Girls State, 2024.
Directed by Amanda McBaine and Jesse Moss.
SYNOPSIS:
Follows 500 adolescent girls from all across Missouri as they come together for a week-long immersion in a sophisticated democratic laboratory, where they organize a Supreme Court to consider the most contentious issues of the day.
In 2020, documentary filmmakers Amanda McBaine and Jesse Moss released Boys State, a film following roughly a thousand or so high school juniors at a political camp/citizenship program (funded by the American Legion Auxiliary) where the children work together to create a functioning Supreme Court resembling ours, learn more about their political beliefs, and understand what it’s like to debate such talking points. While undeniably compelling and entertaining, since they were boys, it was also filled with much shouting and masculine posturing, which naturally made one wonder what was happening at Girls State.
Shot in 2022, right before the overturning of Roe v Wade, for Girls State, the filmmakers chose the state of Missouri, where a university campus was simultaneously holding Boys State. Initially, that might spark cause for concern that the film might get lost occasionally focusing on what the boys are up to, except it doesn’t and serves a greater purpose shining a light on the differences between the programs and how even the counselors, seem to deem the girls program as an inferior one where it is actively discouraged to discuss the most prominent ongoing political topics in favor of enforcing nonsense such as a vague dress code.
There are roughly 500 girls receiving focus encompassing a wide variety of beliefs, with a great degree of focus going to Christian Emily Worthmore, an extroverted social kid running for governor who is a part of countless afterschool clubs and has won everything she runs for at school. Whether or not that success will translate to Girls State remains to be seen, as it feels like, for the first time, she is out there interacting with a voter base that she might not be able to win over. That also doesn’t matter, as one of the more striking elements of this engrossing documentary is how calm and patient the girls are when chatting about topics they disagree on; they listen to one another and want actually to get things done. Justifiably, the one thing they all seem to agree on is that men should not be telling women what to do with their bodies.
Smartly, the filmmakers also zone in on the persons of color here, which is a small number considering how predominantly white Missouri seems to be (or at least the people in the program.) At one point, there is a mock trial where the girls debate what it means to unwillingly give a medical worker private information that they don’t want to share, such as the want to get an abortion. Again, one of the film’s best scenes is simply two girls discussing the gun crisis in America, specifically, the idea of arming teachers with firearms. It also doesn’t matter who viewers with; what truly matters is how reassuring and hopeful for the future it is watching these serious conversations take place with far more respect than we see going on in actual American politics.
95 minutes simply isn’t enough for how damn entertaining these movies are. Girls State also has the added, beneficial layer of exploring the inequalities between the programs regarding gender. Nevertheless, when it’s all over, and everyone is preparing to go home, you feel like you have gone to that camp yourself, wondering where the time went and wishing you could have observed more of it. I don’t care if we have one film studying each program now; these are vital films that Amanda McBaine and Jesse Moss need to continue finding fresh ways to expand on.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★ ★
Robert Kojder is a member of the Chicago Film Critics Association and the Critics Choice Association. He is also the Flickering Myth Reviews Editor. Check here for new reviews, follow my Twitter or Letterboxd, or email me at MetalGearSolid719@gmail.com
Originally published April 2, 2024. Updated April 3, 2024.
