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The Tragedy of Macbeth – What’s done cannot be undone

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“Unnatural deeds do breed unnatural troubles.”

Shakespeare may seem daunting to many. The language and vocabulary are strange to our ears. We may have been force fed bits of it in high school, and we resent it. Don’t let that be a deterrent to seeing The Tragedy of Macbeth. This new adaptation and vision of the play was written for the screen and directed by Joel Coen. It is a way of experiencing one of the Bard’s better known plays in a richly satisfying production.

To briefly state the plot (for those who haven’t seen Macbeth), after winning a major battle Macbeth (Denzel Washington) is returning with his comrade Banquo (Bertie Carvel) when they encounter a trio of witches (Katheryn Hunter as all three Weird Sisters). The witches tell Macbeth that he is to be the next king of Scotland. Banquo, it is said, is to be the father of a line of kings, although not king himself. Lady Macbeth (Frances McDormand) supports this ambition and they plot the assassination of the king. The blood begins to run even more freely as Macbeth must shore up his power against the king’s son who has fled to England. The ambition leads to paranoia and tyranny, which will, in time, lead to destruction.

This is an exceptionally moody production, in part because of the black and white cinematography and its use of shadows and fog, but also because of some wonderfully blocked shots that heighten the sense of a crescendo of madness in Macbeth and his wife.

The performances are all extraordinary. First among them is Hunter as the Weird Sisters, but also Washington and McDormand shine as the original power couple. They allow the characters to evolve along with their ambitions and madness. They are people who have set aside their morality to chase after a vision they have of destiny. And we watch as these characters become darker and darker as the story progresses. I especially liked the scene in which Lady Macbeth asks the spirits to take away her feminine nature and fill her with cruelty.

There is a reason Shakespeare continues to be taught centuries after his death. It’s not the iambic pentameter or what we now think of as flowery language (or amusing insults). It is because the things he wrote about are at the very core of our experience. Macbeth is one of the best examples of that. Today’s world continues to be filled with those who grasp for power without regard for right. There have been bloodbaths in every corner of the world to gain or maintain control of nations and peoples. This story also demonstrates the way such ambition without morality can eventually corrode the souls and the very humanity of those who act in such ways. We often think that the guilt of their actions drove Macbeth and his wife to madness. Perhaps those deeds were the true madness that was their undoing.

The Tragedy of Macbeth in in theaters and comes to Apple TV+ on January 14th, 2022.

Photos courtesy of Apple Original Films.

Come From Away: Love is Always Welcome

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Set immediately after the events of September 11th, 2001, Come From Away tells the story of 7 000 people who were stranded in the remote town of Gander, Newfoundland after 300 planes were grounded after the terrorist attacks. Lost and scared, these involuntary visitors found themselves strangers in an unknown land. Thankfully, the people of Newfoundland embraced those who had ‘come from away’, welcoming them into their community and providing food, shelter and compassion as they waded through the tragedy of 9/11 together.

After the success of last year’s stage recording of Hamilton on Disney+, the Tony Award winning Come From Away opts to make use of the same format, this time on Apple TV+. Performed onstage in the Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre in New York City, Away wants to make you feel as though you’re sitting in the seats on Broadway taking in the show first hand. Shot (mostly) from a view that encapsulates the entire stage, director Christopher Ashley maintains the distance between performer and audience that gives it an authentic feel. While one does somewha wish that a proper cinematic adaptation had been offered, there’s simply something magical about this live performance with a cast of 12 (!) that makes it essential viewing. (Although, it is also worth noting that a film version was in the works until the pandemic derailed the plans.)

Of course, adding to the effectiveness of the piece is that fact that we have hit the 20th anniversary of 9/11 itself. With the performance taking place in New York, there’s simply something special about this one. Filmed in front of an audience of 9/11 survivors and frontline workers, Away carries even greater weight as it becomes instantly personal for its audience. Every musical number, every joke and every poignant moment lands with emotion from a crowd that connects with the material for their own experiences and memories. They may not be onstage but, to this audience, this is their story too.

But isn’t that part of the power of 9/11? In a lot of ways, it’s all of our story.

Like the writers of Come From Away, I may be from Canada. (Just outside Toronto, to be more specific.) And the play takes place in Newfoundland. Even so, 9/11 remains the event that shook the world and re-telling the story from an outside perspective serves as a reminder of how thing changed that day. This is a story that affected everyone and Come From Away recognizes the impact on us all. 

