On Election Day, 2020, Director Matthew Palmer’s documentary This Land seeks to answer the question: “Who are these people we call our enemies?” Shot over the course of the day, and in almost every state in the country, the film focuses on five individuals and families, from different areas, different backgrounds, and very different lives.
Captain Oatmeal introduces himself right away. A loving and charming Native American man, he has a checkered past of addiction and a manslaughter conviction. “They’re killing my people,” he laments. "And you think I’m going to vote for their leader?”
Gregory and his partner have been together for thirty-three years. They are a gay and biracial couple (Gregory is Black and his partner is White), so it comes as a surprise that theirs is a house divided over Gregory’s conservative politics. “How you vote. It’s awful,” Gregory’s partner chides.
In a beautiful home, a mom spends Election Day with her son with Down Syndrome, from occupational therapy and martial arts class to an evening meltdown to get all the big feelings out. “We feel fears of how his life is gonna go,” the mother worries.
Probably one of the most heartbreaking stories, a Christian family’s matriarch, Cecilia, was deported to Mexico in 2018. Six months later, her son was diagnosed with cancer. She can’t apply for a visa until 2028, when her son is seventeen. Cecilia’s husband voted for Trump in 2016 because he’s pro-life. In 2020, he ends up submitting a write-in vote because he can’t bring himself to vote for either side.
And finally, a White, Southern couple raises their daughters and hopes to make “American great again one vote at a time.” The man in the family is a rodeo clown, and he went from performing forty shows a year down to only ten because of Covid restrictions. “We’re just cowboys,” he explains before he lists off his values - Honor. Integrity. Patriotism. And family.
This Land includes several brief vignettes in addition to the lengthier, “day in the life” style narratives. A body-positive seamstress and Instagram model who experiences online bullying. A Black woman practices her aim at a gun range, explaining that she feels safe thanks to gun ownership. Street performers throughout the country harmonize sweetly, play guitar, and even share the gift of music by playing a percussive instrument into a Deaf man’s hands. “I don’t put that much weight in a government system that was not designed for me anyway,” muses a young Black woman wearing a “Chicago as Hell” shirt.
Matthew Palmer’s documentary puts real, human faces to political hypotheticals. Participants read poetry aloud, dance, and play with their children. Regardless of unique circumstances or political feelings, they are united by simple joys in a day fraught with complex emotions.
One such uniting moment surprisingly comes from a parallel between Captain Oatmeal and the proud Southern rodeo clown. On election Night, the Captain adorns himself with a traditional costume and paints his face. Elsewhere, the Southern man paints his daughter’s face in clown makeup, explaining to her that “boys don’t wear make-up, but men do.” Though they both feel very differently about the United States government, they also both carry on a cultural tradition dear to their hearts when they paint their faces. “We do the best we can,” Captain Oatmeal says as he wipes his face clean at the end of the night.
Matthew Palmer’s documentary This Land functions as a vital sociological document of America in the 21st Century. The film captures the tense atmosphere of November 3rd, 2020, as the film’s interviewees voice concerns about violence from both sides of the political aisle. “I’ve never seen a Trump riot yet. Anywhere,” an elderly white man states, foreshadowing the events of January 2021.
Conversations between This Land’s participants often echo the rhetoric heard in soundbites from the news, while their day-to-day lives consist of real joys and struggle unaddressed by the 24/7 news cycle commentators during this historical moment. But at the end of Election Day, children are tucked into bed with love, songs, and FaceTime calls from Mexico. Life goes on.
What kind of film collection would this title be suitable for?
This Land would be suitable for documentary, political, and sociological film collections.
What type of library programming could use this title?
This Land would fit into library programming about American diversity, politics, and 21st Century history. It would be a great film to screen before Election Day.
What type of college/university professors would find this title valuable?
History, sociology, and political science professors would find This Land valuable as a primary document of average citizens’ experience during the 2020 Presidential Election.