‘Of the people, for the people, by the people.’
A phrase that is ingrained on the collective conscience of Americans from when the Founding Fathers first created the Bill of Rights and Constitution after the breakaway from Britain in 1776.
Today, the Constituion is seen as a convenient point of reference, but how many Americans today given the impact of Biden and Trump as Commander-In-Chief believe that they still hold the power?
In Andrew Morgan‘s insightful and perceptive documentary TEXAS, USA (which also has Livia Firth as co-executive producer) we see the attempt by three potential candidates, Beto O’Rourke, Greg Casar and Lina Hidalgo trying to usurp established strongholder Greg Abbott to make a stand and be real in the context of tough conflicting issues like the abolition of women’s rights for abortion and the preservation of proper gun ownership in the state of Texas.
The latter is tempered by one of the recent school massacres and the concern that Abbott presided over these whilst trying to liberate the rights of those who wish to continue their right to self-defence by bullet and rifle.
As is expected, the divisions in an already-divided America are there for all to see, with a very typical push to try and reflect the will of the communities. It’s very clear that these three are attempting to help evolve and save for a better day, at a time when there is still a lack of focus from some people in the country.
The three candidates all make very valid cases for their push for office and are representative in a constructive mindset. Imaginative methods of democracy, such as drive-thru voting, are met with resistance from one official in Austin who criticizes this innovation as something that should not be a reflection of vote-winning is.
There are contributions from activists and people such as Anthony Graves, a criminal justice reformer who spent years on Death Row for a crime he didn’t commit; and who works with other inmates to try and make their lives better. In addition, there is Brianna Brown who is the heart of the Texas Operating Project (TOP) , an organisation designed to help people engage with the Black community of Texas.
Trans-rights advocate Adri Perez enters the fray, an immigrant from Mexico whose own family saw America as a means to improve their own status. His efforts to bring to the fore the troubled conflicts that trans-identified individuals have are heart felt throughout.
Although the heart of the film is local to Texas, there is much that other communities from across America and internationally can tap into in a documentary that does get to the heart of a heartland that helps drive this engine we know as the United States.
A fascinating and well-coordinated analysis of American democracy.
TEXAS, USA is out now.
For more about the film, please go to:
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