Film Review: Birth of a Party

Birth of a Party (2010) is an experiential look at the contemporary American political system from the vantage point of three aspiring political activists working to create a third party, Conservative Party USA.  Inspired by the Tea Party's emergence in American politics, these three white, middle class men attend a three day convention in New Orleans. The documentary follows their travels and attendance at the convention.  Time spent consuming a surprising amount of booze, weed, and cigarettes to a comedic effect.  Surprising and comedic perhaps because of our mainstream preconceptions of the White Conservative American Male. We expect perhaps a more straight laced type, but Birth of a Party considers its subjects, Jesse, John and Brad, not merely as 'Types,' but as human figures prone to vices, losses of faith, small triumphs and illusionary hope.   Experiences we can all relate to, our politics aside.

It is the experiential quality of Birth of a Party that delivers the real delight. You are brought into the haze of the party- in smoky hotel rooms stocked with coolers of 'Heinies,' at the formal inaugural convention that verges on the absurd, and the delirious carnival swirl of Bourbon Street. It is a film about their collective political dreams and individual realities. The film watches as their ideals and expectations meet the stark reality of how the political system operates in America.  As the director, Emile Doucette, explains,

Let’s face it, the world of politics is an insider’s club. And since most of us don’t have a clue about how to get in, or even find the door, we either fall in along strict party lines, or chalk it up as a broken political system and walk away. Some of us pull our hair out in frustration; some of us simply don’t care. But our differences aside, I think most Americans agree that our country is in serious disrepair.

Birth of a Party shows both the roadblocks and possibilities of establishing alternate political parties in the United States.  It is about individuals coming together as a group, talking about their views and hoping to find some collective sense. In that way, no matter your politics, Birth of a Party, with all its comedy and despair, sneaks up and surprises you. In a modest way, it restores my faith in the power of a small collective to enact change.  Doucette's film makes you believe that, "despite the overwhelming evidence to the contrary, there are those among us that believe our democracy works, especially when they take it into their own hands."