Boys State (film)

Synopsis[edit]

The film follows a thousand teenage boys attending Boys State in Austin, Texas, coming together to build a representative government from the ground up, from all different political backgrounds, navigating challenges of organizing political parties, consensus, and campaigning for the highest office at Boys State, Governor of Texas.^[6]


The boys arrive for the program, where they are randomly divided into two parties, the Nationalists and Federalists. Those wishing to run for governor seek to collect 30 signatures to get on the primary ballot. MacDougall does so easily; Garza manages to reach the threshold just before the deadline. Otero delivers a powerful speech and is elected state chairman for the Nationalists; he is subject to an impeachment motion that easily fails. Feinstein is elected state chairman for the Federalists. In primary campaigning, Garza delivers a sincere speech, but questions arise among conservative voters about his past participation in March for Our Lives, as well as his views on abortion and immigration policies. MacDougall positions himself as a conservative, hiding his true beliefs, but he comes across as less passionate and loses the race to Garza.


Meanwhile, the Federalists have elected Conti as their gubernatorial candidate. In the general election, the Federalists launch a humorous Instagram attack page. However, the party dissociates itself from it after it makes a racist attack on Otero. Garza appears on the verge of victory, prompting Feinstein to engineer a scandal. He tells Conti to try to conduct a Q&A during a forum moderated by Otero, a minor rule violation. When Otero disallows it, he latches onto that fact and accuses Otero of bias in later forums. As the program concludes, the boys cast their votes, and Conti is elected governor.