Filled with real stories and characters, the play has always shown the power that real people had on one another in a time of crisis. (Adding to the realism is the fact that Away shows the actors with their real-life counterparts over the credits.) By focusing on the diverse stories of these people who were thrown together, Away gives power and voice to everyone, regardless of race, language, faith or sexuality. (This becomes particularly visible during the play’s stirring and surprisingly inclusive performance of ‘Make Me a Channel of Your Peace’.) Despite the differences between them, all of these travellers were thrown together at the hands of one of the darkest moments in recent history.

Which makes the impact of their hosts even more staggering.

Though the world was in shock, the people of Gander offered grace and shelter to those who were suffering. Despite being far away from their families, these visitors found a home. The actions of the people from this small corner of Canada are the very definition of divine hospitality: no matter who their visitors were or what their stories were, they were going to be safe there. 

Everyone was going to be welcome at their table.

While Come From Away doesn’t ignore the travesty that 9/11 had on the families of those who were stuck in Gander, it does show how hospitality and love can shine a light of hope on others. While their care for others may not have changed what happened, the power of love is that it helped change the way that these broken people could deal with what happened. Suddenly, fear and suspicion were transformed into peace and protection. Yes, the world was changed. Yes, lives were decimated. But, in the midst of that trauma, unconditional love broke through to bring comfort in the most difficult of circumstances.

Fueled by joy and compassion, Come From Away is energetic, entertaining and an absolute joy to behold. Though the cast only consists of 12 people, they manage to share the stories and experiences of many who suffered during those tumultuous days post-9/11. What’s most powerful about the piece though is the fact that it also serves as a reminder that love is always welcome.

To hear our conversation with director Christopher Ashley and writers Irene Sankoff and David Hein, click here.

To hear our conversation with the cast of Come From Away, click here.

Come From Away is available on Apple TV+ on Friday, September 10th, 2021.

CODA: Family, Fishing and Following Your Dreams

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We’re often told to follow our dreams… but what happens when they collide with reality?

Written and directed by Sian Heder, CODA tells the story of Ruby (Emilia Jones), a 17-year old high school student on the cusp of college (and adulthood). As the only hearing member of her deaf family, Ruby is often tasked with translating for her parents, especially in their fishing business. However, when their business is threatened, Ruby finds herself torn between her own dreams of breaking into the music business and her obligations to help her family.

Although she’s an outsider to Deaf Culture, Heder has absolutely done her homework in the details of her script. Working extensively in tandem with members of the Deaf Community, Heder has done her best to create a story which honours them in the fullest sense. In fact, what sets CODA apart from other films that focus on the Deaf Community is its normalcy. Rather than make a film that attempts to explain Deaf Culture, CODA simply exists within it. This is a film that recognizes that the relationship between children of deaf adults and their parents may differ due to their family circumstances yet it somehow also seems universal. Despite the different culture within the home, Ruby’s attempt to break free from her parents’ expectations is something that every teenager experiences. She yearns to chart her own path yet so too does she want to honour her parents as well. What’s more, her family dynamics also feel familiar and honest. Parents Jackie (Marlee Matlin) and Frank (Troy Kotsur) enjoy their sexuality together, embarrassing their kids. Ruby’s brother draws the eye of her best friend who thinks he’s gotten hotter. In honouring Ruby’s family through these simple touches, Heder’s film celebrates the realities of Deaf Culture without differentiating their experience from families on the outside.

Sparking the film is relationship between relative newcomer Emilia Jones and veteran Marlee Matlin. As the film’s central focus, Jones anchors the piece with courage and strength. Filled with innocence, strength and affection, Jones’ performance is simply delightful and she lights up the screen. At the same time, Matlin’s experience provides a grounded and honest portrayal of a mother who fears losing her daughter to the world. A mother herself, Matlin draws on her experiences to feel present in every scene, especially in moments where she and her daughter go toe-to-toe. Having said this though, although Matlin and Jones may anchor the film, the entire cast of CODA delivers good work here, especially the incredible Daniel Durant and Troy Kotsur (who almost steals the film in some moments).

Embedded within CODA is a struggle between pursuing guaranteed employment in the fishing industry and a far-less secure future in the arts. Torn between two options, Ruby is caught between the joy of following her heart and the pressure to help her family. However, this decision between music and fishing has so much more at stake than her future. For her, this feels much more like a choice between two worlds. Though she adores singing, so too is that a lifestyle that seems to alienate her family. (This is particularly accentuated in a scene where she performs publicly, with her parents in attendance.) In essence, to lean into music feels like abandoning those she loves. At the same time, to focus on their business means killing her dreams. 

