Customer Reviews

American Experience - Sister Aimee

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I was raised in the Foursquare Church and grew up singing the old songs and hearing all the stories and urban legends surrounding the Churches charismatic, controversial and much loved founder, Sister Aimee. To be completely honest I never identified with the movement and went my own way as soon as I was old enough to do so. With that said I will also admit to possessing a rather curious fascination with that larger than life iconic minister and was happy to see that PBS found her a worthy topic for a documentary.

No matter what your personal opinion might be concerning Aimee Semple McPherson I think there's something of interest for everyone in this 60 minute presentation. The film provides a veritable kaleidoscope of life as it was through the early and mid 20th century; the erosion of rural, spiritual values giving way to urbanize, scientific secularism, the ideological battle between evolution and creationism, the social and economical impact of two world wars separated by the Great Depression and the massive migration of the populace to the west coast.

However the most fascinating aspect of the documentary to me was to witness how Sister Aimee not only had a keen sense of the pulse of the nation but was always one step ahead of the times. Her theatrical approach to the gospel and her use of all forms of media to capture the attention of the public at large was amazing. She was truly a visionary of monumental proportions and unquestionably the prototype for the modern day televangelist. Whether that's a good thing or not is up for debate.

I first came the story of Sister Aimee during the 1960's when as a 13 year boy I got a copy of "American Heritage's" history of the 20's and 30's. The book mentioned nothing about her "relations" with her mother and just dealt with the scandal about her disappearance in 1926.

The American Experience episode on Sister Aimee gives a much more nuanced/balanced portrait of her however. Showing the utter two-faced quality of the Los Angeles political power structure in thier efforts to smear her reputation. This episode gives more information about her than many books do.

Although not focussing on the sordid details of the trial and alleged affair, this is quite a good documentary chronicling the life of a woman that seemed, at that time, larger than life.

I have to be honest that I occasionally thought, "Now why is this important enough to be in the American Experience series!?" Wearing a feminist cap, I appreciate a focus on women, as they are an underrepresented group in historical writings and documentaries. But still, the series already covered the Suffragettes, Amelia Earhart, Annie Oakley, and many other more famous women. I think the series' edition of Sister Aimee is to remind living people of her importance during her time. This episode deals with megachurches, celebrity, the rise of women in the clergy, publicity stunts, and many other issues that are still very relevant.

It was especially timely watching this after the recent passing of Jerry Falwell. Sister Aimee and Falwell can be seen as having much in common. Like Eleanor Roosevelt, Sister Aimee was a committed anti-racist, supporting both Blacks and people of Mexican ancestry. Like Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune, her marriage dissolved as her public actions and political work increased. Like Michael J. Fox and Jim Carey, she was born in Canada.

This documentary had diverse interviewees. Like Sister Aimee, many of the interviewees were white women, but there were also white men, a Black woman, and a Black man. This work isn't filled with cheesy reenactments, though there are some. They show two people who saw Sister Aimee preach live and seeing their aging faces helps put a date and a realistic touch on this work.

The work touches upon the barriers Sister Aimee may have faced as a female clergy member and a divorcee, but I thought it could have said more or been firmer on the subjects. Sister Aimee's success is never tied in with the Great Awakening before her or the success of 1980s televangelists after her.