In the age of streaming video on demand and elaborately interconnected superhero movies, anyone in the business of curating film festivals or a one-off screening series must ask themselves why they’re doing it. And, in fact, this is a hot topic in social media circles at the moment.
A purveyor of recherché cinematic experiences might use phrases like “culturally enriching,” “global perspectives” or “under-represented voices” to vaunt the aims of their organization. Though these are not vapid or illegitimate notions, they are vague enough to lose a war with a couch and 65-inch television in 2018.
Meanwhile Cinema Club, a Silicon Valley institution since 1996, has begun a breakout season of alternative programming by refusing to act on platitudes, showing little concern for convention or comfort zones.
At our July 16 screening, the discussion is likely to shake the pillars of every parking garage in downtown San Jose, as Cinema Club has partnered with Santa Clara County to bring the documentary Dark Money to town.
For an educated, liberal populace, the theme of Dark Money will sound like a foregone conclusion: seemingly untraceable corporate money is being funneled into political campaigns? AND?! But by zeroing in on the unique sociopolitical texture of Montana, this down-home documentary reveals that self-reliant red state denizens—most of them Republicans, in fact—are titans of resistance to the corruption being perpetrated by their colleagues in state government (if you ever wondered about the finer shadings between libertarian values and “classic” conservative ideology as they play out in the mountain states, the interviews and slice-of-life moments here are juicily illuminating).
This film has a thesis, certainly, and a “liberal agenda,” if you fancy the phrase. But unlike, say, Michael Moore, Dark Money director Kimberly Reed is not stirring the pot by sensationalizing tragedy or name-calling. This is an investigative documentary for discerning viewers. Its conclusions, perhaps because they are inarguable, are delivered with grace and good taste. It never even breaks a sweat.
Dark Money gives us ragtag, far-flung, fiercely independent heroes unlike those that dominate our line of sight at the movies this time of year. In keeping with the spirit of the mountain states, the team doesn’t come together. And that’s another level on which this film generates appeal: it’s inspiring to see how much a determined individual armed with integrity and conviction can achieve in this country, even today.
After the screening, we’re hosting a panel that includes several noteworthy guests: Ann Ravel, chair of the Federal Election Commission under the Obama administration; John Adams, the peripatetic reporter at the center of Dark Money who teased out the threads of political corruption in Montana; Dan Morain, formerly of the Los Angeles Times and Sacramento Bee, now senior editor at CALmatters; and moderator Cindy Chavez, a Santa Clara County supervisor.
The screening is open to the public and tickets are still available. Click here to buy your stub and click here to learn more about Cinema Club.
Alejandro Adams is a Silicon Valley-based filmmaker who has earned accolades in Variety, Village Voice and the New York Times. He teaches film at various the Bay Area institutions and curates the Cinema Club screening series. Learn more at alejandroadams.com. Opinions in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect those of San Jose Inside. Send op-ed pitches to [email protected].
Good, invite the Measure A people, 90,000 dollars from foundations.
> This film has a thesis, certainly, and a “liberal agenda,” if you fancy the phrase.
TRANSLATION: Liberals will feel smart and artsy and not learn anything new.
As always
Kudos for using the phrase “liberal agenda” in an article in San Jose Inside.
Interesting that going against dark money is liberal. That means that conservatives are in favor of corporate and foreign control of our government, which is a pretty fair assessment. Campaign finance reform is at the root of our broken political system. Big money in politics does not have a political ideology, it’s just pure evil. The problem is most people don’t understand politics.
> The problem is most people don’t understand politics.
Daniel:
You are correct: I don’t understand politics.
Could you explain it for me? Thanks.
Exactly Daneil, most people don’t understand politics. They think it simply in terms of “liberal” or “conservative,” about mere “elections” or or sensationalized “trade war” with China. They don’t understand that EVERYTHING is political, and that dark money does not merely reflect corporate and billionaire payouts for elections. The dark money in politics refers to things such as NRA payouts to politicians, what drives USA’s perpetual wars and having more guns than any other nation in the world. This dark money driven into every cornerstone of America today, including “federal Division” of every multinational corpoation involed in connecting our needless 1000+ military bases around the world, coalesing into todays mass shootings, forever wars, out of control fires and overall apocalyptic now. Politics is everywhere, right down to accelearted climate change due to manmade toxic activity spelled out already in my comment, while people continue to chant POLITICAL cliches such as “land of the free becasue of the brave,” yet claim they don’t like to talk about “politics.” Itnorance and greed are our nation’s only true threats. Conformity is dangerous….
Too many words and not enough substance!