On DVD (1973). 88 minutes. Preview. 
Marjoe Gortner was a national sensation as a child preacher in the Pentecostal church in the 1950's and 1960's. At 15 he refused to preach anymore and moved out of his house. Now, in his late 20's, he has gone back to preaching to earn money, cashing in on his fame and the schtick his parents drilled into him as a child.
This documentary (winner of the 1973 Best Documentary Oscar) is Marjoe's way of coming to terms with the fact that he has rejected religion and the deception of his childhood but yet he is preaching under false pretenses for the money. The film opens with some funny/sad footage of him at 4 performing a wedding and preaching in the classic 'camp meeting' cadence. Then it cuts to the 'set up' scene in which he is telling the filmmakers, a group of smarmy hippy types, about the bits he does and how Pentecostal churches work. The tone of this scene made me uncomfortable because of the dismissive way the church people were being talked about and looked down upon by a group of goofy beatniks.
The rest of the film shows Marjoe preaching in the present, with his Mick Jagger moves and loud/soft combos. In one scene, while the congregation 'feels the spirit during the altar call, he and the pastor of the church he is preaching in go in and count the offering while the folks are still praying and whooping. The final 15 minutes of the film are the strongest, showing Marjoe struggling with the fact that he is a fraud. The scene with the dog and his girlfriend was sadly effective.
The film feels unfinished and less than groundbreaking in 2007, after Robert Tilton and the downfall of the televangelist in the 80's. I am sure that in 1973 this was a revelation and very 'edgy,' which explains the Academy Award. The filmmakers are trying to show religion as a falsehood, but they only succeed in showing that Marjoe had terrible parents that ruined him for life. Priest can probably explain this better, but the proposition that just because there are a few false prophets doesn't serve to discount the Lord.
Tuesday, November 6, 2007
Marjoe - B-
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4 comments:
Agreed on the review. And I'm beginning to wonder about your latest interest in Mick Jagger.
i don't know that i do have so very much to add to your correct assessment, beyond offering a few possible insights. the first is that charismatic and other so-called "fanatic" movements tend to gain more traction and have more adherents among the poor and uneducated. this doesn't mean the adherents aren't smart. it may mean they have less of a vested interest in maintaining the generally accepted social and religious practices of a culture, and it may be because they have not been taught to second- and third-guess the variety of reasons they may be having a particular religious experience. likewise, they may also be much less likely to second-guess the motivation of a particular pastor or evangelist, the stories such a person tells, or the miraculous signs they do. it is for the same reasons that radical movements often begin among the poor. they have less to lose/less of a vested interest in the social or religious status quo. it is unfortunate (and inevitable) that some people would choose to manipulate this situation. however, it does not follow that because the shucksters are phoney in a particular instance, the religious experiences of the adherents are phoney or not from God; especially assuming that many evangelists and pastors are legitimate. This is like assuming that because one girl told you she loved you and you fell in love with her only to find out that she was cheating on you, that 1) your feelings for her weren't real or 2) that all girls are liars.
See, I knew you would roll on that. All girls are liars, by the way.
admittedly, a flawed example.
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