HomeUploadUpload DirectHotlinkRandomAbouttheme toggle
Expand

Why Is American Politics Unravelling? 'Boys State' Film Looks for Answers

Views:969
@ReasonVids

An interview with the directors behind the breakout political documentary about a Texas camp for aspiring leaders.

----
Subscribe to our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/ReasonTV?subconfirmation=1
Like us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Reason.Magazine
Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/reason

Reason is the planet's leading source of news, politics, and culture from a libertarian perspective. Go to reason.com for a point of view you won't get from legacy media and old left-right opinion magazines.
-----

The new documentary 'Boys State' opens with a quote from George Washington that warns of the damaging impact of parties in American politics. Political parties, he said "are likely…to become potent engines, by which cunning, ambitious, and unprincipled men will be enabled to subvert the power of the people and to usurp for themselves the reins of government."

It's an appropriate start to a film that uses the week-long civics camp for high-achieving Texas teenagers as a way to interrogate our national political climate.

"In the summer in 2017, we read that the boys in Texas had voted to secede from the union," explains filmmaker Jesse Moss, who co-directed the film with his wife Amanda McBain. "That provocative act got some attention. It got our attention."

Boys State, a program run by the American Legion since 1935, places teens into two imagined political parties, the Federalists and the Nationalists. During the session, teens must create party platforms and nominate leaders. The culmination of the week—and the focus of the film—is the election of governor.

While the strict two-party structure of Boys State helps create some order, it also manages to highlight the flaws of a binary political system. "This is a question that we've wrestled with," says Moss. "Does the party structure—Federalists versus Nationalists—kind of immediately introduce a sort of tribal competition. You see this literally, like chest beating. 'Beat the Federalists.' 'Beat the Nationalists.' Well, they don't stand for anything yet! What are you actually beating?"

"It's a mirror reflection of what actually happens in our country. There are two parties that rule the school," says McBain. "The question here is can those two parties, in their tribal state, have civil discourse?"

The film won a Grand Jury prize at Sundance and was quickly snapped up by A24 and Apple for an unprecedented $12 million. It is now streaming on Apple TV Plus.

"Regardless of where you come from on the political spectrum, I think you're going to find an entry point in this film," says Moss. "It's, I think, a complicated story and we have very diverse, complicated characters. I think in documentaries, we sometimes hunger for a kind of certain binary truth. And we all know that's really not reality."

Produced and edited by Meredith Bragg.
'Boys State' footage courtesy of A24 and Apple.

