Just two more days until this shitshow of an election is over. Whoever you’re supporting, whatever you’re doing, and whichever party you’re voting for or against, the important thing is voting. Even if you’re voting to express your distaste with whatever is going on, even if you’re not voting in every race, there are other bits on the ballot that require your attention. In 2008, as Obama was elected, California passed Prop 8, the most infamous of laws to ban gay marriage if only because it happened in the supposedly most liberal state of the nation. Currently, here in Washington, there are elements to raise taxes (for mass transit), lower taxes (by adding a carbon tax), and change the laws for campaign reform (if only a little). Basically just don’t forget to vote. Ever.
To celebrate, Turner Classic Movies is hosting a full night of political documentaries that will really run you ragged on the emotional scale. It all kicks off with 1960’s Primary, a form-defining documentary about the Wisconsin primary of JFK. At the time, John F. Kennedy was seen as a politician who was too rich, too catholic, and too removed from the people to ever be a viable candidate for President, and Primary is a cinema verité document that affirms how his charm and charisma gave him passage with the people.
The real importance of Primary isn’t necessarily the content. Yes, its fascinating to watch JFK give stump speeches and whatever. Instead, Primary was a groundbreaking film that created and defined the fly-on-the-wall documentary. Director Robert Drew had his hands on a new style of film camera that was smaller, included sync sound, and had a zoom lens. For us, 60 years later, this sounds like the basics on our phone. Back then, this was radical technology. As such, Drew and his cinematographers – Richard Leacock (1AM-1PM) and Albert Maysles (Gimme Shelter, Grey Gardens) – were able to film in new places with little to no disruption. Edited by D.A. Pennebaker (Don’t Look Back, Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars), Primary is a short and sweet look into the birth of a new language in film, with a fascinating look into the primary system of old.
After Primary, TCM really sets out to rock the boat. A Perfect Candidate follows war criminal Oliver North’s failed attempt to win a senate seat in Virginia (and lost because a different Republican ran as an independent and gathered 11% of the vote). The Times of Harvey Milk remembers the rise of California’s first gay elected official, only to be murdered by another official while in office. Roger & Me is the only Michael Moore documentary worth the celluloid its printed on, if only because it represents a key point in the isolation between executives and the public good in the capitalist search for more profits. Hearts and Minds is a brutal and highly controversial documentary on America’s participation in the Vietnam war. And, they bring it all home with Four Days in November, a doc about the four days from JFK’s assassination to his funeral. ALL of these movies are must sees (I’m particularly partial to the excellence of Harvey Milk and Roger & Me) for their form and their content. By the end, you’ll be curled in a fetal ball watching the world crumble around you. A perfect condition for voting on Tuesday!
GO VOTE!
Primary airs at 8pm EST/PST on Turner Classic Movies and is also available on FilmStruck (as is The Times of Harvey Milk and Hearts and Minds).