“Do You Want the Measles or the Mumps?”: Docs About Political Campaigns

Most people can agree that this election season is exhausting to follow but difficult to escape. Do you need a distraction that still engages you in politics? Gain some perspective by watching these documentaries about how political campaigns navigate the attention economy to win your vote.

“We provide daily entertainment. What we are not providing is serious solutions to what’s going on in the country.”  — Mark Goodin, campaign advisor for Oliver North’s ’94 Senate run

“Weiner” (2016)
No stranger to scandal, there was perhaps never anyone so tenacious about making a comeback as the former Congressman and 2013 New York mayoral candidate Anthony Weiner. Throughout the latter campaign, media outlets are just as tenacious about getting Weiner to speak honestly and at length about his snowballing improprieties. Much to the viewers’ delight, the fiery candidate doubles down in response to this pressure rather than wait for the storm of shame to blow over.

“Dark Money” (2018) also on Kanopy
Using case studies from races for the Montana state legislature, this documentary applies to all American elections since the 2010 Citizens United ruling. It explains how dark money subverts campaign finance laws and taints elections across the country with untraceable funding. Abnormally bleak campaign mailers and attack-ads paid for by innocuously named groups are just a symptom of this problem. You’ll come away wondering, “how free and fair are our elections, really?”

“A Perfect Candidate” (1996) on Kanopy
In 1994, Virginia voters had to choose between two unsavory candidates for Senate: a convicted agent in the Iran-Contra scandal or a party animal incumbent who proudly stated in a debate that he’d take food from the mouths of orphans. One voter despairs: “It’s like choosing between the devil and a demon. Do you want the measles or the mumps?” Still, the political machines go to work spinning each as a man of character against the other’s scandals.

“How to Fix a Primary” (2020)
The most contemporary film on the list follows Abdul El-Sayed, a progressive underdog in the turbulent 2018 Democratic primary race for Michigan governor. Challenged by corporate-backed candidates and Islamophobia, his grassroots campaign offers a “story about how the powerful hold on to power.”