We like to talk about it as a sibling, McBaine asserts.
But we also knew that we couldntnotmakeGirls State; we were thinking aboutGirls Statewhile we were makingBoys State.
Girls do have some particular challenges with representational democracy that boys do not, McBaine continues.
Faith Glasgow, Cecilia Bartin and additional Girls State participants in ‘Girls State’Apple TV+
They are not as represented in the real world and real-world politics.
We knewRoe v. Wadewas on the mind of many girls in America.
So those were special facts going intoGirls Statein 2022.
Director-producer Amanda McBaine behind-the-scenes of ‘Girls State’Apple TV+
What we recognized very quickly while we were there is that it had a different vibe.
And girls do government differently.
That was interesting to investigate.
One way to release ourselves from the burden of those expectations was to move states, Moss adds.
Just going somewhere else helped wipe the slate clean.
And that came out of production, mostly.
We thought, Could we make an ensemble piece?
But for us, it was really who in our conversations were themselves.
She stumbles through her stump speech, fails to connect with her audience, and she loses the election.
As one of her colleagues consoles her, Dont feel you have to be so perfect.
Humbled and hurt, she nonetheless bounces back, turning to Career Goal #2: journalism.
And at the end of the week, she earns a scholarship.
We can admire the rigor of her journalism, Moss continues.
The questions she asks, how well she does it, how important that conversation is.
The fact that she becomes the feminist voice of this film is kind of remarkable.
Moss and McBaine also established a rapport with the respective parents.
And the feedback was generally positive.
Vulnerable moments in isolation are hard, Moss continues.
You imagine how we see them, how an audience might see them.
Itd be such an inviting laboratory to explore a co-ed space with politically activated 17-year-olds, Moss admits.
Im encouraged that these programs are beginning to integrate, and I do think that is the future.
I dont know if theres another way to spend time with 17-year-olds.
Theyre so politically active in ways outside of these camps too thats exciting.
We are living through this campus protest movement moment.
And thats very much real politics, with real stakes for everyone involved.
But containment is what these [State] programs offered us as storytellers that was so thrilling.