In this way, CODA sets a stunning example of what it means to live with integrity. Although Ruby may struggle with her decision, her motivation is never one of laziness or selfishness. Instead, Ruby wants to remain faithful to her family and herself. An incredibly hard worker, Ruby does her best to make everything work. She works hard at her musical training yet still also manages to support her family as their bridge to the world of the hearing. However, as that tension between worlds gets stronger and she must make her ultimate decision, she never loses sight of what matters most. 

With a solid script and stunning performances, CODA truly is one of the most engaging films of 2021 thus far. With beauty, grace and an infectious joy, Heder’s story highlights the universal struggles of family within the context of the Deaf Community but never succumbs to any form of negative stereotypes. Instead, she creates a story that explores the moment in everyone’s life where they must choose who they’re going to be and what it’s going to cost them to do so.

CODA is available on Apple TV+ on Friday, August 6th, 2021.

Apollo 11: Quarantine – The Past Meets the Present

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Set in 1969, Apollo 11: Quarantine is a documentary short that shows what happened after NASA’s successful launch to the moon. In case the astronauts made contact with any microscopic life on the moon, NASA deemed it necessary for them to distance themselves from others for 21 days as a precaution so that they could be properly monitored. Using never before seen footage, the film gives you an interesting look into what it was like for them to quarantine. 

Premiering during the COVID-19 pandemic, the release of Apollo 11 could not have been timed better. Directed by Todd Douglas Miller, the film does a good job portraying the mood and feeling of quarantine as well. By showing scenes of the astronauts playing mundane games to pass the time, waving to friends and family from afar and celebrating birthdays alone, the experience of the astronauts greatly mirrors that of people who are forced to quarantine today. Stuck in isolation, everyone is so close but so far away and cannot be reached. With most of the scenes filmed in silence, the viewer gets a good sense of the boredom and isolation these brave astronauts felt. 

Admittedly, the documentary does feel a bit slow. Though it may match the current feeling of quarantine by people today, the lack of narrative or urgency does make the film feel a bit boring. In many ways, Apollo 11 almost feels like we were just watching people relax or prisoners stay in their room all day. (Though, again, that’s a fair point considering the parallels to our experiences today.)

Even so, Apollo 11: Quarantine offers us a new look into the days that follow the Apollo 11 mission from the astronauts’ point of view. What’s more, given our situation in 2021 due to COVID, the film provides an interesting angle into both space life and quarantine in general. In many ways, though the footage was taken in 1969, it could have also been shot last month with the average American family. 

Apollo 11: Quarantine is available on Apple TV.

On the Rock – Finding Trust

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“Don’t give your heart to any boy. You’re mine—until you get married. Then you’re still mine.”

Sofia Coppola’s comedy On the Rocks is in some ways a father/daughter road movie in New York City (with a brief excursion to Mexico). It is a relationship movie that looks at two troubled relationships at the same time, and ends up healing them both.

Laura (Rashida Jones) feels like she has a comfortable and happy marriage to Dean (Marlon Wayans), until someone mentions something that raises a hint of doubt about the amount of time he is working late and traveling with his new business associate. Unsure if she should be worried, she calls her globe-trotting, playboy father Felix (Bill Murray), who thinks the signs are obvious. Felix immediately comes back to New York to help Laura find the truth. Felix uses connections to find information, but they also spend time traveling through the city to spy on Dean. When Dean has a sudden trip to a resort in Mexico, Felix hauls Laura down there to confirm everything.

A key to understanding this is that Felix is very experienced in infidelity. He believes that such behavior is inbred in men since early humans. Since he knows his behavior, he reads that in to what he expects from Dean. Felix’s unfaithfulness had an impact on Laura’s family life as a child. Now, he is using this as a chance to reconnect with Laura.

In some ways, this film has some fairly conventional tropes: a workaholic husband who sees that as the way to provide for family, an at-home mom who begins to feel frumpy (at least that’s how Laura dresses). But the humor in the story is really based in the dialogue more than in the events themselves. To be sure, most of the comedy is created by Murray’s persona. The rest of the cast is essentially his straight man throughout.

