Parents' Guide to Boys State

Watching these teens vie for fake political power is a revelation about what's gone wrong in the modern U.S. government: It's like The War Room meets Model U.N. At the start of Boys State, we see what the teens are picking up from their parents, the news, and their own political leanings. But while the American Legion's teen mock state legislature is fairly homogenous—White, male, conservative ("I've never seen so many White people, ever," says René Otero, a Black attendee who wins the role of party chair with an intelligent speech but is quickly racially targeted for impeachment when he won't entertain the idea of Texas seceding from the union)—filmmakers Jesse Moss and Amanda McBaine choose to follow subjects who are diverse on many levels.

That said, since the film is all about politics, the core foursome includes two liberals and two conservatives. On the Republican side, there's athletic "guy's guy" Robert MacDougall, who campaigns on what's politically convenient. He's willing to win by supporting positions that he doesn't actually believe in. And charismatic Ben Feinstein is a die-hard politico whose "shock and awe" strategy would make Karl Rove proud. Realizing he's outnumbered, liberal Otero opts for political survival. And then there's Steven Garza, the heart and soul of Boys State. He's the hardworking, high-achieving kid of a single mother who was undocumented for a time, and he repeatedly demonstrates enviable political courage and integrity. Moss and McBaine never tell viewers what to think or what's right, but they let the events play out in a way that's shocking, fascinating, frightening, and hopeful. So while the elections and party of platforms of 2018's Texas Boys State have no power, the culminating events are powerful in their indication of what's going on in America.