(Unless
we can successfully brainwash you.)
A
truly unsettling film about the dangers of monotheism, and how
fanatical authority figures can brainwash young people into following
a system of beliefs and believing that they chose to do so
themselves. It's Christian propaganda, basically, but a very specific
kind of satanic-panic era propaganda.
We
follow a guy who likes rock, has a hot (if irritating) girlfriend and
one other friend. His parents are very controlling, with his mum flat
out stating that he needs to be better at “obeying”, and they
want to decide what kind of music he likes. His mum teams up with the
youth pastor and together they manipulate him. First they have him
stop listening to rock for two weeks, during which the pastor gives
him a few books on music and tells him to do his own research (books
on rock written by or for the church), telling him that he'll want
evidence from the bible for his conclusions (he said the words
“evidence” and “bible” in the same sentence).
The
film then charts his progress as he looses his friend and girlfriend,
becomes confused and frustrated with himself, and ultimately is
reduced to ranting at the rest of the congregation in his local
church. The music swells as he concludes his speech and smashes a
record, and then the film ends. It's artfully sickening to watch, and
it's all the worse for knowing that it's real.
The
content is frightening but the filming style is bland. The lighting
is soap-level basic, and the audio quality is terrible. If it was
made intentionally to mock Christianity it would have been quite a
smart film, but the fact that it isn't just makes it unintentionally
disturbing. It's bad, and it's not even funny.
Rock - It's Your Decision: 3.8