Films for Breakfast

Back in 2020 at the Sundance Film Festival, Amanda McBaine and Jesse Moss’ documentary Boys State was the talk of the festival after it won the U.S. Documentary Competition Grand Jury Prize and was acquired by A24 and Apple TV for distribution. The film follows an event where a thousand or so teenage boys from Texas gather together to build a representative government from the ground up. The original Boys State was one of my favorite films of 2020 and easily the best documentary I saw that year, as it was equal parts terrifying and hopeful in a way that felt absolutely true to what American politics are.

Four years later, Amanda McBaine and Jesse Moss return for their follow-up film Girls State; which feels so right as the original Boys State film references the fact that Girls State happens at the same time as their event, and I immediately thought how I’d love to see a documentary for their side of things as well. Girls State follows roughly the same concept of Boys State, as it’s relatively the same program but for young women. However, McBaine and Moss’ follow-up film is less interested in showing the same events from a different, female perspective but instead wants to dismantle the systemic differences between the two and whether or not there are fundamental issues at the core of these events between boys and girls.

Just like the original Boys State, the film is immediately intriguing as you get to see American politics from the lens of teenagers who have a true passion for the U.S. political system. All of these kids come from different economic and social backgrounds with different perspectives on how they want the government to work for the American people. On the one hand, it’s fascinating to see so many of these kids so optimistic about the changes and ideals they believe they can bring to the table. On the other hand, it’s equally fascinating and disheartening to see how a lot of them are also already beaten down by how hopeless it all seems to be.

The film doesn’t shy away from how insanely difficult American politics are for women, and what they have to go through on a daily basis just to be heard from and taken seriously. The film wisely shows the flip side of Boys State happening on the same campus as them, and the privileges and seemingly easy rules they have that the girls don’t, as well as the child-like dress code and policies that the girls have to follow that the boys don’t. This ignites some serious debate between some of the young women that feels like it sparks a lot of the most interesting perspectives that this documentary has to offer.

On the one hand, the film asks universal questions for the year 2024 such as – are bipartisan politics even possible when technology and culture seemingly wants us to hate each other the moment we assign ourselves to a specific “side”? On the other hand, the film also dives deep into the idea that identity politics and performative politics are deeply tied to the optics of female politicians. How hard is it to stay true to your beliefs when you have to sugar coat everything you say and seem as nice and fluffy as possible? The answer, seemingly, is you try your best to cling onto the most authentic parts of yourself and hope voters prefer that to fake and obvious tactics.

While I will say that I still prefer the original Boys State as a film due to how it led me through a minefield of emotions – from terrified and optimistic to entertained and appalled; Girls State feels like a perfect companion piece to that film and ultimately tackles equally large ideas in equally satisfying ways. I would love to see more follow-ups throughout the years and how future generations perform at Boys State and Girls State; it makes for absolutely fantastic material. Girls State is another home run of a documentary that feels incredibly timely and massively entertaining in equal measure.

4/5