Boys State is an annual event for High School Juniors
that separates itself into Boy and Girl divisions. The goal of this event is to
have the leaders of tomorrow form their own government, elect people into
positions of power like governor and enact their own laws. Through this
process, teenagers will have a better understanding of how the world of
politics works. The documentary Boys State follows a 2018 Boys edition
of this event held in Austin, Texas. Here, the various young men are divided
into Federalist and Nationalist groups, with the two most prominently featured
figures being Ben Feinstein (whose put into the Federalist party) and Steven
Garza (whose put into the Nationalist party).
The contrasts between the two characters' political perspectives
couldn’t be more different. Feinstein isn’t on-screen for five minutes before
he starts talking about how fixations on gender and race are what’s really
hurting America. Before the movies over, Feinstein embraces the idea that shady
maneuvers are essential to any hopes of political victory. Meanwhile, Garza is
the son of immigrants who walks into Boys Camp wearing a Beto For Senate
T-shirt and talking about how Bernie Sanders inspired him to become fixated on
politics. In his time running for governor, Garza hopes to break down barriers
and bring unity between everybody, no matter where they lie on the political
spectrum.
Garza’s quiet and self-reflective attitude is an
exception among the behavior of the participants of Boys State. The vast
majority of these attendees are a bunch of loud and rowdy white boys who look
like they’re ten seconds away from shrieking out the lyrics to every Nickelback
song they can think of. Having grown up in Texas surrounded by this kind of
behavior all my life, the omnipresence of these “bro” antics had me
gritting my teeth for the first-third of Boys State. The detached filmmaking
style of Jesse Moss and Amanda McBaine means that we’re just watching these
toxic shenanigans without any extra commentary or insight. Yes, this behavior
exists, do you have anything extra to add to the conversation beyond
recognizing that?
In these moments, Boys State reminded me of the
incel documentary TFW No GF in how its extended focus on destructive
male behavior reminds one how there’s really no deeper meaning beneath these
actions. It’s all just toxicity for the sake of toxicity. Thankfully, Boys
State eventually focuses on more than High School boys loudly shooting and
hollering. Once the actual election process of voting in a governor gets
underway, there’s something for the plot to focus. This storyline actually did
get me hooked, especially since Moss and McBaine have decided to film Boys
State like a traditional narrative film rather than a documentary.
Boys State almost
entirely eschews documentary fixtures like archival footage or voice-over
narration. Even interview segments are kept to a minimum. The films visual
presentation, from camerawork meant to emulate the point-of-view of characters
like Garza, to the decision to frame Boy States in a 2.39:1 aspect
ratio, evokes the common visual style of scripted films. It’s a bold choice
that does help to make the movie extra immersive in particularly suspenseful
sequences. On the other hand, traditional documentary staples like narration
and visual aids could have ensured that Boys State had a richer point to make
about its titular event.
As it stands, Boys State doesn’t offer much fresh
insight into modern politics. Armed with two teenagers that embody opposing
political ideologies, Boys State just doesn’t have a whole lot to offer
in terms of unpacking the modern political zeitgeist. At least its central electoral
conflict gets more and more engaging as the film goes on and some of the
camerawork shows real creativity. Oh, and Rene Otero, the leader of the
Nationalist party, is a constant delight whenever he gets up on-stage. He’s
great at delivering speeches and he manages to deliver some of the most
memorable lines in all of Boys State.
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