GOD + COUNTRY

US, 2023, 90 minutes, Colour.

Directed by Don Partland.

Award-winning director, Don Partland, begin a trilogy of films in 2020 focusing on the personality of Donald Trump, his years as president, his psychology, especially an analysis of narcissism. The film was released during the election year of 2020, an expose of the president as unfit for office.

God + Country was released in 2023. While there are excerpts from the public life of Donald Trump, the focus this time is on evangelical Christians. The thesis is that from the 1970s and 1980s, evangelical Christians became more and more politicised, thinking and feeling that they were under threat, relying on literal interpretation of biblical texts for their self-righteousness, identifying more and more with American right political stances.

The film offers a look at many of the evangelical Christian leaders, in their local churches, in the media, radio, and especially tele-evangelists. With their leadership and the atmosphere of feeling under threat, the vast amounts of financial contributions collected, the filmmakers suggest that there was a transition from this evangelical Christianity to more political perspectives, Christian Nationalism. And, this was very much supported by Donald Trump, irrespective of whether he was a believer or not, irrespective of his personal life and values.

The film also shows the transition to extreme right-wing groups, their invocation of Jesus Christ, Christian beliefs, specific references to biblical apocalyptic statements. It highlights that with the threat of dire end in times, the promoters of Christian Nationalism fostered an atmosphere of fear, salvation coming from the defenders on the right.

With the visuals of the storming of the Capital in January 2021, there is a climax of this kind of Christian Nationalism, the documentary highlighting images of Jesus on banners, biblical quotations, the Christian motivation of so many demonstrating, taking anti-government stands with violence, believing the lies of Donald Trump about the election being rigged.

With the release of the film in 2023, it has a significant role during 2024 and Donald Trump’s campaign for a second term as President.

Donald Partland’s third part of his trilogy is #UNTRUTH The Psychology of Trumpism, exploring further the psychology of Donald Trump himself and his followers, rabid, the right wing, the Christian Nationalists.