Good People Go to Hell, Saved People Go to Heaven (2012)

Good People Go to Hell, Saved People Go to Heaven: Directed by Holly Hardman. Good People Go to Hell, Saved People Go to Heaven explores evangelical Christian belief and culture against the backdrop of hurricanes, coastal devastation and apocalyptic fear. The film follows a cross-carrying fundamentalist preacher, a moralizing youth choir leader, an agenda-filled mega church pastor, and a compelling array of urban and rural born-again believers. All believe in a literal interpretation of the Bible, and share a desire to prepare themselves and the world for the biblical End Times. In its pursuit to present this world authentically, Good People Go to Hell offers fresh and valuable insight into conservative evangelical Christian belief and its connection to the essence of American identity and doctrine in the 21st century.

“A total waste of 87 minutes. The film presents a small handful of apparently-uneducated southern (mostly) white Jesus-freaks talking about themselves. There is no study, dissection, or analysis of why delusional Christian apocalyptic millennialism exists or what it means to our society. The subjects need to be seen as cult victims, as the Abrahamic religions – along with their countless derivatives, and regardless of their age or degree of accepted establishment – are no less cults than Scientology, NXIVM, or Trumpism. As a documentarian, you either declare your intentions or remain suspect. If your presentation is uncritical, you risk being seen as a soft propagandist.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eLook, we know these people are out there – a lot of them – and about the damage that their loopy belief system is inflicting on the culture, even permeating the highest levels of government. So it doesnu0026#39;t really help to simply offer a snapshot of the lives of a few of them without any commentary.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eWhatu0026#39;s particularly disturbing here is the absence of any discussion of why raising children in these environments should be seen as abusive.”