by discreetslave 45 Replies latest social entertainment
Thanks for the link DS - this looks fantastic. Great point about spanking too. If only parents would open their hearts and see what they are doing to their children by spanking them in order to please a misogynistic society. Please look at Alice Miller's website to see the psychological damage of spanking. It's a real eye opener!
I hope this project does well. I will keep tabs on it.
Hadit
IMO, it looks weak. Not that I want some over-the-top, "Six Screens" kind of thing but the stories in the excerpts just aren't very interesting. If you aren't a JW, there's very little appeal here. The examples given aren't really extreme enough to register a response. On this board, we tend to sympathize with those who say, "I felt like I couldn't go to college," or "I couldn't do all the sexual stuff I wanted to," or "Poor me - I had to play hoops in my dress clothes," because many of us have been there. But as for it being the subject of a film, I don't think people will care. And even if an active JW watches this, all they'll see are former JWs with complaining spirits.
Think about the kind of documentary stories that really get people talking. GASLAND, Capturing the Friedmans, Inconvenient Truth, Bowling for Columbine. These films are compelling, controversial, and incredibly entertaining. I can't say the same about this film , based on the trailer and the excerpts. In fact, this very board is full of stories much more gripping than those in this film.
But I digress. Maybe the film-maker had no intentions of making a big impact either in the JW community, or the world outside it.
At least it was shot in high quality and edited well.
@ Franklin Massey I understand your viewpoint and I'm waitng for a Michael Moore type film also. It's been said before the only people who care about JW's are JW's & exJW's. I want to support any efforts made in regards to our lives that don't put ex JW's in a bad light.
The trailer with the people holding the bag had me in tears. My exit is only recent so it struck a cord with me. So many of us still have emotional baggage from this cult. Even for many who have moved on they'll admit it took a while to shake it off. I think it will have an effect on younger ones. When I first heard about Knocking I expected it to be like this one instead it was a major let down and I was a loyal JW at the time.
There is another one in the works titled Losing My Religion maybe that one will include deeper stories.
@ Franklin Massey, I agree somewhat. However, I think there is a fine balance that this guy needs to strike in order to even get the the movie to appeal to active Jehovah's Witnesses. If he picks a bunch of sensational and rare stories to tell, most Jehovah's Witnesses will find the documentary to be completely dishonest and it won't affect them one iota.
Call for Support. I've asked him to tell his story on ExJW sites. Will keep you posted.
I just don't see the emotional depth needed to shake up an active JWs world. I'm only basing this on the short excerpts. I'm interested in seeing how the whole film plays out.
I've been speaking to the director. He's not out to shake up anything that's not his agenda.
It's to be cathartic for us ExJW's and educational for the outsiders who just don't get where we're coming from.
I was approached by the documentarian to participate. The premise seemed very legit and as neutral as you'd hope.
I fumbled the return address and didn't respond by the deadline. Relieved I didn't, actually.
This isn't the first documentary project to come along.
Belief: A Documentary is in-progress little by little:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Belief-a-documentary-miniseries/146464845379633
Losing My Religion is still raising funds, too, IIRC:
https://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Losing-My-Religion/290648973074
Not to dis' this new endeavor but I'd support the two that are being done by people already known in the ex-JW community first.
I'm in support of every project put out to show our stories in a fair light .
I understand your viewpoint Mad so does the director. He has successfully produced other films. http://www.imdb.com/name/nm2042405/bio so he already has some recognition outside our community and that helps get our stories out.
Who knows he could be a resource for the other films. It's us vs a corporation not in competition with each other.