libertarian
,
reason magazine
,
reason.com
,
reason.tv
,
reasontv
,
documentary
,
sundance
,
boys state film
,
boys state texas
,
texas
,
democrats
,
republicans
,
two-party system
,
amanda mcbaine
,
jesse moss
,
appletv
,
appletv+
,
apple tv plus
    Thumbnail for Meet the Trans Activists Fighting for Sex Worker Freedom9:07
    Meet the Trans Activists Fighting for Sex Worker Freedom
    ReasonVids
    965 views
    Thumbnail for Independents Day is June 28! Pre-Order Nick Gillespie and Matt Welch's libertarian manifesto today!1:26
    Independents Day is June 28! Pre-Order Nick Gillespie and Matt Welch's libertarian manifesto today!
    ReasonVids
    944 views
    Thumbnail for Reason Video Awards 20133:31
    Reason Video Awards 2013
    ReasonVids
    952 views
    Thumbnail for [🔴이슈] 포스코 포항제철소 공장서 2주만에 또 불…2시간 만에 진화/2024년 11월 25일(월)/KBS | KBS News1:00
    [🔴이슈] 포스코 포항제철소 공장서 2주만에 또 불…2시간 만에 진화/2024년 11월 25일(월)/KBS | KBS News
    invidious
    146 views
    Thumbnail for Shit Talk Hotline1:33
    Shit Talk Hotline
    bestofvoatxyz
    476 views
    Thumbnail for Anyone know anything about these weapons being used in Gaza? It seems to be the weapon of choice and I have no idea what it is. It looks like some kind of RPG.1:59
    Anyone know anything about these weapons being used in Gaza? It seems to be the weapon of choice and I have no idea what it is. It looks like some kind of RPG.
    bestofupgoat
    415 views
    Thumbnail for Richard Riordan on Unions and Dysfunctional LA (Extended Interview)40:42
    Richard Riordan on Unions and Dysfunctional LA (Extended Interview)
    ReasonVids
    933 views
    Thumbnail for Sleeping bee  in a flower0:12
    Sleeping bee in a flower
    bestofupgoat
    413 views
    Thumbnail for The Movie "Miss Virginia" Powerfully Dramatizes the Urgent Need for School Choice10:26
    The Movie "Miss Virginia" Powerfully Dramatizes the Urgent Need for School Choice
    ReasonVids
    872 views
    Thumbnail for The Feds vs. the Chinatown Bus: The Glorious Rebirth of Bus Travel & Why the Gov't May Ruin it Again9:20
    The Feds vs. the Chinatown Bus: The Glorious Rebirth of Bus Travel & Why the Gov't May Ruin it Again
    ReasonVids
    1022 views
    Thumbnail for Sen. Tom Coburn: How Both Parties Bankrupted America27:57
    Sen. Tom Coburn: How Both Parties Bankrupted America
    ReasonVids
    1063 views
    Thumbnail for The 739620:46
    The 73962
    AOUisgay
    586 views
    Thumbnail for One Year Since the Capitol Riot — Biden Asks the Right Question12:32
    One Year Since the Capitol Riot — Biden Asks the Right Question
    AmericanRenaissance
    774 views
    Thumbnail for Illegal Electricity Connections0:54
    Illegal Electricity Connections
    AmericanRenaissance
    3225 views
    Thumbnail for King Retard 0:15
    King Retard
    AmericanMuskrat
    87 views
    Thumbnail for Remy: Imagine There's No YouTube (John Lennon Parody)2:30
    Remy: Imagine There's No YouTube (John Lennon Parody)
    ReasonVids
    904 views
    Thumbnail for It's Okay to Be White | Grunt Speak Live1:55:47
    It's Okay to Be White | Grunt Speak Live
    Terrence Popp
    1171 views
    Thumbnail for The Real Reason PIN Numbers Exist | magnify1:00
    The Real Reason PIN Numbers Exist | magnify
    invidious
    126 views
    Thumbnail for An Atheist Billboard in Brooklyn2:13
    An Atheist Billboard in Brooklyn
    ReasonVids
    998 views
    Thumbnail for Exposing schoolboard bullshit. 4:35
    Exposing schoolboard bullshit.
    AOUisgay
    461 views
    Thumbnail for ฟังสดเดอะโกสเรดิโอ  4/8/2567 เรื่องเล่าผีเดอะโกส | TheghostradioOfficial8:25:54
    ฟังสดเดอะโกสเรดิโอ 4/8/2567 เรื่องเล่าผีเดอะโกส | TheghostradioOfficial
    invidious
    215 views
    Thumbnail for LA Rally: Don't Believe What Teachers Tell You4:17
    LA Rally: Don't Believe What Teachers Tell You
    ReasonVids
    885 views
    Thumbnail for What is in store for LEAP zones in Honduras? Q&A with presidentail advisor Mark Klugman6:47
    What is in store for LEAP zones in Honduras? Q&A with presidentail advisor Mark Klugman
    ReasonVids
    859 views
    Thumbnail for Ford Raptor is now gay1:07
    Ford Raptor is now gay
    bestofvoatxyz
    557 views

points

Permalink
Reply
libertarian
,
reason magazine
,
reason.com
,
reason.tv
,
reasontv
,
documentary
,
sundance
,
boys state film
,
boys state texas
,
texas
,
democrats
,
republicans
,
two-party system
,
amanda mcbaine
,
jesse moss
,
appletv
,
appletv+
,
apple tv plus
TOS  •  Add Keywords  •  Donate  •   Analytics  •   DMCA  •   Puzzle