Democracy is hardly perfect. A millennia-old ideology that may have originated in Athens, Greece. The original idea was that all ‘eligible’ citizens could express their views on laws and policies implemented within the community. It is something that the founding fathers of the United States took to heart, with a strict adherence to elected officials as the representation necessary to reflect majority consensus.
The United States now has a population of nearly 340 million and has 542 federal offices tasked with best representing the bureaucratic needs of its constituents. It’s a big task for anyone to tackle, made even more difficult by a population being re-platformed through online channels and vicious news cycles. Echo chambers grow louder, opinions increase in number and intensity, and most of us can do nothing but sit and observe. After all, Republicans in the House of Representatives cannot agree on a Speaker of the House.
For filmmaker Andrew Callaghan, questions and answers surrounding the current crisis are not as black and white as reporters from your traditional sources would have you believe. By studying fame, fortune, family and loads of internet blogs, Callaghan’s new movie This place rules paints a very gray picture of democracy, conspiracy and what about a country that often feels like a parody of itself.
Who is Andrew Callaghan and what are these place rules?
A24
This place rules is Callaghan’s first feature film (now available at HBO max). The comedic documentary follows the 2020 election and the multitude of factors (and fraud, depending on who you ask) leading up to Election Day, as well as the January 6 attacks on the Capitol. The All gas with no brakes The creator has spent most of his career in journalism on the road, traveling across the country to get his stories on a “boots on the ground” approach that is seemingly still alien to reports you’ll see through channels on cable TV. would see leaves. Callaghan started his journey in New Orleans, Louisiana with the popular online show quarter confessions, documenting the drunken shenanigans found each night on Bourbon Street.
This idea later manifested itself in a more politically charged approach with his shows Channel 5 News and All gas with no brakes, where he attended rallies, marches and protests to interview participants as well as troublemakers and spectators. That said, Callaghan has a keen eye for capturing a much more intimate point of view of the story with his reporting methods.
While CNN and Fox News observe and report from “their” perspective, Channel 5 is right in the middle of the turmoil our country sees that week, making sure to get the scoop straight from the source. This gonzo, warts and all approach to journalism offers a dazzling look at how things got to where they are, and how to move forward from here.
How we got here, according to Andrew Callaghan
A24
Then how did things get where they are? This answer really can’t be found in one specific way, but rather how a myriad of platforms and sources bounce off each other. For starters, Callaghan has been very vocal about the 24-hour news cycle as a catalyst for our country’s apparent increased polarization in the last decade. Don Lemon’s dismay. Callaghan had this to say when asked about the film’s inspiration and content:
The movie isn’t just about the Capitol riot and stuff, it’s a little bit about media echo chambers, you know what I mean? And like the dangers of the 24-hour news cycle, and how mainstream media like Fox and even CNN compete for opinion by running constant 24-hour news cycles based on fear, division, outrage and panic, probably to sell ads.
It was a hard blow that, when broadcast on national television, met with uneasy revulsion from the big guns in these studio offices. Through This place rules, this quote above can be fleshed out with brutal editing and simply interviewing these news outlets’ biggest supporters. This is particularly apparent in the disparity between the descriptors used by news anchors and the actual temperaments of the participants in these protests. It was a verbiage sure to draw the conclusions of militant violence and brutality on both sides. Remember, these stations are all vying for your attention, and it seems credibility can even be ignored to get it.
Not all of them are crazy about these place rules
A24
Now that the mainstream media has a handle on the political climate, where do we go from here? For Callaghan, this meant venturing deeper down the conspiracy rabbit hole, specifically sites like QAnon and InfoWars. Rather than choosing to mock those who fall into these networks, Callaghan’s methods are much more curious about the hows and whys of the surrounding people’s affinity for these kinds of conspiracies. The panic and outrage of a global pandemic, coupled with lots of new free time for everyone thanks to lockdowns, could lead anyone to find sense in the madness.
What Callaghan discovered was a fairly succinct correlation between those who clung to a wild conspiracy ideology and financial status, as well as the ability to even have time to dedicate one’s life to bringing down the Vatican (which is secretly run by reptilian overlords from another planet, according to the “Q Family” interviewee. This place rules). Unlike interviews outside of Washington DC rallies, most of those interviewed focused on concerns that were much more immediate and tangible. The news may be more accessible than ever, but for most people, worry only has time to focus on what’s right in front of them.
Alex Jones, Enrique Tarrio and the Panic Profits
A24
With so many people now relying on these fringe sites as the gospel of democracy, let’s take a look at those who massively organize and perpetuate this kind of thinking. Both Alex Jones of the conspiracy-based web show InfoWars and chairman of the far-right coalition the Proud Boys’ Henry “Enrique” Tarrio were interviewed and followed extensively for This place rules. Here, too, Callaghan succeeds in contrasting these isolated interactions with the characters these men portray so regularly and for so many on camera.
Whether it’s using specific words, using the soap box for personal gain, or even berating their audience downright stupid, it’s been made abundantly clear how well these men have taken advantage of impressionable people under the guise of free thinking, and Callaghan exposes it all and investigates it all. with curiosity.
Tarrio tells us that he sells Joe Biden’s campaign articles as a kind of second income, denying belief in “Back the Blue” and other far-right slogans that have been seen so often over the past election cycle. Alex Jones spends a good fifth of his time selling products designed to shield (or help eliminate) a threat that originated behind some fringe bulletin board, and he vehemently denied any influence he could have had on the storming of the Capitol. , after its failure was confirmed.
Democracy and the dollar
A24
In interviewing Tarrio and Jones, Callaghan reveals that democracy always takes a harrowing blow from the greatest corrupter: money. This place rules ultimately comes down to how institutions and people relinquish ethics and integrity in the name of the mighty dollar, and for pretty good reasons. Whether it’s Tucker Carlson addressing militant left-wing groups as “Joe Biden voters” between Burger King ads, or Alex Jones using way too much of his time on the air trying to get you to buy a testosterone supplement, it’s clear that political agendas are mixed. their priorities somewhere between the messenger and the receivers.
This, coupled with the internet’s incredible ability to assign credibility based on no other basis than someone’s digital status or the number of clicks they’ve accumulated, can make for some pretty questionable narrative and discourse. Callaghan notes this several times, confirming who really deserves the blame.
Does this place actually regulate?
A24
As you can see, Callaghan’s feature debut isn’t just about the downright shocking day on January 6th. Callaghan’s main aim is to highlight the intense relationship that media (including entertainment) has with democracy. In all respects, the Internet era can be considered as the niche era at the same time. You see this in online fan bases of sports teams, movie franchises, and (disappointingly) in politics as well. The ability to lock yourself into a corner of an online community willing to tell anyone anything they want to hear is easier than ever.
It’s a scary thought to sit with, but one that Callaghan doesn’t spend too much time demonizing his contestants. Most of its content tries to keep the energy light by showcasing these theorists and their ridiculous claims, but this movie gives almost some semblance of sympathy or understanding for those who devoted their lives to “stop stealing” in what was considered as a resistance to tyranny.
Callaghan’s conclusion of guilt is more directed at the individuals who saw these impressionable people, desperate for meaning, as a means to climb the ladder by any means necessary. It’s a really harsh look at the state of American democracy and how easily the dollar can influence its views, but one that cries out for rationalism to get back into political discourse. The people may be crazy, and the news may tell you otherwise, but this place really rules.