So I just watched the Danish film "Worlds Apart" thanks to a reference from this forum. I really enjoyed it. It was almost boring because the depiction of JW life was so good I felt like I was watching a film of my life. I loved how all the music at meetings and assemblies sounded only partially like Kingdom Melodies and the way the interviewed sister stepped up to the podium at assembly--perish the thought! Two inconsistencies is the lead elder who's always sporting a beard, and the fact that the main guy and girl don't get a lot of criticism for spending time unchaperoned. But that could be culturally influenced.
The roles of the various characters were very accurate: the sinning elder, the sinning pioneer, the parent who stays for the sake of the family, the uber-religious pre-teen, the two faced friend, the DF'd person who never gets on with their lives but remains isolated until they return out of desperation, and the one who leaves, improves her life and ceases to believe in it at all. Other than the uber-religious teen and the back stabbing friend, I never realized those others existed until I got on this site. But now they are glaringly obvious.
Two scenes stood out to me: right after his parents first visit, the lead actor admits to the girl he can't be one of JW's--he doesn't believe it. Then he tells her "somewhere deep inside" she must know theres something wrong with her faith. I found this an interesting comment. I spent my life so thorougly indoctrinated in this religion that I never considered for a second there was any other way. Yet ever since my childhood, I didn't fear armageddon--I feared apostasy. And during the time in which I was Sister Perfect-Pioneer, I felt like I was scrambling to maintain my grip upon zeal because I knew if I fell I would fall all the way to the bottom. I knew I was so zealous about my service that the reverse would also be true. If I left, I wouldn't just leave. In the movie when he says "Somewhere deep inside" she knows it's not the truth, it made me wonder if others have felt the same way as I.
For those who spent the majority of their life in it, who believed it without question, did you ever have the feeling something wasn't quite right? Maybe you knew if you ever gave yourself the chance you would see the forest for the trees--and it would contain a lot of rot. Or did you get blind-sided the first time something made you doubt?
Another scene I liked was where she is realizing she is going to have to make a choice. She is walking down a city street and she walks past another girl, about the same age, talking into her phone and acting like a kid. The contrast was startling--here are these two teenage girls who couldn't be more different. And what caused that difference? A religion that strengthens families and allows children to have childhood? Nope--the exact opposite. As she continues down the street, looking miserable, she notices the laughing and happy "worldy" people and you know she is making the comparison in her mind. I say that because it wasn't so very long ago I made the same discovery: non-JW's are actually happier.
What was my final thought on the film? It truly is a worldwide brotherhood! (snort) No really, the indoctrination is surprisingly consistent. But then, attorneys would tell their guilty clients to stick to the same story so they don't get confused on the facts. If you haven't seen this film yet, I highly recommend it.