Democracy is hardly perfect. A millennia-old ideology perhaps originating in Athens, Greece, the original idea saw all ‘eligible’ citizens able to give their opinions on laws and policies being implemented within the community. It's something the founding fathers of the United States took close to heart with a strict adherence to elected officials being the representation needed to reflect a majority’s consensus.
The United States now harbors almost 340 million residents and sports 542 federal offices charged with representing their constituents' bureaucratic needs to the best of their ability. It's a tall task for anyone to handle, made even more difficult by a population being re-platformed via online channels and vicious news cycles. Echo chambers get louder, opinions increase in number and in intensity, and most of us are left to do nothing but sit and observe. After all, Republicans in the House of Representatives can't even agree on a Speaker of the House.
For filmmaker Andrew Callaghan, questions and answers surrounding the current crisis are not as black and white as reporters from your traditional sources would have you believe. By studying fame, fortune, family, and a whole lot of internet blogs, Callaghan's new film This Place Rules paints a very gray picture of democracy, conspiracy, and what to make of a country that often feels like a parody of itself.
Who Is Andrew Callaghan, and What Is This Place Rules?
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This Place Rules is Callaghan’s first-feature length film (now streaming on HBO Max). The comedic documentary follows the 2020 election and its multitude of factors (and frauds, depending on who you ask) leading up to election day, as well as the January 6 Capitol attacks. The All Gas No Brakes creator has spent the better part of his career in journalism on the move, traveling the country to get his stories in a 'boots on the ground' approach that's seemingly still foreign to reports you’d find flipping through channels on cable television. Callaghan started his journey in New Orleans, Louisiana with the hit online show Quarter Confessions, documenting the drunken shenanigans found on Bourbon Street nightly.
This idea later manifested itself into a more politically charged approach with his shows Channel 5 News and All Gas No Brakes, where he would attend rallies, marches and protests to interview those participating as well as agitators and spectators alike. All that to say, Callaghan has a keen eye for capturing a much more intimate viewpoint of the story with his methods of reporting.
While CNN and Fox News observe and report from ‘their’ perspective, Channel 5 is in the thick of whatever turmoil our nation is seeing that week, making sure to get the scoop directly from the source. This gonzo, ‘warts and all’ approach to journalism provides an eye-opening look at how things got to where they are, as well as where to go from here.
How We Got Here, According to Andrew Callaghan
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So, then, how did things get to where they are? This answer really can’t be found in one specific avenue, but rather how a multitude of platforms and resources sort of bounce off of each other. For starters, Callaghan has been very vocal to cite the 24-hour news cycle as a catalyst for the seemingly increased polarization seen in our country’s last decade, even going so far as to criticize CNN on their own program, much to the dismay of Don Lemon. Callaghan had this to say when prompted on the inspiration and content of the film:
The movie is not just about the capitol riot and all that, it's sort of about, like, media echo chambers, you know what I mean? And like, the dangers of the, uh, 24-hour news cycle, and how mainstream media like Fox and even CNN competes for views by running constant, 24-hour news cycles based upon fear, division, outrage, and panic, probably to sell ads.
It was a hard punch that, when delivered on national television, was met with awkward aversion from the big guns in these studio offices. Throughout This Place Rules, this above quote can be seen fleshed out with cheeky editing as well as simply interviewing these news stations' biggest supporters. This is mainly seen in the disparity between descriptors used by news anchors versus the actual temperament of the participants in these protests. It was verbiage that was sure to draw conclusions of militant force and a lust for violence on both sides. Remember, these stations are all vying for your attention, and it seems that credibility can even be ignored in order to get it.
They're Not All Crazy in This Place Rules
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Now that the mainstream media has a grip on the political climate, where do we go from here? For Callaghan, this meant venturing deeper into the conspiracy rabbit hole, more specifically sites like QAnon and InfoWars. Rather than choosing to jab and poke fun at those falling into these networks, Callaghan’s methods are much more inquisitive regarding the how’s and why’s surrounding peoples' affinity for this type of conspiracy. The panic and outrage of a global pandemic, coupled with a lot of new free time on everyone’s hands thanks to lockdowns could lead anyone to find meaning in the madness.
