REVIEW: ‘Slay the Dragon,’ now available on DVD and digital
Photo: The activists at “Voters Not Politicians” fight to stop gerrymandering in Michigan. Photo courtesy of Magnolia Pictures / Provided with permission.
Slay the Dragon is perhaps the most effective horror movie of the year. No, it doesn’t feature vampires, zombies and blazing chainsaws, but the documentary does tell the story of how American democracy is being undermined through the gerrymandering process.
Directors Barak Goodman and Chris Durrance lay out their thesis that gerrymandering is bad for the electoral process in a stirring film that follows politicians as they realign voting districts for maximum political effect (otherwise known as gerrymandering) and the citizen activists who are fighting this complex and ultimately unAmerican concept.
The documentary gets its name from the many interesting and ridiculous shapes that are formed after gerrymandering happens. When these voting districts are redrawn — often to deliver more voters to the political party in charge — what’s left are these monstrous shapes that simply lack common sense. A few of them actually mimic constellations in the sky or the figures of animals (such as one that looks uncannily like a dragon).
Although this is a national issue, Goodman and Durrance smartly focus their efforts on a few stories, including the efforts of Katie Fahey and the “Voters Not Politicians” campaign in Michigan. This group of citizens started out small, but their drive and activism saw their numbers grow and grow. Eventually they got the gerrymandering question on a state ballot, but there were many obstacles and severe opposition along the way. At one point, they had to make their case in court. It’s obvious that certain officials need gerrymandering in order to save their political lives.
The documentary also effectively tells the story of how gerrymandering became a common practice, how it has led to electoral racism and voter suppression, and how small changes on the local level can have reverberations on a national scale.
At a time when the COVID-19 pandemic is still disrupting society, and there is unrest in many areas of society, not to mention a highly divisive presidential election, learning the lessons of what gerrymandering is, how it impacts voting, and how citizens can legally and ethically change their community and the country seems as vital as ever.
By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com
Slay the Dragon (2020). Directed by Barak Goodman and Chris Durrance. Running time: 104 minutes. Rated PG-13. Rating: 
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