French filmmaker Auberi Edler's An American Pastoral may focus on a single school board race in conservative Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania, but it's representative of ideological divisions across the United States since the rise of the Republican Tea Party movement and the election of Democratic President Barack Obama.
Edler (American Laundry) embedded herself in the community for several months in 2023 as five members of the school board seeking reelection attend meetings, make public appearances, and go door-to-door to speak with constituents.
All nine members are Republican, but the five are more moderate than the other four, who oppose vaccinations and deny that Joe Biden won the 2020 election--James Emery even took part in the attack on the Capitol on January 6, 2021.
Tina Wilson, who speaks for many on the right, also holds rigid ideas about gender and the suitability of certain children's books. She deems any featuring LGBTQ characters or themes, for instance, as "vulgar," "pornographic," or "sexually explicit," echoing the Moms for Liberty talking points in Kim A. Snyder's documentary The Librarians to which An American Pastoral bears some comparison, though Edler looks beyond book bans to taxation, union organizing, and other hot-button issues.
Democrat Kristy Moore, on the other hand, opposes book bans, while Republican Danielle Lindemuth even considers To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee's 1960 Pulitzer Prize-winning plea for tolerance, unsuitable due to a promotion of critical race theory. School board meetings on these issues can get heated, and non-white citizens are notable by their virtual absence.
Edler also films classroom discussions on gun rights and sexual orientation, a Christian men's group led by Emery, Faith in Public Life founder Rev. Jennifer Butler speaking on the rise of Christian nationalism (to which Emery subscribes), a Harrisburg anti-abortion rally attended by Lindemuth, and meetings of the local chapters of A Girl & a Gun, a gun safety group for women, and Freedom Readers, a group dedicated to promoting literacy and protecting First Amendment rights.
Even political commentator Glenn Beck and former Minnesota Rep. Michelle Bachmann appear at an evangelical LifeGate Church event in Virginia Beach to rail against the separation of Church and State. An unnamed firebrand priest, speaking at the same event, describes transgender individuals as "freaks" and "abominations" and all progressives as "vermin."
Moore, a mother and educator, emerges as a hero for growing more confident during the election, even though she knows the odds are stacked against her (it isn't mentioned in the documentary, but she ran for school board twice before, gaining more votes with each election). Moore doesn't want to leave the community she loves, but nor does she want extremists deciding how to educate--let alone misinform or indoctrinate--the children of Elizabethtown. She vows to keep fighting.
An American Pastoral is recommended for educators and community groups, for classes and programs on grass-roots organizing, and for anyone interested in the challenges facing election integrity and free speech rights in America.
How can educators use this school board documentary in the classroom?
An American Pastoral provides a strong case study for courses in political science, education, civics, sociology, journalism, and contemporary American studies. By focusing closely on one Pennsylvania school district, the documentary gives students a ground-level view of larger national debates surrounding book bans, LGBTQ+ representation, critical race theory, election integrity, gun rights, and the role of religion in public education. Its observational approach also allows students to examine political organizing and rhetoric from multiple perspectives rather than treating school board politics as an abstract national issue.
Is An American Pastoral a good choice for library and community screenings?
Yes. An American Pastoral is particularly relevant for libraries, educators, and community organizations interested in public education, intellectual freedom, First Amendment rights, and grassroots political organizing. The school board meetings and competing community groups depicted in the film provide plenty of material for moderated discussions about who determines what children learn and how national political movements influence local institutions. Libraries could also incorporate the documentary into programming surrounding Banned Books Week, civic engagement, or the role of libraries and schools in protecting access to information.
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