Doco that dares to let girls dream
Girls State (M, 96 mins) Directed by Amanda McBaine and Jesse Moss Reviewed by James Croot **** ½
‘We want you to be the women who straighten other people’s crowns, not the women who point out they’re crooked.” That’s the plea delivered to the 500 young women gathered together from across Missouri for the annual week-long immersion into the inner-workings of American democracy in the northern summer of 2022.
First held in the 1930s, the parallel (but, as we discover, certainly not equally-funded or lionised) programmes for boys and girls – sponsored by the American Legion and American Legion Auxiliary – invite them to build a government (including a court system) from the ground up.
In a nation riven with racial tension, divided by its polarising politics and increasingly impinging on women’s rights, it would be easy for them to turn on each other, or feel like they have no voice, but, as Amanda McBaine and Jesse Moss’ absorbing and entertaining documentary demonstrates, these teen girls have plenty of ideas, aspirations and solutions.
A companion piece to the pair’s awardwinning, Texas-set Boys State, this not only offers up a fascinating comparison and contrast with that tale, but also plays out in an intriguing setting (2022 marked the first time Missouri’s Boys and Girls State were held simultaneously on the same university campus) – and during a particularly tumultuous time in the US.
An imminent Supreme Court decision on a case that could overturn the 50-year-old Roe v. Wade and potentially reduce rights to abortions across America has been leaked, becoming potentially the hottest of topics, especially in a state where it would render them illegal in most situations.
But while many are eager to discuss that, gun control and climate change, others find themselves frustrated that the focus seems to be more on what the boys are up to and restrictions on what the girls can wear and their ability to explore their surroundings.
Self-confessed “debate kid” Faith Glasgow, who admits to being voted “most judgmental” in her Girl Scout troop, is convinced the boys are “talking about the second amendment ... not crop tops”.
One of those hoping to be voted in for the top job, governor, she’s one of the handful of subjects (a la the grand-daddy of this kind of fly-on-the-wall documentary – 2002’s Spellbound) whose fortunes and worldviews we focus on.
There’s also Nisha Murali, who, inspired by watching Legally Blonde for the first time, is eager to secure a role as a judge on their Supreme Court, her friend and rival Brooke Taylor, attorney-general aspirant Tochi Ihekona and another would-be governor – Cecilia Bartin. She might not “press-the-flesh” in quite the same way as those running opposite her, but Cecilia certainly delivers one of the most memorable speeches.
After detailing experiences of being made to feel inadequate and public shamed, she delivers a rallying cry: “I’m proud to smile when I’m happy – not because a man told me to. The future is female. God can save the world, women can save America.”
But perhaps the most compelling portrait here is the one of the magnificently monikered Emily Worthmore.
She’s, as my own teen daughter would put it, “that kid”. Part of her school’s student council, culture, science, environmental sustainability and countless other clubs and teams, she also started a bible study group and has “won every election since fourth grade”.
Taking out Girls State’s governorship would be just the latest step on her way to making her repeatedly stated run for president in 2040. Broadcast journalist and rock star are also intended careers, Emily convinced that she could “do all three”.
While conservative in outlook, she’s careful about revealing her true colours too much, lest “half the room stop listening before I speak”. While such pronouncements may initially bridle with some viewers, there’s a resilience and determination that reveal themselves and which should win just about everyone over.
You might be enticed by the wild incongruity of bracelet and cupcake stations alongside very adult discussions, but you’ll most certainly stay because of how Girls State captures moments of elation and disappointment and offers an intimate, in-depth and potentially inspiring platform for one generation’s hopes and fears for their nation and planet.
Girls State is streaming on Apple TV+.