NEW YORK (AP) — In the summer of 2022, days before the Supreme Court struck down Roe v. Wade, about 500 high school girls gathered in Missouri for a week-long mock government camp. They elected their own governors, all of whom were women. A Supreme Court that rules on their own bodies.
Not everyone comes from the same political background or feels the same way about abortion. But for a few days, their voices mattered. It was that week that documentary filmmakers Jesse Moss and Amanda McBain chose to film the sequel to their award-winning 2020 film Boys State.
“We felt like we had stepped out of this kind of – not a complete utopia – fantastical imaginary world where we could control our bodies and be part of the conversation,” said one of the few young women who followed. says Nisha Murali, one of them. In the movie. “And that was stripped away from us.”
“Girls State,” which premieres Friday on Apple TV+, is an election-year documentary, similar to 2020's “Boys State,” in which the country's political debate is experienced and reflected on through teenagers entering adulthood. .
“This program is a uniquely sensitive means of picking up on these frequencies of American political life, and it's no surprise that abortion is central to that conversation,” Moss says. “We knew there would be a single case heard in court. We were praying we wouldn't go to the speed limit, and that's what happened.”
Even before Boys State premiered, filmmakers were considering a “brother” movie. Despite its many consequences, “Girls State” is not the twin of “Boys State,” in a compelling and enlightening sense.
The Boys State program, run by the American Legion since 1935, is better known and better funded. (Bill Clinton, Dick Cheney, and Rush Limbaugh are past participants, as is Mark Wahlberg.) The 2020 documentary chronicling Boys State, Texas, is a political centerpiece for former President Donald Trump. The aim was to understand whether this attitude had permeated young people. The result was a fascinating microcosm.
Emily Worthmore, a Missouri teenager, signed up for Girls State hoping for an experience similar to what she saw in the movie. Worthmore, a native of the St. Louis suburbs, was an affable, ambitious, conservative-leaning young woman who arrived ready to engage in passionate political debate.
“But in our case, we weren't in a situation where we were having these big arguments and fights because of how things played out,” Worthmore said. “It was more like, 'So, why did this happen?'
What Worthmore and others realized was that Girls State's system was not the same as Boys State, which is held across Lindenwood's campus. The women's program was funded by a separate organization, the American Legion Auxiliary, had a dress code that some considered too strict, and did not schedule athletic activities like the men's program. The girls had camp cheer, but the boys didn't. The governor of Missouri attended the final ceremony for Boys State but not Girls State.
As they do in many areas of their lives, the young women of Girls State found themselves acutely aware of the limitations placed upon them while simultaneously pursuing their goals.
“For me, one of the powers of this film is that it bakes the invisible into the fabric of everything visible,” McBain says. “I love that after watching this movie, it becomes part of the conversation.”
Whether it's due to those factors or others, there is a bond between the young women of Girls State. The film is not devoid of tension, disagreements, and competition. But it is more characterized by moments of support. One counselor addressed the gathering: “We all, in our own ways, have grown up in a world that has never seen a female president.”
“Even going into 'Boys State,' people said it was going to be 'Lord of the Flies.' And to some degree that's what you're seeing. They're competitive, they attack hard, But more than that, what we saw, and what was overwhelming in Girls State, was the need for connection,” McBain says.
Murali loses his bid for a seat on the Supreme Court, but becomes friends with his political opponents. After his defeat, Murali reflects and talks about the pressure on himself and others to live up to expectations, especially on themselves.
“As women, we all cloak ourselves in ideas of what we're supposed to be. Part of it, at least for me, is like a defense mechanism. Part of it is insecurity.” says Murali. “For me, a big part of that is the image of being very capable, very knowledgeable, very serious. For me, Girls State was about trying to figure out how far that was true. .”
She said Ms. Worthmore has won every election she has participated in since the fourth grade and has entered girls state. But while she quickly gains widespread praise for her interaction with the girls there, where she makes a point of remembering everyone's name, Worthmore's gubernatorial campaign falls short. Her speech doesn't go the way she wants. Later, one of her competitors stopped her in her stairwell and she told him over and over again that she didn't have to be perfect.
“I think that's one of the most human moments in the story,” Worthmore says. “That was definitely something I needed to hear. I know I don't have to be perfect, but at the same time I don't want to fail either.”
In many ways, Girls State is a film about defeat rather than political victory. After losing her Worthmore, she decides to spend her final days at Girls State reporting on a story about the disparities between the two programs. It's as moving an act of journalism as anything seen in a movie since Spotlight.
The headline of Mr. Worthmore's article downplays some of the questions raised. But her article and others' criticism led to some changes to Missouri's program. The dress code was relaxed. Opportunities for exercise have expanded. Now, boys and girls are taking classes together.
“I think both genders exist in the real world,” says Worthmore. “How realistic is a political system if it is operated by only one person?”
After years spent immersed in simulations, the married filmmakers, while raising two teenage daughters, become convinced that America's political system would better reflect a girl nation than the other way around. It became so.
“It feels like something to hold on to,” Moss says. “If we're going to have a political future that preserves this democracy, it's sad that we have to rely on 17-year-old girls to provide it. But maybe it makes perfect sense.”
Murali, 18, is currently studying engineering and philosophy at Texas A&M. Although she is unsure about her own political future, she does know that she will remain engaged. She continues to be changed by her experiences.
“I learned how to fail,” she says. “I learned how to pivot after a failure.”
“This is meaningful not only to me but also to the many girls in Girls State who have seen these cameras,” Murali added. “It makes sense to know that what you have to say is considered important enough to be seen on camera.”
Worthmore, 19, is currently studying communications at Lindenwood University, where she won a scholarship while at Girls State. Freshmen join journalism societies, sororities, and work at radio stations.
“I already have an office overlooking the football field,” she says.
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Follow AP Film Writer Jake Coyle on Twitter: http://twitter.com/jakecoyleAP