The whole story is one about trust. When doubt begins to creep in to Laura’s thoughts, her faith in Dean waivers. The only person she feels she can call on is someone who seems very untrustworthy. Felix is full of himself and has gone from woman to woman. But Laura seems to feel that when it comes to his relationship with her, Felix will come through. He may go overboard, but he is going to be sure that Laura knows the truth. In finding the father/daughter relationship anew, Laura becomes ready to find the trust in Dean that she has misplaced.

On the Rock is available on Apple+.

Wolfwalkers – Natural Freedom

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“I’m afraid one day you’ll end up in a cage.  “I’m already in a cage!”

Wolfwalkers is the third offering from Cartoon Saloon that focuses on Irish folklore. Like the earlier films, Secret of the Kells and Song of the Sea, this is a brilliantly artistic animated film. The film is directed by Tomm Moore (who also directed the earlier films) and Ross Stewart. All three of the films are visually beautiful, as well as stories that engage and speak to our spirits. The artwork in the film draws on the art history of the time period, such as Celtic artwork.

Robyn Goodfellowe (voiced by Honor Kneafsey) in “Wolfwalkers,” premiering globally later this year on Apple TV+.

Set in 1650, young Robyn Goodfellowe (a bit of a Shakespearean reference?) has come to Ireland with her English father. He father is a great huntsman, and he has been tasked with clearing the woods of wolves. Robyn fancies herself a huntress as well, but she is forbidden by her father from leaving the fortress/city. But Robyn is determined to head out, following her father at a distance. In the woods she comes across another girl, Mebh, whose behavior is more lupine than human. Mebh, we discover, is a wolfwalker—human when awake, but when asleep her spirit roams the world as a wolf. He mother, a wolfwalker who leads the wolves, has been asleep for a long time. After a bite from Mebh, Robyn discovers that she too has become a wolfwalker. As her father and the Lord Protector’s soldiers seek to destroy the wolves, Mebh and Robyn must try to find and rescue Mebh’s mother’s wolf body so she can lead the wolves to a safe area.

As in the other films in this series, there is a strong connection to nature—and the supernatural aspect of the natural world that is grounded in Irish folklore. There is a very clear difference between life in the town and life in the outside world. One of the key differences is freedom. It is not inconsequential that the Lord Protector, a sort of royal governor, is there to assert English rule. English flags are seen frequently. A reminder that Ireland spent a great deal of time in the “cages” of English oppression. Inside the city, everything is ordered. Everyone has their place and they are expected to act accordingly. The role that Robyn is assigned as a girl does not fit with the role that she believes is really hers. All of that is very different than the life in the woods. Mebh is able to roam freely. The animals live lives in harmony with all around them. We see that freedom in a series of scenes as Robyn and Mebh frolic in the woods while we hear Aurora’s song “Running with the Wolves”.

Robyn Goodfellowe (voiced by Honor Kneafsey) and Mebh Óg Mactíre (voiced by Eva Whittaker) in “Wolfwalkers,” premiering globally later this year on Apple TV+.

A key element of the oppression that the Lord Protector brings, is the idea that it is God’s will that order is maintained, including the taming and destruction of the natural world. This view of religion is very different from in The Secret of the Kells. The first film, set in a monastery, saw Celtic Christianity as one of the keystones of Irish identity. In Wolfwalkers we see that Christianity (or any religion) can also be an oppressive force. The kind of God the Lord Protector invokes is quite different than the God who is celebrated in Secret of the Kells.

Robyn Goodfellowe (voiced by Honor Kneafsey) in “Wolfwalkers,” premiering globally later this year on Apple TV+.

While the film reflects certain political and spiritual aspects of freedom, like the other films in the series, the key is to discover the freedom within oneself and in our own nature. For Robyn and her father, the demands of the Lord Protector clash with their own sense of who they are. Even as a hunter Robyn’s father is deeply connected to the natural world. He is only following orders—orders he doesn’t feel capable of disobeying. It is only when Robyn, through her disobedience, leads him to a new understanding that he is able to stand for what is right.

An additional element is added to that concept of freedom when we consider that a bite from a wolfwalker changes the nature of someone who is bitten. Even before being bitten, Robyn was headstrong and independent. But after being bitten (and healed) by Mebh, she has a whole new understanding of the world she lives in. That bite and its transformative power is truly a gift that is bestowed on her. Perhaps another part of freedom is also being able to see the world as others do—to see our world in new ways.

