging part...............damn. As soon as the watch fell out my wife and I both looked at each other and groaned. We knew what that meant. That's tough.
I was confused about the dad and CoC and his meeting with the elders where he took the book in and the holes punched in doors and such. There were things that were thrown in that didn't add up to me, but I'm not good at figuring that stuff out usually. I often need things spelled out for me in movies a bit more.
The way it ended suddenly, but with that black screen after he did the finger thing, was very poignant, at least from what I read into it. I may be way off. But to me it looked like he was trying to escape, once again, using the fingertip touching trip shown throughout. Now though there was no escape. Reality had crashed down. There were no fluffy clouds in the sky, no fantasies, just utterly dark realities.
That movie has me feeling some type of way. I'm just not sure what. Kinda sick a bit. It was just bleak and maybe kind of dystopian, but that's also the realities. We know that's the realities inside the cult, reminiscent of the dystopian novel 1984. I felt like the portrayal of life outside though was also kind of painted the same, like nothing had value or meaning, and that part I don't really jive with.
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stuckinarut2
Good observations Dubstepped!
I share your views. It seemed to miss the mark on some aspects. I also do not know why some points were put into the film (cousin sex).
But I suppose, all exposure of the cult to the mainstream population is good in some ways....
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dubstepped
I was talking about it with Joho through email and she made a great point about how the cult triggers depression in young people. I've kind of forgotten how rough it can be when you're young. A developing teen with new urges and thoughts is condemned at every meeting for everything he or she is or is becoming. Those next years are fraught with every type of "spiritual" peril and the person facing them all is just a kid. My parents never had to face any of that, and neither did my wife's, as they came in as adults.
I'm glad that people still get to see the cult for the soul destroying thing that it is even if I'm not completely on board with all of the ideas presented. I like that point you made.
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humbled
Those next years are fraught with every type of "spiritual" peril and the person facing them all is just a kid. My parents never had to face any of that, and neither did my wife's, as they came in as adults.
Being born in is the worst, isn’t it?