Independent for Governor was made in 2005 Huixia Lu, former professor of digital filmmaking at the University of Central Arkansas. The film was produced, directed, photographed and co-edited by Lu. This is a documentary film that peruses the daily life of Rod Bryan with his friends and family and is centered around Bryanʼs candidacy as Arkansasʼs first Independent on the ballot for Governor since 1940. The film had itʼs world premiere at UCA in November 2010 and has been screened at the Arkansas Film Festival and the Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival. It was also recently selected for screening at a major festival in Chicago that will take place in January. " Independent is based entirely on honesty. This film shows Bryan, relatively unfunded, losing the election that he fought so very hard for. Bryan and his supporters worked for months to gather over 11,000 signatures so that his name could be put on the ballot. He also did his homework. Bryan had developed initiatives, outlines, policies, and entire plan for how to use Arkansas resources for the good of the state and itʼs people. It seemed that he had it all figured out. However, he was unwilling to lay downhis values and gain funding from corporations or join one of the two parties.
The message of the film is the antithesis of All the Kingsʼs Men, The Ides of March, or The Last Hurrah. Although these films center around an idealist and down to earth candidate who genuinely has the best interest of the everyday man in his heart, Rod Bryan refuses to do as Jack Burden says “You have to crack a few eggs to make an omelet”. Unlike the typical candidate that we have seen in almost every other campaign film, Bryan refuses to make compromises to his values in order to be elected. While this proves to be an honorable and virtuous position, Bryan remains without his omelets.
Independent was made by Lu as a work of art. As an artistic filmmaker who enjoys her craft she chose direct cinema as her genre. This is a style of documentary that is shot from an anthropological posture. Lu has said that she is not very interested in politics and for the film to be considered direct cinema then she shouldnʼt be. The filmmaker must be objective to the subject. As a foreigner, Lu says that she didnʼt even understand the politics in Arkansas at the time. This aids in solidifying her objectivity. One of the intentions of direct cinema is to question the relationship of reality with cinema. Lu sticks to the genre well. By making this film she scrapes off the scab of what we all believe to be fair and honest elections. She paints an area of gray that causes us to question what are voting for by not fully understanding the election process or what the candidates are really up to. Much like direct cinema rebels from hollywood, Rod Bryan is a rebel of the typical candidate. This makes a perfect recipe for successful direct cinema.
The message of the film is the antithesis of All the Kingsʼs Men, The Ides of March, or The Last Hurrah. Although these films center around an idealist and down to earth candidate who genuinely has the best interest of the everyday man in his heart, Rod Bryan refuses to do as Jack Burden says “You have to crack a few eggs to make an omelet”. Unlike the typical candidate that we have seen in almost every other campaign film, Bryan refuses to make compromises to his values in order to be elected. While this proves to be an honorable and virtuous position, Bryan remains without his omelets.
Independent was made by Lu as a work of art. As an artistic filmmaker who enjoys her craft she chose direct cinema as her genre. This is a style of documentary that is shot from an anthropological posture. Lu has said that she is not very interested in politics and for the film to be considered direct cinema then she shouldnʼt be. The filmmaker must be objective to the subject. As a foreigner, Lu says that she didnʼt even understand the politics in Arkansas at the time. This aids in solidifying her objectivity. One of the intentions of direct cinema is to question the relationship of reality with cinema. Lu sticks to the genre well. By making this film she scrapes off the scab of what we all believe to be fair and honest elections. She paints an area of gray that causes us to question what are voting for by not fully understanding the election process or what the candidates are really up to. Much like direct cinema rebels from hollywood, Rod Bryan is a rebel of the typical candidate. This makes a perfect recipe for successful direct cinema.
Through Luʼs use of direct cinema she comes across a story that is incredible. Arkansas is a beautiful state and there are many scenes in the film that showcase this. The juxtaposition of Bryanʼs struggle with the backdrop of the seemingly effortlessly gorgeous landscape is captured by Lu. The innocent and adorable children are also part of the story captured by her as well as the aging grandparents. Bryan makes no apologies to his family for his epic quest. It is obvious that it is all for them, even if they do not understand what he is doing. These “characters” are extremely important to this film because there is no set design, decorating, lighting or art direction. All Lu has to work with is what is in front of her. The moments that she captures are pieced together chronologically and it helps the audience to gain yet another perspective, Bryanʼs evolution within his own humanity. Through the sequence of events Lu shows how his life and his identity are effected by the election process. At one end we see the simplicity of a small business owner and family man, and at the other the convolution of a defeated man who has to figure out what to do next. Set in a place like Arkansas, which has the wealth of Wal-Mart, Tyson, and Stephens juxtaposed by the poverty in the delta and urban Little Rock, Lu creates a metaphor within a metaphor. The art is not lost in the political message of the film. It is a carefully and well crafted piece but never ceases from its truth.
" Although the intention may not have been there at the time, Independent has organically become a metaphor for the battle that every American faces against capitalist greed today. With the Occupy Wall Street movement gaining momentum we
are hearing more about the income gap, corporate greed and the detriment that capitalism is causing Americaʼs people. However, very little (definitely not enough) is being said about campaign finance reform. The importance of this film is that it aids in connecting the dots of what is wrong with America. While having to shift ones policies or personal beliefs may have to be done in order for people to vote for a candidate, campaign finance reform is the root of most of the compromises that a candidate must make in order to be elected that most people do not recognize. While Beebe and Hutchison saw fat checks roll in, Bryan did not. For that, he had very little funding. He was obviously just as smart as the other guys and better looking. He isnʼt a “nut”, extremist, radical, or hippie. He has all the makings of a great candidate in the ideal sense of the word, but todays candidate is not simply a smart and capable idealist. He is a representation of his contributors. If candidates dressed like Nascar drivers then Bryanʼs outfit would be quite plain. This film does not prove that Bryan should have won the election, but it shows us what campaigns and candidates would be like without the large and commanding checks of corporations. Independent gives us a glimpse into an alternate universe where politicians are honest, idealistic, and own their own message and values. Changing the current election system that rejects good guys like Bryan and embraces the corporate idols has to start somewhere. This begs the question, how does someone get elected in order to make the changes? There are many gaps to be filled when it comes to disparity in Arkansas and the entire Untied States. Independent effortlessly helps to fill one.
*This film's name has recently been changed to "Forty Miles Below Hope: An Independents Run for Governor"
*This film's name has recently been changed to "Forty Miles Below Hope: An Independents Run for Governor"
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