Wolfwalkers won the Audience Award for Narrative Feature at AFIFest. It will be released in select theaters Nov. 13, and be available soon after on Apple TV.

Photos courtesy of GKids.

The Sounding – Transformed Mind

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What do we make of someone who refuses to live conventionally? Is there something wrong with them that needs to be fixed? Or should we find a way into their world to see things in new ways? The Sounding (the first feature film by Catherine Eaton) presents viewers with these kinds of questions.

Liv (played by Eaton) has lived her life on a secluded island off the coast of Maine. She has been raised by her grandfather Lionel (Harris Yulin), a retired neurologist. At some point when Liv was young child, she ceased talking. There were no physical or evident psychological reasons. She just didn’t talk anymore. Lionel has read her everything from P.G. Wodehouse to Michel Foucault, but her favorite is Shakespeare.

When Lionel discovers he is dying, he recruits Michael (Teddy Sears), a former student and the son of a friend, to come to the island to protect Liv, along with Lionel’s attorney (Frankie Faison), so she can continue to live the life she has created. One evening when Lionel’s voice fails during the reading, Liv takes the book and begins to read. The words of Shakespeare become the words by which she speaks to the world.

But Michael ignores Lionel’s wishes and seeks to cure Liv of her “communication disorder”. He ends up having her committed to a psychiatric hospital. There, she rebels. She will only speak lines of Shakespeare. In time, Michael will realize his attempt to “cure” her only brought harm.

Language is very much at the heart of this story. When Liv ceased talking, it might have been interpreted as leaving the world. Yet, she had friends and people who loved her on the island. When she chooses Shakespeare as her new language, that is not just convenient language, but it invokes a different world—one that other people may not value as she does.

To use a line from Hamlet, “Aye, there’s the rub.” For those who want Liv to fit the patterns of their own world, she seems to be pathological. That is a category they understand. But perhaps their insistence of conformity is a pathology in itself. Michael discovers that Liv does not need to become like others; he needs to find the truth of her understanding of the world. She does not need to be cured. She needs to be accepted and encouraged in her life.

The Apostle Paul wrote, “Do not be conformed to the world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds ….” The medical staff in the hospital represent the forces that want to conform all things to the world. But we should realize that many parts of the life of faith require a different understanding of the world. And sometimes even our language manifests that difference. For example, we call the day in which Jesus was executed “Good Friday”. Where the world sees failure, we see triumph.

That different attitude also leads us to see the world differently than others. We see other people as children of God, and thus our family. We see God’s creation as a great gift, so we have a great responsibility to care for it. We believe that weakness can be more powerful than strength. There may be a certain amount of pathology to faith.

Liv’s world was something that Michael needed to appreciate for his own happiness. Perhaps that is how our faith will bring transformation not just to ourselves, but to the world that has conformed to its own pathology.

The Sounding is available on Apple TV.

Photos courtesy of Giant Pictures.

Political Gain (and Games): 1on1 with Jesse Moss and Amanda McBaine (BOYS STATE)

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The political world is filled with men and women who both seek power for the sake of serve and help others or, more negatively, out of a need to self-validate by winning. Pending on the candidate’s goals and intentions, they can prove themselves to be agents for positive change or simply succumb to the immaturity of their youth.

But what does it look like when youth are the ones with the political power?

Directed by Jesse Moss and Amanda McBaine, the new documentary Boys State takes the viewer behind the scenes at Boys State, a summer leadership program for teenage men, developed by The American Legion. (The film indicates that there is also a Girls State program but the filmmakers opt to only follow the boys.) With over a thousand teenage boys in attendance, the youth are challenged to build a representative government from the ground up. As the young men nominate and elect candidates, they also must decide what means—and requires—to win. Asked how they discovered Boys State, Moss claims that their interest was piqued back in 2017 when the events of the camp garnered national attention.

“We feel lucky to have stumbled upon Boys State as a prism to look at American politics and democracy today,” Moss begins. “We didn’t have the benefit of participating in the program as young people growing up in California. I just didn’t know about it. It wasn’t until we read about the program the Texas Boys State program, having voted to secede from the union becoming something of a scandal [in 2017] in the national news [that it] caught our eye. That was at a time that we, like a lot of Americans, were struggling to understand the irreconcilable political division in our country and how have we gotten to this point? What’s our way forward? I think [we saw] in Boys State and Texas, potentially a prism to look at these questions and look at how susceptible young men are to sort of the rhetoric of the moment and what they may offer us as a hope forward.” 

