Most people remember Pat Brown (if at all) as the man who beat Richard Nixon for the California governorship in 1962, a campaign that Sascha Rice's documentary only touches on. Instead, Rice celebrates Brown for laying the foundations of modern California by spearheading massive water and highway projects; building a public university system that would become the envy of the world; demonstrating remarkable principle by pushing through legislation against housing discrimination; and going to extraordinary lengths to try to commute the death sentence of Caryl Chessman, whose case had become an international cause célèbre in the campaign against capital punishment. Although Rice observes that Brown stumbled in his second term—failing to appreciate the shift in voter sentiment or the skill of Ronald Reagan, who would turn him out of office—the portrait she draws is highly laudatory, as might be expected in a tribute from a loving granddaughter. Still, while California State of Mind is hardly objective, it makes a strong case for Brown's considerable achievements, serving up substantial archival material (including home movies), as well as interviews with Brown's children—Kathleen (Rice's mother), who ran unsuccessfully for governor herself, and Jerry (her uncle), who also ran and won twice. Additional input comes from journalists, aides, and other politicians (both Republicans, such as Arnold Schwarzenegger and Pete Wilson, and Democrats, including Gray Davis and Nancy Pelosi). DVD extras include an abbreviated 56-minute version and three short excerpts to initiate discussion. Recommended. Aud: C, P. (F. Swietek)
California State of Mind: The Legacy of Pat Brown
(2012) 86 min. DVD: $125: high schools & public libraries; $250: colleges & universities. Transit Media (tel: 800-343-5540, web: <a href="http://www.transitmedia.net/">www.transitmedia.net</a>). PPR. Closed captioned. September 9, 2013
California State of Mind: The Legacy of Pat Brown
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