By Sofia Harp
American politics has fallen into chaos. George Santos is reenacting the plot of “catch me if you can,” Congress is bickering like a group of salty school girls, and 40 percent of Americans are in denial of our sitting president. How can we, as average American citizens, fathom these decade-defining events playing out before us? I have to leave the room when the news is on to avoid developing a migraine, but that isn’t to say that others aren’t trying to make sense of this seemingly impossible political climate. If you’re curious as to where America’s political insanity stems from, then I highly recommend Andrew Callaghan’s new documentary, This Place Rules.
Andrew Callaghan, a 25-year-old independent journalist from Seattle, Washington, who gained internet prominence with his youtube series, All Gas No Brakes and Channel 5 news, recently partnered with HBO to release his first documentary, This Place Rules, a groundbreaking account of the chaos, fear-mongering, and corporate media exploitation that led to the political radicalization of right-wing extremists. Callaghan is often recognized as the RV-inhabiting, Borat-Esque suit-adorning, hitchhiking journalist who reports on the obscurist of events, ranging from a satanic temple gathering to a Hollywood anti-vax rally, all of which are hilariously entertaining. But in his most recent project, he takes a much different approach.
While the average corporate journalist might have been dragged into oblivion of confederate flags and MAGA hats, Callaghan navigates the million MAGA marches with grace, giving a rare, unembellished look into the participants of these events.
During a tense interview with the infamous election denier Alex Jones, Callaghan maintains his humorously neutral demeanor while the irritated Jones desperately tries to insight his anger. Of course, some may crave the satisfaction of embarrassing these radical right-wing followers, the usual charade of the interviewer trying to convince someone of their ignorance. At the same time, the featured guest vehemently denies the reporter’s credibility.
But these contentious interactions between political opponents have led to the vast polarization of our country, and Callaghan’s opposition to this dynamic has made him a refreshing new face in the realm of political journalism.
In an NPR interview about the documentary, Callaghan explains the philosophy in his interviewing style, stating that “to try to slam dunk, or belittle someone, or catch them in a contradiction might be appealing to a more liberal viewer, who just wants to demonize these people and make them feel as dumb as possible, but in reality, I’m more curious about how they got there, and how they were radicalized and what we can do to help people like [them] in the future as opposed to slam dunking on someone for the benefit of my viewership.”
Fact-checking political extremists will only put up their defense and ruin the opportunity to find the issue’s core. This technique has allowed Callaghan to interview fringe political extremists, like the proud boys, Qanon believers, January 6th insurrectionists, and Alex Jones.
But it is important to note that This Place Rules strays much farther from the standard documentary style than you’d expect. The film is reminiscent of Callaghan’s earlier, chaotic “man on the street” style reporting, and those unfamiliar with this formatting may be shocked.
But don’t be disheartened because there is genius and a purpose behind the confusion and mayhem. It’s hard to motivate younger generations to show interest in politics, much less watch an hour-and-a-half documentary on the subject. Still, Callaghan knows how to engage a viewership of all ages. For instance, Within the first ten minutes of the documentary, Callaghan features a boxing match between “Joker gang,” a Florida native social media influencer who flaunts a fully tattooed face of the jokers signature smile, and “gum gang,” the self-proclaimed “Florida’s craziest hillbilly,” whos famous for launching potatoes at his groin.
So, in conclusion, I assure you that the hour and 22 minutes you spend watching won’t be lost in vain, and if self-destructive Floridians and reptilian government clone conspiracists don’t intrigue you to watch, then I’m not sure what else could.