When the boys first arrive, they are split between two political parties, the Federalists and the Nationalists. However, despite the division, they are given no other political guidelines or priorities to build upon. Left to decide for themselves what they value, it’s fascinating to see how different the political ideologies can be amongst the youth. In developing their film, political diversity became a high priority for McBaine and Moss as they chose their subjects to follow.

“When we did find out about this program, we loved the idea that there’s this space where kids with politics to the right and to the left, [who] are [invited] and forced to come together and talk politics face to face,” McBaine explains. “There are so few of those spaces left, maybe not even the Thanksgiving table anymore in a family. So, we knew going in that it was going to be fraught and we hoped it would be. We knew it would be uncomfortable. It would be really interesting to see what went down if they voted to secede in 2017, what the heck were they going to do in 2018? But there’s 1,100 kids who were invited to attend every year and that’s a lot of people.” 

“We knew the only way we were going to be able to survive this event as something occurs and as a crew trying to cover it, but also emotionally. The kind of films we make really are character driven. We wanted to immerse ourselves with a small group, and we wanted that small group to have a diversity of not only background in life experience, but also different politics. So, we worked very hard over three months, criss-crossing Texas, and filming with lots and lots and lots and lots and lots and lots of boys, until we found the four that we do end up following through the program, all of whom are very different and surprise us. We’re very lucky we found the four that we did.”

Although Boys State seems to consist of a form of hyperreality of the political world, it does offer a window into the machinations of backroom Washington and the games that are often played behind the scenes. However, given the age of the participants, it begs the question of whether or not the young men took their experience seriously. While the sheer number of youth ensured a range in maturity, Moss claims that he was impressed just how important the experience was to many of the boys.

“I think there was both [mature and immature youth]. Actually, what’s interesting is you see both embodied in Robert himself,” he points out. “[Robert’s] not sure if he should take the process seriously or play to the cheap seats. I love that sort of just to work it out for himself and he realizes that he’s miscalculated and that Steven has actually taken it more seriously than he has. I love that discovery (Robert’s discovery and our discovery) that he’s been trying to figure it out. We were attracted to young men who take politics seriously. No doubt, all of them do. Robert had been a page in the U S Senate. Stephen had worked on political campaigns. Ben, as you know, had a Ronald Reagan doll on his bookshelf and is a political junkie. Renee is already like a grownup and taking activism and politics seriously. So we connected with their serious commitment to the political process and caring about it. No doubt that we saw boys that don’t take it seriously. You see them pass legislation about Prius drivers going to Oklahoma and pineapple pizza. That’s funny, but then actually got serious. I think that tension in Robert, in the group (and maybe our country as a whole) is really sort of reflective, right? It is actually kind of where we’re at. People want to go to Washington and blow up the system, whatever that means. We’re left with a bunch of rubble or they want to kind of come together and figure it out. Those ideologies are in contest at Boys State and exaggerated form.” 

“They’re also 17, right?” reminds McBaine. “We’re also making a coming-of-age film. I think that straddle of boyhood and headed towards manhood thing is a space we also wanted to visit frankly and check in with. So, to some degree, the serious unserious is part of their everyday in everything they do, let alone what happens.”

Similarly, one of the most fascinating explorations within Boys State becomes the drive for power. Although being elected within their system offers no real weight outside of Boys State, the drive to victory becomes a purpose unto itself for many of the youth. Asked what they saw regarding the pressure of obtaining power, Moss feels their experience shows that, while some people are simply willing to do whatever it takes to win, others do understand the importance of serving in political office.

“I think no doubt this kind of lust for power for power sake is something we’re living with and the consequences of that now in a very profound and unsettling way,” says Moss. “I love the moment where Steven has asked, ‘What is the purpose of a politician?’ (He’s campaigning for signatures on his ballot.) He says ‘To serve others and not themselves.’ That simple and yet profound definition is something we all need to remind ourselves about. I think you see it in Ben (and he would recognize it now himself with some perspective) that there’s a kind of corrosive aspect to winning an election at all costs for the sake of winning. He really embodies that in his strategy and his tactics. He’s brilliant at it. He even invokes some military kind of metaphors and talks about politics and winning as combined arms warfare, sort of exaggerated kind of violence to politics. So, confronting that and actually hearing Ben’s direct bluntness about it was shocking. But I think also what gave us hope was to see young men of color like Renee and Steven who have very different politics than the mainstream at Boys State rise to power because they have a positive vision. That sort of power for a purpose, if you will, was very hopeful for us to see not only them offer that vision, but to see their vision return in the support of the electorate.”

