Kino Lefter

89 - Boys State: Democracy Dies in an F-35 with Oumar Salifou and Jackson Mirasty

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Every year, 1100 boys descend on Austin, Texas to particpate in the American Legion's Texas Boys State: a week-long experiment in representative government and civil discourse for teenage boys.

Apple TV and A24 have come together to distribute this Sundance winner and bring it to us, the Kinos. Concerned with the polarization of American politics, the filmmakers decided to cover Boys State after the 2017 cohort voted to secede from the union. The film follows four boys (whom we rank) as they vie for political office and learn how to appeal to the most voters while crushing their enemies.

Our conversation captures it all: the use of compromise discourse to weaken the left, how the culture war rhetoric for gun rights and abortion imprints on teens, open carrying in Fortnite, masculinity, racism, the conservative persecution complex, jingoism, and yes, giving F-35s to 17 year olds libertarians.

I'm joined this week by repeat guest from our The Red Pill + TFW No GF episode Jackson Mirasty and journalist/podcaster Oumar Salifou.

You can listen to the actual podcast recorded in Boys State 2018 we referenced here.
+ This great meme from Patia's Fantasy World

ReComradations:
Oumar: Time to Say Goodbye Podcast
Evan: The Miners' Hymns (2010) Jóhann Jóhannsson
Jackson: [1] The Core, dir. John Amiel (2003) [2] Turbo Kid, dir. François Simard, Anouk Whissell, and Yoann-Karl Whissell (2015)