Along Came Kinky… Texas Jewboy for Governor by David Hartstein premiered on Thursday, March 19th at SXSW after much of the film industry had headed out of town. That slot implies that the film would have local appeal but maybe shouldn’t take up a slot during the official Film festival. I might take some heat for saying that, but the reason I’m saying it is because I think the film deserved more. In talking to the filmmakers after the screening, I was dismayed to hear that the film hasn’t been offered other fest slots. Really?

Politics in America is fucked. I don’t usually say stuff that that, but come on… Obama was a welcome glimmer of hope that perhaps, just maybe, we might start making a few good decisions to get ourselves out of the total mess we are in, but if anyone is thinking we are out of the woods, all I can say to that is No Way! Not even close. Budget crisis, healthcare crisis, employment crisis, foreign relations crisis and rampant greed and corruption. We are just at the tip of the iceberg. The Great Depression was worsened by The Dust Bowl, and we’ve gone ahead and nurtured the possibility of environmental disasters to rival anything that has happened in the past, just to define what a fine precipice we stand on right now.

I just finished watching Frontline’s special, The Choice 2008, about John McCain and Barack Obama’s ascension to where they are today, and I couldn’t be prouder that my tax dollars went to pay for that kind of show. It goes onto YouTube and iTunes tomorrow so everyone can watch, and I do hope that you will if you didn’t catch it during broadcast. Excellent work by Michael Kirk and team, including producer/reporter Jim Gilmore and co-producer/writer Paul Stekler (an Austinite!).

I’d also add that Michael Rose contributed an excellent review of the film at Documentary.org, The Road to Washington: ‘Frontline’ Dissects The Choice

I wanted to know more about the substance of their political agendas and, in general, the issues and policies that are dominating this campaign.”

Kirk says that’s not the film he set out to make. “Most the films I make are kind of character-driven narratives. I know everyone always says that, but I really believe in that, and that method has its limitations, which I’ll freely admit. One of them, it’s really hard to stop in the midst of telling a story about a character and say, Let’s do a little investigative section right there and really smack him for having done this or not having done that.”

Kirk agrees that providing this level of detail and context is one of the ways the Internet can work in concert with a broadcast. Read the entire review>>

The show reaffirmed my own choice, but also reminded me that John McCain deserves my respect. I disagree with many of his choices, including how he is running his campaign, but he has served our country in war and in Congress for the better part of his life. I can disagree with his approach, but it is unfair to doubt his sincerity or his commitment to our country.

Quick note to let you know, if you haven’t received it yet, that the new issue of Documentary magazine is on stands. It’s an election films issue to which I contributed a short piece on Jeffrey Tuchman’s The Man From Hope. My article isn’t online, but there is one by Paul Stekler, Reality Candidates: Documentaries on the Campaign Trail. Check out the issue and be sure to vote! Pretty please!