Gerrymandering (2009)
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40% of critics liked it
(20 reviews) -
57% of users liked it
(37 ratings)
Documentary filmmaker Jeff Reichert ponders the troubling prospect that elections in America are decided before the first vote is ever cast by examining how the framework of democracy provides politicians with an entirely legal means of controlling electoral outcomes. The Merriam-Webster Dictionary… More Documentary filmmaker Jeff Reichert ponders the troubling prospect that elections in America are decided before the first vote is ever cast by examining how the framework of democracy provides politicians with an entirely legal means of controlling electoral outcomes. The Merriam-Webster Dictionary definition of "gerrymandering" reads: "to divide a territorial unit into election districts to give one political party an electoral majority in a large number of districts while concentrating the voting strength of the opposition in as few districts as possible." As the debate surrounding the reliability of the electoral system rages, the question of how to ensure that the system is more accurate and accountable comes up time and again. Can that broken system ever be fixed? By posing that question, among many others, to governors, state representatives, Supreme Court justices, political strategists, party chairmen, scholars, and journalists, Reichert proposes that the fundamental democratic premise that voters actually choose their elected representative may be a falsehood implemented to create the illusion of democracy. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- Rating, Runtime
- Unrated, 1 hr. 17 min.
- Directed By
- Jeff Reichert
- Genres
- Documentary, Special Interest
- In Theaters
- Oct 15, 2010 Limited
- Studio
- Green Film Company
Critic Reviews
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Mark Feeney, Boston Globe
The film's basic premise -- why can't politics be a reasonable, logical enterprise (like, say, making an indie documentary?) -- is at odds with the realities not just of the American political process but also human nature.
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Michael O'Sullivan, Washington Post
It jumps around from California to Texas to Iowa to Louisiana and back, quite literally all over the map, with lots of numbingly repetitive cartographic visuals.
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Stephen Holden, New York Times
An illustrated civics lesson that strains to make its complicated, shadowy subject -- electoral redistricting -- a political hot topic.
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Gary Goldstein, Los Angeles Times
Maybe the whole topic is just too esoteric to warrant feature-length dissection without a craftier firebrand like Michael Moore at the helm.
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, San Francisco Chronicle
While the film adopts a sometimes jaunty tone, the fact is that gerrymandering is bad news, assuming you believe that elections should mean something.
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