Five hundred high school girls from Missouri are the stars of a new documentary.
Girls State has been described as a political coming-of-age film, in which girls take part in a week-long immersive democracy experiment as they build a mock government from the ground up and tackle important issues like abortion rights and encouraging more women to work in government.
The film is a sequel to “Boys State,” which won awards at major film festivals in 2020. Filmmaker Amanda McBain, who co-directed both films with Jesse Moss, said it was interesting to compare the Girls State and Boys State programs because it was the first time they'd ever been held in the same week.
“The magnitude of the difference surprised me and the kids. I think in many ways they (the girls) were hindered from forming a government as quickly as the boys,” McBain said.
The filmmakers said they chose Missouri because it reflects the political diversity of the U.S. “Girls State” is currently a hit on streaming platform Apple TV Plus.
McBain said that despite the diversity of opinions among the young women, communication among them was respectful and they didn't shy away from major topics.
“They created the Supreme Court and gave it the power to hear privacy cases that were very similar to Dobbs-Jackson,” she explained. “They seized the moment and acted on it, acknowledging each other and saying, 'Hey, your politics may be different, but I understand how much you need this power.'”
McBain added that the participants in Girls State emphasize the importance of representation in a democracy: According to a Pew Research Center study, only about 30% of state senators will be women by 2023. McBain called the documentary “a powerful look at politics through the eyes of young women.”
Missouri Public News Service is a partner of KRCU Public Radio.
