User:Esamsoe/sandbox/Freak Power: The Ballot or the Bomb

Freak Power: The Ballot or the Bomb is a 2020 documentary film directed by Daniel Joseph Watkins and Ajax Phillips. Freak Power:The Ballot or the Bomb takes the viewer into the turbulent political world of 1970 America and Hunter S. Thompson’s campaign for sheriff of Aspen, Colorado. The film follows the irreverent and imaginative campaign of the outlaw journalist as well as the polarized politics of America in the midst of the Nixon administration. During an era when many young people thought the US might be heading for another revolution, Hunter's progressive and radical ideas resonated with a generation that was deeply disillusioned and actively seeking alternatives to political norms.

As Hunter and his friends grapple with the challenges of trying to transform the political landscape in Aspen, they become ensnared in the corruption and cronyism of local politics. Soon there are death threats, bombings, an agent provocateur and Aspen becomes an ideological battleground for what “The American Dream” really means. America today is at another crossroads in history and Hunter's message, that people must choose between making democracy work or potentially facing a violent revolution, is more relevant than ever before. Though told through the lens of a singularly irreverent personality, this is the story of the American dream, and how powerful interests collude to undermine liberal democracy.

Synopsis
Fifty years ago, America was experiencing worse political turmoil than we find ourselves in today. Amidst a backdrop of riots, protests, a pointless war that sent young men to die in Vietnam and with a corrupt president who lied and spread malicious propaganda, the journalist Hunter S. Thompson decided to run for sheriff of Aspen partly to encourage disenfranchised young voters to get involved in the political system and partly to highlight the corruption and dishonesty of those in power.

After Hunter went to the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago and experienced the nightmarish riots and police violence there, he felt he had to speak out and take action. Like many young people now, Hunter realized that the president was a liar and a manipulator and that to save America, he had to get involved in politics if he wanted to change the direction that the country was heading. In the film, Nixon is Hunter’s big villain and Hunter sees the local politicians as small-time henchmen for the Nixon agenda. The inevitable comparison between Nixon and Trump makes Hunter’s struggle easy to identify with and Hunter’s journey from political apathy to running for office is one that many people will be able to relate to in the midst of the current political debacle.

As Hunter’s campaign gains momentum, the incumbent sheriff’s supporters begin plotting dirty tricks to malign Hunter and undermine the campaign’s credibility. When Hunter starts getting death threats that even the Colorado Bureau of Investigation (CBI) agrees are credible, the fear and paranoia in the campaign spikes, and Hunter and some of his supporters become convinced that someone may try to assassinate him. Hunter’s campaign team sets up a nightly armed patrol at his house and vacate their headquarters, which Hunter believes have been bugged. Hunter isn’t entirely sure whether it’s just local rednecks, the Hells Angels or the FBI who wants to kill him, as all three have threatened to take action against him. Journalists and news stations from across the US descend on Aspen adding to the tension and antipathy in town in the days leading up to the election.

Ultimately, the Democrats and Republicans in town are so afraid that Hunter is going to win that the Republicans agree to withdraw support for their candidate in order to consolidate the vote for Sheriff Whitmire. Hunter loses by 300 votes and gives a bitter yet funny concession speech. Though he seems disheartened by his defeat, the tide is turning in Aspen and by 1976, one of Hunter’s friends becomes sheriff and Aspen transforms into one of the most liberal counties in Colorado. After his initiation into politics in Aspen, Hunter went on to write Fear and Loathing On The Campaign Trail which became one of the best books about American politics during the 20th century.

Production
This film began in the attics of ex-hippies, drug dealers and freaks. Dj Watkins, one of the director’s of the film, was hunting for art by the printmaker Tom Benton, a long-time friend of Hunter’s. Benton had often paid his friends and dealers in art and while Dj was doing research on Benton’s art for his book Thomas W. Benton Artist/Activist, he began finding artifacts from the Freak Power campaign. He soon realized that few people knew that Hunter had ever run for office and he decided to write the book Freak Power: Hunter S. Thompson’s Campaign for Sheriff.

After the release of the book, a friend found one reel of 16mm footage in his barn that read Hunter Thompson For Sheriff on the label. He brought it to Dj and after digitizing it, they discovered it was never before scene footage from the campaign shot by Harvard film professor Robert Fulton. The Fulton family searched their archives and discovered they have 40 more reels of footage of Hunter’s campaign, five of which had never even been developed and had to be carefully processed to salvage the footage. Dj and the Fulton family realized they had found an amazing cache of footage and Dj was also able to find nearly 3000 photographs from the campaign by photographers David Hiser and Bob Kreuger. The scope of the archival material gave the filmmakers the opportunity to make Freak Power entirely with vintage footage, never leaving 1970 until the very end of the film.