The Life and Times of Marjoe: An Examination of Cinéma Vérité and Religion

In today's religious climate it would be near impossible to suggest that religion is not, for the most part a communal endeavor, but a personal one. Religions are seen as institutions and not personal systems this idea is emphasized in the American cinema by documentary such as Marjoe, A Time for Burning and the more recent Jesus Camp. These films, continually reinforce the stereotypes, not only with Christianity but all religious systems.

            That is not to suggest that these films do not have merit, far from it. What I mean to suggest is that these films are examinations of a segment of the religious community, and not the community at large. Audiences, more often than not generalize what they see on screen, and apply it to entire populations. In some cases this approach is beneficial because it allows the audience to more fully understand the ideas and messages that the filmmakers wish to convey. Though, for the most part if this approach is used in this regard for the above documentaries it does these films a disservice.

            I use the term disservice because the films mentioned above lose their impact if they are used as generalizations for an entire population. Take for instance, Marjoe and Jesus Camp. These films are examinations of the evangelical movement in Christianity. Other denominations of Christianity do not live out the faith in the way that evangelicals choose to. Again, that is not to say that the evangelical movement is wrong, but these films could not be applied to the Christian community at large. Furthermore, a film like Marjoe is a character study more than it is an exploration into the evangelical movement.

            The film uses a cinéma vérité style to explore the person of Marjoe rather than the movement of which he is a part. The style allows the audience a seemingly unparalleled glimpse into what makes Marjoe tick. The film even goes so far as to involve the filmmakers in the narrative, bridging the gap between narrative and reality. The audience becomes a part of the storytelling process because they are experiencing it as the filmmakers themselves are. As a result, Marjoe is more a distant cousin to Jesus Camp than blood relative.

            That honor goes to the third film in the list, A Time for Burning. Both Marjoe and A Time for Burning are shot in the cinéma vérité style, though it is not their similarities that makes them brothers but, their differences. It is the differences that allow them to be relatable to one another, because their two distinct approaches to Christianity allows them to combine to create a more extensive picture of the Christian faith.

            A Time for Burning like Marjoe is a character study, though in this case the study does not focus on an individual, but a committee and pastor of a Lutheran church. The church is hoping to show their acceptance of the local African-American population by being the first integrated church in their area. Though both the pastor and committee members are  open to the idea of an interracial community they are afraid that the existing parishioners  of the church will not be as inviting.

            The film is  suited for the cinéma vérité style, because it allows the audience to be more involved in the ongoing debate of the committee members, and the inner struggles of both Bill Youngdahl and Roy Cristensen. The struggles faced by these two men are what separate A Time for Burning and Marjoe. The film explores how these two individuals wrestle with  their personal religious beliefs and the religious establishment of the church. A Time for Burning does what few films can, it shows faith being lived out on a daily basis. It indicates that religion and faith are experienced on the personal level, before they are experienced on the communal level.

 This is why Marjoe and A Time for Burning work so well together as a complete document of evangelical Christianity. The films suggest that both the personal and communal aspects are needed to live out ones faith to the fullest extent.

 A Time for Burning  uses this distinct cinema vérité style to show the struggles and challenges facing a small town Lutheran pastor and his closest ally. The filmmakers explore the struggles as true to life as possible. By not allowing interviews to get in the way of any of the images and information on  screen.  Though the reaction to this apparent representation of truth, is in some ways not true , because the filmmaker himself began the conversation about integrating the parish.

When Bill Jersey was approached by the Lutheran church about the possibility of making a documentary about the parishe’s desire to become racially integrated, the producer had no script and no idea where the documentary could lead. So Bill, believing that story does not magically create itself out of nothing  approaches Roy Cristensen and asked him to present the idea of visits of parishioners to African-American parishes. Thus, the conflict in A Time for Burning is born. Is it truthful though? Bill Jersey believes so, suggesting that real truth derives from conflict. Therefore, a conflict must arise before truth can present itself.

Marjoe’s story on the other hand comes out of an investigation of the human person. It does not create conflict because conflict already exists  inside the subject. The filmmakers therefore are involved in Marjoe’s, story, but they do not dictate how the story plays out. In this case Marjoe is actually the orchestrator, telling the filmmakers where to go and how to think. This orchestration allows the filmmakers to separate themselves from their subject, thus creating a truer character study.

Though which approach is truer to reality?  Both approaches are equally valid, because both approaches are needed to get a truer sense of reality depending on the situation. Marjoe’s approach works because the individual creates his own conflicts and issues. On the other hand, A Time for Burning’s approach works, because, as Bill Jersey suggests, truth is not created out of nothing. Though no matter how the truth is reached it still remains true, depending on what truth the filmmaker is seeking be it internal or external.