Boys State (2020)

Boys State review by Mark McPherson - Cinema Paradiso

Hundreds of teenage boys assembled within Texas for an experiment in politics. Presented as one of the most surreal of summer camps, the idea was for them to get an aspect of how to successfully run a campaign and run for a political office. The intent was most likely to inspire them to pursue a life in government and get an idea of how to go about doing so from such an experience. The results, however, may have given them an unfavorable view of the world or perhaps the more cruel one they were meant to realize.

A handful of teenagers are followed in this documentary, namely the ones who are planning to run for a political office in their fictional district. Each of them has differing political views and ambitions, shaping how they’ll aim to reach such power. Despite taking place in Texas, not all of them are fully conservative. One Mexican teenager clearly has a firm stance on gun control that he’s passionate about and seems devoted to running a clean campaign. The problem is he’s drowned out by louder voices that play to a crowd. The Mexican teenager announces how there should be better gun control in a speech and the crowd of boys turn on him. The white teenager goes the opposite route in declaring guns are not an issue, winning over the crowd.

An African-American teenager is able to keep up with the same level of volume and push for similar legislation. His opponents will have to find better ways to counter his appeal to the people. This involves, of course, mudslinging and it doesn’t take too long for the slanderous campaigns to devolve into racist memes. I doubt I have to mention how this election turns out within Boys State.

But think about what I just wrote. I spoke of Boys State more as though it were a real campaign with strict competition and that’s more or less how the documentary frames this experiment. It’s treated like sport and paced at about the same frenetic appeal of something like The Thick Of It. But we also see how this campaign starts affecting the boys. The Mexican teenager is emotional that even though he lost the election, he is still congratulated by his peers for running such a strong campaign. It leaves him in tears that he fought for what was right, calling his mother to relay the news in bittersweet bliss. The black teenager, however, becomes highly disillusioned by the experience. He starts thinking about what he did wrong and how he could’ve won. Maybe if he were louder. Maybe if he manipulated. Maybe if he cheated.

Boys State presents a depressing shadow of real-world politics, observing just how easy it is to get lost in the muck of the drive towards the office. Notice how these campaigns are nothing but talk. Rarely do we see the boys getting further entrenched in topics or trying to be a presence in the community. No work, all talk. But, then again, maybe work within politics is all just talk. It doesn’t matter if you can’t fully comprehend your policies. All that seems to matter is how well you sell it, convincing others to vote for you.

It’s very telling how the film ends about who has had their eyes opened and who will blindly follow the decayed system. The black teenager and Mexican teenager have since gone onto more involved foundations on politics within their community and strive towards making the future better, the way they truly feel America needs to reshape. The white candidate boasted about a sweet new truck and enlisted in the army.