This documentary has a clear point of view: Gerrymandering is snuffing out representative democracy and is the source of everything vile about current U.S. politics. One case in point, taken up in some detail, is the 11th Congressional District in North Carolina, from which most of Asheville was ejected in 2011, prompting the retirement of Rep. Heath Shuler and the election of Rep. Mark Meadows.
If, on the other hand, you think Meadows won fair and square, the current makeup of the U.S. Supreme Court is dandy, voter ID laws are justified and drawing voting districts to perpetuate the power of a single party is a fair tactic, then you might want to skip Slay the Dragon.
Directed by skilled television documentarians Chris Durrance (“Frontline”) and Barak Goodman (“American Experience”), Slay the Dragon traces the RedMAP project of the Republican State Leadership Committee, which succeeded in flipping numerous state legislatures from Democratic to Republican control in 2010. This change allowed new GOP majorities in many states to redraw safe legislative districts, empowering the party to push through state laws targeting unions, access to the polls, transgender rights, gun control and other matters, even when majorities of their states’ citizens opposed such laws.
The film packs a lot into its first two-thirds, elucidating and connecting the issues clearly (with clean, illuminating graphics) and with interviews of movers and shakers from both sides of the issue. Its particular focus is young activist Katie Fahey, who founded Voters Not Politicians, a grassroots effort to pass a ballot initiative to eliminate gerrymandering in Michigan.
The last third of the film is less compelling, as it slides into a rut of trying to build the narratives of Fahey’s campaign and a parallel U.S. Supreme Court case (about gerrymandering in Wisconsin) into suspenseful storylines. Informed viewers will already know the outcome of both, but even if you don’t, far too much time is spent leading to the unsurprising results. It’s like the filmmakers were so happy with all they’d accomplished up to that point that they decided viewers couldn’t absorb any more. No matter — it’s still a worthy and informative effort and may make Democrats chew their fingernails to the quick, watching recent history unfold.
Available to rent via fineartstheatre.com
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