2020 was always going to be a toxic year. Even before the horrors of police brutality and COVID-19, the upcoming election guaranteed a year of truly awful debate amongst anyone who had an opinion about anything. You can say that the U.S. has always been this way (it’s even led to war), but there’s no denying the toxicity surrounding anything involving politics. So why on earth would anyone still stuck in their homes and sick of politics want to watch a documentary about a political summer camp in Texas? Probably because it is not only one of the best films of the year, but it might be the key to understanding American politics and Americans as people.
Boys State follows a select few boys who are attending an annual week-long summer camp with hundreds of other boys (around ages 16-18) in Austin, TX. The purpose of this camp, created by the American Legion, is to give these boys the ultimate hands-on civics lesson. They are randomly divided into two parties, The Federalists and The Nationalists, and over the course of one week, they hold an election with each party nominating their candidates that compete against each other to create a new Texas state government. While there are plenty of positions to fill in this makeshift government, the most coveted seat is that of the governor. Once Boys State establishes its parameters, it’s off to the races as these two groups of boys quickly become the bloodthirsty politicians we know from D.C. We watch as hundreds of teenage boys vie for power using any means necessary, from chest-thumping rhetoric to shady social media campaigns. In this way, Boys State is similar to The Stanford Prison Experiment or A Class Divided with how easily the boys embrace the toxic adult archetypes we’ve seen a million times before. But as crazy as that sounds, that’s not what makes this documentary a compelling watch.
Out of all the boys at this camp, filmmakers Jesse Moss and Amanda McBaine mainly focus on Steven Garza. He’s a small-town Texas teenager who was inspired by Bernie Sanders to become a passionate political activist. It’s made very clear early on that the majority of these boys in both parties are conservatives who respond passionately to anything pro-gun and pro-life. Like many of the boys, Steven wants to be governor more than anything but he doesn’t want to play toxic political games and betray his fundamental beliefs. It’s this struggle of values versus politics that pulls you into Steven’s story as you see both the best and worst of American politics play out around him.
Given everyone’s expectations to see Hollywood as a liberal propaganda machine, it could be read that the documentary is anti-conservative, especially with Steven receiving a big spotlight. However, to give Boys State that designation would miss the point entirely. The documentary devotes almost the same amount of time to Ben Feinstein; whose passion for conservatism is just as great as Stephen’s passion for liberalism. Given the dichotomy between Stephen and Ben, it would be easy to classify Ben as just the antagonist but Moss and McBaine show his struggles and beliefs without condescension nor contempt. The boys have various ideological differences, but to describe them would also miss the point.
The point isn’t what beliefs are better or worse. With actual government power being taken out of the mix, they could replace the gun debate with an ice cream debate and the effect would still be the same. It’s about how these beliefs are used in strategies that build or destroy campaigns. In effect, it’s politics in its purest form. Steven, Ben, and the people that surround them debate endlessly on how to best win over others, reckoning with how far is too far or not far enough. Moss and McBaine use talking head interviews to break down these struggles and show each of these boys’ nuances to their decisions that some regret while others justify. It might be an overused device in many documentaries, but in this context, it provides a deeper level of understanding that no debate or interview could uncover in the real world of politics.
In the end, what makes Boys State so profound is the fact it doesn’t have a true solution to how politics should be run in our country. In fact, by the end, the boys are just as confused about the nature of political right and wrong as the rest of the country. However, the film doesn’t leave you with the feeling of existential despair either. Boys State shows that in the end, we are all humans that are more than just liberals and conservatives. We all deep down want to get along regardless of our beliefs. So many times it doesn’t work out but that doesn’t mean there isn’t hope. If I could come away from watching a documentary about Texas teenagers with a sense of hope for tomorrow then maybe you can too.
Boys State is streaming on Apple TV+.
