Poster of ‘This Place Rules’ | photo credit: HBO
When Donald Trump became the 45th President of the United States after the 2016 election, a tale of two Americas unfolded on the streets of the oldest democracy – thousands of Clinton supporters took to the streets to mourn the loss of the first female presidency candidate (by a major political US party) while others cheered for the businessman’s bid for the nation’s top job.
After the 2020 election, Americans were part of and witnessed a similar but more stark divide – a group of Trump supporters from across the country gathered at the seat of American democracy and Vandalized the campus, damaged property And sent members of Congress into hiding. This was preceded by ‘Make America Great Again’ (MAGA) marches across the country, which provided ample space for conspiracy theories to run rampant – with some people outside these circles being left out for the most part.
this location rules
the director: Andrew Callaghan
Throw: Andrew Callaghan
sequence: 82 minutes
story: Feature-length documentary follows Andrew Callaghan as he travels across the United States in the months leading up to the January 6 attack on the US Capitol.
In an effort to help us paint a realistic picture of these Americas, there’s a man who claims to have shot to fame via a Vox Pop video where he tricked people into telling his “deepest” secrets at 2 a.m. on Instagram. asked to reveal. Andrew Callaghan, in his latest project, traverses the American landscape to uncover the darkest secrets hidden in America’s back alleys in the lead-up to the Capitol Hill riot – which, he claims, still persists.
Taken during and after election day, Callaghan manages to squeeze his microphone into some of the country’s most turbulent and confrontational political spaces. As a result, we are forced to listen to the rallies of ‘Proud Boys’ and suppressed movement of the members representing Antifa In the span of three minutes, effectively exposing the ideological divisions that threaten the fabric of the United States of America. In the days following the election, Callaghan argues that the Left in America had a period of fragmented disintegration, while the Right coalesced through the ‘Million Mega March’ to undo what he called the “stolen election”. Formulated strategy.
The most chilling part of the documentary is his a QAnon The family that pulled their children out of school and home-schooled them with conspiracy theories involving extra-terrestrial creatures, reptilians, devils and pedophiles – behavior that is encouraged by right-wing D-platform media influencers known as ex Legalized by President Donald Trump. Like Alex Jones.
Through sensationalized clips, Callaghan tries to criticize a media industry that largely collapses with its own superficiality. However, it’s the raw footage and Callaghan’s non-provocative interview style that manage to grab your attention. In his interview with Jones, he gives the conspiracy theorist enough room to dig his own grave by simply standing by. While his neutrality is sometimes dismissed by political pundits, it is this quality that gets Proud Boys president Enrique Tarrio to admit that he works in a left-wing T-shirt printing business .
Footage of spine-chilling demonstrations is sometimes interspersed with some colorful characters who serve as comic relief – during a rally in Washington DC, a Jewish man convinces people to get circumcised for their own pleasure. was going.
While the documentary doesn’t chronicle the Capitol Hill insurrection, it sets the tone for the dazzling event. Although this location rules Sounds like a really long YouTube video, but it’s an important one that holds a mirror up to contemporary American society.
This Place Rules is streaming on HBO Max