Since the experience consists of 1,100 young men battling for political gamesmanship, the film also feels like a window into youthful (and potentially toxic) masculinity. Filmed at the time surrounding the MeToo movement of 2018, McBaine notes that, while she didn’t know what to expect, she was encouraged by what she saw in some of the young men.

“We went with all these questions about democracy and hyperpolarization, and what are [the next generation are] taking in, and what they’re seeing in adult state,” she clarifies. “I think what we didn’t quite realize until we got into the room with 1,100 boys, that we also had this incredible window into boyhood. [It was] 2018. I guess if I thought hard enough beforehand, I would have realized this is what we’re going to see, but not until I got there did I really have to confront that we were making a film about masculinity on some level. I’ve never been in a space like that. Myself and two other cinematographers I think we were the only females for miles around. There was plenty on display there that kind of met my expectations for good or for bad about what I would see.” 

“In checking in on boyhood in 2018, around the era of MeToo, around conversations about toxic masculinity [and] what they’re seeing in politics in Washington, I knew I was going to see a certain amount of it. Some of it was going to scare the heck out of me and some of it was going to upset me. What I wasn’t totally prepared for—and I love this about what I do for a living—is that I then also saw and experienced all kinds of masculinity I hadn’t expected to see. And that really did involve a lot more empathy. Not just from Steven, this was really in a lot more spaces around the event than I thought, [with] listening and real emotion, frankly. It was an emotional week that I didn’t think was going to be an emotional week. That too has power in that space, and truly profound power. The connections that were made between some of these boys was really heartening, frankly and made me less worried about the men of the future… We want to do [Girls State] next. I don’t really have any good intel on what happens in those spaces yet, but we plan to soon.” 

When he considers whether or not their experience at Boys State has changed their view of the current political system, Moss believes that the film shows the type of maturity and growth within the participants that gives him hope for the future.

“I think we both wanted, on some level, a Hollywood ending to our story,” Moss reflects. “Actually, it was a process to accept what the outcome was, but we found it actually ultimately very uplifting that it’s a struggle. Stephen will continue to fight for what he believes in and he has so much to offer both in he himself, um, but in what he embodies and will inspire in others. Renee as well, what’s also been great to see is how much reflection Ben has brought to his behavior two years ago at Boys’ State and now he recognizes the corrosive impact of such politics on our body politic. He’s really disavowed that kind of politicking and the gamesmanship. I think that kind of moral growth we need as a country, he shown us in person, and that’s also really hopeful. Just the fact that we can still all get together, Ben, Renee, Steven, Robert, and kind of talk in a small form embodies what I hope for us as a country. We may not agree on everything, but at least come together and find out as Steven would say, what can we agree on? I’m sure there is something.”

Boys State is available on AppleTV+ now.

Boys State: Politicizing Youth

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“I think he’s a fantastic politician… but I don’t think fantastic politician is a compliment either.” – Rene Otero, Boys State

Streaming on AppleTV+, the new documentary Boys State takes the viewer behind the scenes at Boys State, a summer leadership program for teenage boys, developed by The American Legion. (The film indicates that there is also a Girls State program but the filmmakers opt to only follow the males.) With over a thousand teenagers in attendance, the youth are challenged to build a representative government from the ground up. As the young men nominate and elect candidates, they also must decide what means—and requires—to win at the game of politics.

Boys State

Produced and directed by Jesse Moss and Amanda McBaine, State is a fascinating look at both the inner-workings of the US political system and the poisonous effects of power. While the film may focus on one week of ‘camp’ for teenage boys, it feels like a fly on the wall of the American political sanctum. Featuring all the battles between moral judgments and political power that one would expect within the world of the US government, Boys State is both a terrifying look at the corrupting nature of power and a glimmer of hope that the next generation of leaders will set right the mistakes of the past. 

While the week begins with the teens bringing the expected amount of youthful exuberance into the political process (like, for example, attempting to secede Texas from the US), things eventually begin to take a turn as process progresses. As the race for Governor begins to pick up steam, things become far more serious behind the scenes as candidates begin to move away from youthful chaos into political positioning. As smear campaigns, double speak and blind dedication to ‘whatever the Party agrees on’ begin to arise in backroom conversations, the teens begin to sound less like youth and more like their adult counterparts on Capitol Hill. (In fact, one candidate even goes so far as to mention that his primary impulse for entering into the race is not about serving others but simply to fulfill his own need to ‘win’.) In doing so, State becomes an example of how the drive for power can corrupt at any age when winning turn out to be the primary objective.

