Videos on State Politics

by Karl Kurtz

Looking for videos--documentary or fictional--about state and local politics?  Professor Carl Klarner of Indiana University compiled a list after posting an inquiry on an academic political science listserv about videos on state and local politics that would be useful in the classroom.  With his permission I am reproducing his list here, organized slightly differently, leaving out lots of suggestions he received about movies not directly related to state and local government and adding any links that I could find.  The comments on each video are either those received by Prof. Klarner or they come from online listings.

This list was produced by academics.  The Thicket readers are invited to add their own suggestions by writing a comment below or clicking on "contact us" and sending an e-mail.  For a similar lively discussion of movies that are set in (but not necessarily about state politics) state capitols, see "Lights, Camera...Capitols."

As usual with fictional portrayals of government and politics, an overwhelming (and dismaying) number of these films deal with government corruption.  Caveat emptor.

State Politics

• Last Man Standing: Politics Texas Style--2004 television documentary. Asking what the politics are that launched George W. Bush to national office, award-winning filmmaker Paul Stekler takes his camera to Texas for a lively, behind-the-scenes look at a pair of 2002 elections — one for state representative in a district that includes Lyndon Johnson's hometown, and a polarizing race for governor.
• State Legislature--2007 documentary about the Idaho state legislature by Frederick Wiseman, 3 hrs., 37 min., like first-hand observation with editing.
• Bill's Run--a 2004 PBS documentary about a campaign for the state legislature in Kansas.
• Brotherhood--2006 Showtime TV series: Set in an Irish neighbourhood in Providence, the series reflects around two brothers on opposite sides of the law: one a gangster (Jason Isaacs) and the other a Rhode Island state legislator (Jason Clarke).

• Cockfight--a B-movie about cockfighting in Oklahoma that involves corruption in the state legislature.  The movie was publicly condemned on the floor of the Oklahoma State Senate.
• Vote for Me!--a television political comedy set in East Harlem: the story of a 70-year old Puerto Rican super who runs for Congress and wins.
• Northern Lights  1978 movie about the Non-Partisan League in North Dakota in the
  1910s.  Depicts the race for governor for a portion of the movie.
• The Candidate--(1972) Idealistic young lawyer Bill McKay (Robert Redford), thoroughly involved with civil rights, legal aid and ecology, agrees to run for the U.S. Senate in California - not to win, he tells himself, but to bring vital issues before the voters.
• Citizen Brain--a 15 minute video by NCSL (2006) that helps upper elementary students understand how representative democracy works.  Adults can enjoy this combination of live action and animation, too!
• Your Ideas Count--a 16-minute video by NCSL (2004) for middle and high school students that tells the story of five kids (Sean Duffy from MTV's Real World Boston and four of his friends) who visit the state capitol to find out what happens when state lawmakers go into session.
• Huey Long--(1985) Ken Burns' portrait of Louisiana governor/U.S. senator Huey Long
• All the King's Men--(1949) the story of the rise of politician Willie Stark from a rural county seat to the spotlight. Along the way, he loses his initial innocence, and becomes just as corrupt as those who he assaulted before for this characteristic. Also included is the romance between one of his "right hand women" and the up-and-coming journalist who brings Stark to prominence.
• Chinatown--(1974) Los Angeles detective Jake Gittes is hired by a woman claiming to be a Mrs. Mulwray to spy on her husband. Shortly after Gittes is hired, the real Mrs. Mulwray appears in his office threatening to sue if he doesn't drop the case immediately. Gittes pursues the case anyway, slowly uncovering a vast conspiracy centering on water management, state and municipal corruption, land use and real estate, and involving at least one murder.
• Justice for Sale--1999 (?) Frontline documentary about state judicial elections focusing on LA, PA and TX.

City Politics

• Street Fight--a  documentary about the 2002 Newark, NJ, mayorial race between "outsider" Cory Booker and "insider" Sharpe James. It does a great job showing how a party machine can absolutely crush a challenger.
• The Times of Harvey Milk--(1984) a documentary of the successful career and assasination of San Francisco's first elected gay councillor.
• Daley: The Last Boss--(1996) documentary.
• City Hall--(1996) feature film about fictional mayor of New York.
• The Wire--HBO fictional series about the Baltimore drug scene that deals at least in part with local government in Baltimore.
• The Last Hurrah--(1958) An aging politician (Spencer Tracy) tries to get re-elected one last time in the changing world of the 1950s when TV started to play a bigger part in politics. Based loosely on the career of multi-term Boston Mayor James Michael Curley, this film examines the good and evil inherent in politics and all the things that go into an election. Tracy's uphill battle to stay in office is set against the political machinery that preyed on ethnic hatred and old-time money.
• Sunshine State--(2002) movie about a conflict between land developers and residents in a Florida community.
• City of Hope--(1991) conflict over development in local fictional community.
• Lone Star--(1997) murder mystery about local sheriff in Texas that uncovers government corruption.

Comments

[Chris]

I am surprised that you have omitted from your list the award-winning The King of Steeltown: Hardball Politics in the Heartland (2001) about Chicago-style machine politics in East Chicago, Indiana. Six city officials went to federal prison for corruption activities documented in the film, which won "Best Political Documentary" at the New York Film Festival. The subsequently produced Street Fight relied heavily on the cinema verite approach of Steeltown. The gritty look and the use of humor along with a powerful soundtrack including blues from the likes of Paul Butterfield, Slim Harpo, Sleepy John Estes, and Yank Rachell made the film one of the best of its kind