We watched Boys State this week. It’s a documentary that follows a cohort of Texan teenage boys going through an intense one-week political bootcamp at the Texas state capitol. They’re divided randomly into two parties*, given lessons in the state constitution, and then they run a compressed set of elections for party chairmen, gubernatorial candidates, and ultimately for state governor.

I really enjoyed it, though I felt myself predictably enamoured with the charismatic and thoughtful liberals Steven and René. Conversely, I found myself predictably horrified with the mini-demagogue-to-be Robert, and the Steven Miller Jr. in Ben Feinstein.

Ben was interesting as a distillation of the do-what-it-takes-to-win archetype that we saw coalesce around Trump. He realises early on that a negative campaign can really stall the momentum of a values-led movement in the opposition. First he pushes a “Dems in disarray” style narrative during the chairman race, and then switches to a “rigged system” narrative later on.

His final candidate for governor is presented as lacking in charisma, he even loses his voice at a crucial stage in the race. Ben is presented as a kind of Machiavellian kingmaker. He’s directly compared to Ben Shapiro at one point, and the comparison is apt. He’s all facts and figures until he sees an opening to meta-game the debate, to object on a rules basis to one moment in a district debate and then repeat that narrative to block out the issues discussion from then on.

Overall it was a good watch. I wonder how much we project our anxieties on these kids. We all wondered what Girl State would be like and whether the issues would still be: guns, abortion, immigration, and in that order. Apparently a sequel is in production.