What Callaghan found was a pretty succinct correlation between those adhering to wild conspiracy ideology and financial status, as well as the ability to even have time to dedicate your life to taking down The Vatican (which is secretly run by reptilian overlords from another planet, according to the “Q Family” interviewed in This Place Rules). Contrasted with interviews outside rallies in Washington D.C., most of the individuals interviewed laid focus on concerns much more immediate and tangible. The news may be more accessible than ever, but for most people, worry only has time to focus on what's right in front of it.
Alex Jones, Enrique Tarrio, and the Profiteers of Panic
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With so many people now relying on these fringe sites as democratic gospel, let’s look at those who organize and perpetuate this kind of thinking en masse. Both Alex Jones of the conspiracy-based web show InfoWars and chairman of the far-right coalition the Proud Boys' Henry “Enrique” Tarrio were interviewed and followed extensively for This Place Rules. Here again, Callaghan manages to contrast these isolated interactions from the characters that these men portray for the camera so regularly and for so many.
Whether its use of specific verbiage, utilizing the soapbox for personal gain, or even calling their audiences outright stupid, it’s made glaringly clear how well these men have profited off of impressionable people under the guise of free thinking, and Callaghan exposes and explores it all with curiosity.
Tarrio tells us he sells Joe Biden’s campaign merchandise as a sort of second income, as well as denying belief in “Back the Blue” and other far-right slogans seen so regularly this past election cycle. Alex Jones spends a solid fifth of his time on air selling products meant to shield (or help eliminate) a threat that's origins began behind some fringe message board, as well as vehemently denying any influence he might’ve had over the storming of the Capitol, after its failure was confirmed.
Democracy and the Dollar
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Through interviewing Tarrio and Jones, Callaghan reveals that democracy always takes a poignant blow from the biggest corrupter: Money. This Place Rules ultimately boils down to how institutions and people forgo ethics and integrity in the name of the mighty dollar, and for fairly good reason. Whether it's Tucker Carlson addressing militant leftist groups simply as “Joe Biden voters” in between Burger King ads, or Alex Jones using way too much of his time on air trying to get you to buy some testosterone supplement, it's clear that political agendas have mixed up their priorities somewhere between the messenger and its recipients.
This, coupled with the internet's incredible ability to award credibility based upon no other basis than one's digital status or the amount of clicks they’ve garnered, can make for some pretty questionable narrative and discourse. Callaghan makes note of this several times throughout, solidifying who really is deserving of blame.
Does This Place Actually Rule?
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As you can see, Callaghan’s debut feature is not simply about the outright shocking day that was January 6. Callaghan’s main goal is to highlight the intense relationship that media (including entertainment) has with democracy. For all intents and purposes, the internet age could simultaneously be considered the age of niche. You see this in online fanbases of sports teams, film franchises, and (disappointingly) also in politics. The ability to lock oneself into a corner of an online community prepared to tell a person everything they want to hear is easier than ever.
It’s a scary thought to sit with, but one that Callaghan doesn’t spend too much time demonizing its participants over. Most of his content tries to keep the energy light through display of these theorists and their ridiculous claims, yet this film almost provides some semblances of sympathy or understanding to those who dedicated their lives to “stopping the steal” in what was thought to be a resistance to tyranny.
Callaghan’s conclusion of blame is centered more so on the individuals who saw these impressionable people, desperately looking for meaning, as a means of climbing up the ladder by whatever means necessary. It's truly dour look at the state of American democracy and how easily the dollar can sway its notions, but one that cries for rationalism to make a return to political discourse. The people may be crazy, and the news may tell you otherwise, but this place really does rule.