Doc Corner: The politics of 'Slay the Dragon'
Wednesday, April 8, 2020 at 12:30PM By Glenn Dunks
I had expected 2020 to be jam-packed with political documentaries. We have already had Hulu’s four-part Hillary and in the lead-up America’s presidential election had assumed that nary a week would go without a documentary about some sort of politics examination, exploration or expose. Who knows what the rest of the year holds for us anymore in terms of release for the sort of niche, boutique non-fiction fare and whether they will make their way to audiences, but I am sure they will hold lessons and important interrogations nonetheless.
Case in point: Slay the Dragon. A feature-length documentary that is getting out somewhat ahead of the pack and which picks up where digitally-released short films like Crooked Lines and Suppressed: The Fight to Vote left off on the issue of gerrymandering and the efforts (by let’s be honest: Republican politicians) to manipulate the voting process...
Directed by Chris Durrance and Barak Goodman (who’s Oklahoma City I listed as one of the top documentaries of the 2010s), Slay the Dragon is an articulate and smartly assembled film that cuts through this often difficult-to-comprehend issue. Like Oklahoma City, come to think it, Slay the Dragon recognises that in order to understand where we are, we need to understand how we got there. Starting way back in 1814 with John Adams’ very relevant quote, “There never was a democracy yet that did not commit suicide”, the filmmakers then go back to the Obama election and the mid-term elections that brought the Tea Party wave that put a bold and italicised underline on the increasingly chasmic political divides of American voters and how the nation’s newly elected (or newly emboldened) right-wing lawmakers engaged in a “legislative blitzkrieg” of civilian warfare.
They divided states, counties, communities and even streets into deliberately racist and classist sub-sections to ensure unfair elections that manifest—as the film has the statistics to attest to—in lopsided legislatures and governing houses that fail to reflect the actual voting will of the people. Remember that great shot in Steve McQueen’s Widows where a car travels between two distinct affluent lines? You can guarantee there was a gerrymandered line along that path. It’s complicated, but Durrance and Goodman make smart choices to get audiences to follow and that includes most importantly centering much of the narrative (as it were) to a young woman named Katey Fahey.
Fahey was inspired to lead a grassroots movement in Michigan to ban partisan gerrymandering efforts in the state. Like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in last year’s Knock Down the House, Fahey ultimately proves to be the star of Slay the Dragon. And not just because she won, although she did and the climax of those results gives the documentary at least something approaching a happy ending with some hope that people are clueing in to the very undemocratic tactics of people who only have their own best interests at heart. If anybody is going to be turned on the issue of gerrymandering by Slay the Dragon then, much like the people of Michigan, it is likely to be Fahey who is ultimately to thank.
The film is nicely put together with a fine score by Gary Lionelli. Visually it is at one with other recent political docs like Kimberly Reed’s Dark Money or Luke Walker’s PACmen. Use of animations here are sleek and unlike other docs feel entirely necessary in dissecting how neighbours on the opposite of the street can be divided by race, income, gender and any number of other factors that are used to determine whether their vote is worth it or if it’s not (as the film points out, some states are so rigged that not even a Democratic landslide could affect the number of Republican seats held).
The US presidential elections are eight months away and who knows what will happen between now and then. But even in the face of all the other political turmoil unfolding there and around the country, we need to heed the warnings of Slay the Dragon.
Release: You can watch on a variety of streaming and VOD platforms including YouTube, Apple and Amazon Prime. Check the film’s official website for where.
Oscar chances: I would have normally thought Slay the Dragon doesn’t have quite the auteur vision that the documentary branch have been veering towards a lot more often these days, but there are several reasons to consider it. The first is that we simply do not know what the documentary field is going to look like this year with theatres closed meaning many will go direct-to-VOD and thus potentially exclude them from the Academy’s release requirements. Will they wave these? I sure hope so. Secondly, they did put Dark Money into their 15-wide shortlist, and depending on how politics goes this year they may be inspired to give it the attention.
Doc Corner, Review, documentaries, politics
Reader Comments (4)
Republicans baldly state (including the president just yesterday)that if people are allowed to vote, they can't be elected. During the impeachment trial, they all but admitted they have to cheat to win. Sad.
Both sides do this regularly not just Republicans. They may be doing it now but whoever is in control does this to better their position. One of the most annoying political practices.
It's reasons like this is why I will never vote again. Shame on me thinking that my vote would mean a damn thing 4 years ago when my choices were really between a giant douche and a shit sandwich. Fuck the Republican and Democratic parties. They're both full of shit.
Wow thevoid99, what a trash opinion that hints at being a garbage person. Even Peggy Sue wouldn't sink so low and they have complete immunity on this site. For shame, maybe you should give up on a macro scale?