At the same time, while some candidates become obsessed with achieving their goals for personal glory, State also shows that there are some candidates who remain committed to victory through honourable means. In the face of political maneuverings, some youth are willing to maintain their character in a healthy manner. But can they win that way? In many ways, the greatest—and most terrifying—question within Boys State is not whether or not the youth will resort to ‘dirty campaign tricks’ but whether or not keeping their integrity will bring victory in the end. 

In this way, State feels like a film that features a battle for the soul of a nation. If the young men selected to participate Boys State see the importance of integrity in their politicians, maybe the next generation will also consider that a high value. If not, it stands to reason that little will change in the future. As a result, Boys State may focus on a week of camp for teenage boys but, in actuality, the film is about much more than that. As these young men fight for power amongst their peers, their decisions may also offers a glimpse into the future, whether its bleak or hopeful.

Boys State premieres on Apple TV+ on July 17th, 2020.

To hear audio of our interview with directors Jesse Moss and Amanda McBaine, click here.

Boys State – Political Gamesmanship

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Can 1,100 high school senior boys form an efficient state government? Each summer, the American Legion sponsors week-long camps known as Boys State (as well as separate Girls State) in every state that bring together a wide mix of high school students to learn what goes into elections and government. In Boys State, filmmakers Jesse Moss and Amanda McBride take us to the 2018 version of Boys State in Texas. As these young men play out the process of party politics, it reveals some interesting things about our political system. The film was awarded the Grand Jury Prize for documentary at Sundance Film Festival this year.

Ben Feinstein

The film opens with a title card with a quotation from George Washington’s Farewell Address: “[Political parties] 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.” Boys State is geared around a two-party system, although not ideologically based, as with Democrats and Republicans. Instead these young men are randomly divided into two parties, Federalist and Nationalist. It is up to each party to determine its platform, issues, and select candidates for an election. In essence, the parties are teams vying to win a political game.

The film focuses on four key characters as the week plays out. Ben Feinstein is a Reagan loving conservative. He’d like to join the armed services, but as a double amputee that’s not possible. Perhaps he’ll try for the CIA or FBI. Steven Garza is a progressive son of immigrants. After the Parkland school shooting he organized a gun control march in Houston. Robert MacDougall is good looking, athletic, outgoing—a typical high school A-lister. His dream is to go to West Point. René Otero is an African-American who has only recently arrived in Texas from Chicago. Ben becomes the Party Chair for the Federalist. René is his counterpart for the Nationalists. Steve and Robert are rivals for the Nationalist gubernatorial nomination.

Steven Garza

As the week plays on, we watch as the political process becomes more and more like real life. There are chaotic party meetings with challenges to leadership, there are smear campaigns, there are rousing speeches, an admission from one candidate that he will say what he thinks others want to hear, even if it is different than his own beliefs, and an example of a would be leader who wants to work cooperatively, but will maintain his integrity.

Because this is Boys State with rooms full of 17 year-olds, there is a lot of testosterone in the room. And because it is Texas, the predominant ideology is conservative, especially in terms of issues relating to guns and abortion. It would be interesting to see what issues would come up and how they would be handled at Girls State and in blue states.

Robert MacDougall

One of the things that attracted the filmmakers to Texas Boys State was that the year previous, the Texas Boys State government voted to secede from the US. That issue is brought up again in this film, and it is interesting to see how the student leader dealt with the issue to prevent another such occurrence.

A cynical viewer might watch the film and be discouraged that the political gamesmanship puts so much emphasis on winning per se over ideas and character. But there are also signs of hope. Steve, in one of his wonderfully crafted and impassioned speeches, asks his listeners to be united and show the adults how things can be done. Perhaps he seems a bit idealistic, but as we head into the current political season, Boys State might make a good primer for us to use in considering the way we see real politicians acting. Will we see them with cynical eyes, or have idealistic hope in what could be?

René Otero

After a virtual theatrical opening, Boys State will be streamed on Apple TV+.

To hear audio of our interview with directors Jesse Moss and Amanda McBaine, click here.

Photos courtesy of Apple Originals.