Girls State, like Boys State, is a weeklong "camp" for high schoolers to build a government from the ground up. There are election, and candidates for each office must convince a plurality of the attendees to vote for them.
In Boys State, there was a fair amount of back stabbing, hypocrisy, and electioneering that filled the two hour film. Girls State was staid in comparison due to the fact that the organizers of the event seemed to be more concerned with the girls being gentile, docile, and avoidant of the major political divisions of the day.
Over the course of the documentary, the audience is introduced to several characters who are running for office. Nearly all are White and reside in rural areas of Missouri, where the documentary was shot. However, there were several characters who particularly stood out for their seriousness and their qualifications to win the offices they were seeking. There was a young woman, who was the daughter of Nigerian immigrants, running for Attorney General, and a young Indian woman named Nisha who wanted a slot on the Supreme Court. Despite both girls appearing highly qualified, one wins her nominating contest while the other is shut out. One could not help but feel that popularity was much more of a criterion for selection than principle in the case of the girl who misses out. In that sense, Girls State reflects our political environment all too well.
Although the inequities in the experiences between the boys and girls were brought to light in the film, it was clear to me that the girls were more well-poised to be effective leaders in our society one day. They demonstrated a greater ability to listen to other viewpoints, understood that consensus is necessary to achieve one's goals, and did not leap to demonize their opponents.
A wise person once said, "The Future is Female."
For all our sakes, let's hope so!
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